This project represents an effort to digitally preserve and reimagine Louisbourg as it appeared at the height of its development in the 18th century, allowing modern audiences to experience the scale and complexity of the original fortified town.
Rebuilt polygon by polygon in Google SketchUp as it was in 1750.
Platform Engine: Google SketchUp 2026 / 1:1 Scale Precision
The goal of the project is to digitally recreate not only the reconstructed portions of the Fortress visible today, but the entire fortified town, including buildings, streets, fortifications, gates, public structures, and other architectural features that existed prior to the Siege of Louisbourg.
To ensure historical accuracy, the reconstruction is based on a combination of historical maps and blueprints, LiDAR terrain data, archaeological and heritage documentation, and contemporary photographic references. Existing reconstructed buildings were cross referenced using Google Street View imagery, while historical plans and elevation drawings were used to model structures that no longer exist. LiDAR data was utilized to accurately position walls, earthworks, streets, and other landscape features within the digital environment.
“As a fishing port, military base and centre of commerce, Louisbourg briefly shared front rank importance in France’s overseas empire. Home to a transplanted European civilization, it flourished for less than half a century, and then it was extinguished by military conquest. None of its structures survived the next two centuries.”
“In 1961, the Government of Canada began a $25 million project aimed at reconstructing approximately one-quarter of the original town and fortifications. Within this area the buildings, yards, gardens and streets are being recreated as they were during the 1740s, immediately preceding Louisbourg’s first siege. Almost all of the buildings on site are reconstructions built between the 1960s and 1980s, though many incorporate original foundations. Abandoned after 1763, Louisbourg became the only major colonial town without a modern city built on top of it.” The reconstructed site – Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site
https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/ns/louisbourg/decouvrir-discover/visite-tour
Watch the 3D Model Come To Life
Download The Model or The 3D Preview
Model Info
Polygon Count – 281,231
File Size – 238 MB
Material Count – 126
Tag Count – 2
Bounds – 63,771 x 84,256 x 5,208
Distance from Origin – 22,842.2
Modified DateAug 11, 2026
How was it rebuilt? ..The sheer amount of surviving information
- Parks Canada Agency
- Date(s) 21-Jun-65
- Repository – Beaton Institute Archives
- Reference code – CA BI FOL-G3481
“The Beaton Institute is the official repository for historically significant records of Cape Breton University. Additionally, the Institute is a cultural heritage archive mandated to preserve the social, economic, political and cultural history of Cape Breton Island. It is a centre for local, regional, national and international research and strives to promote inquiry through innovative public programming and community based initiatives.”
- The French administration kept extensive bureaucratic records because Louisbourg was a major military, naval, commercial, and colonial centre.
- Engineers and military surveyors produced architectural plans, elevations, sections, maps, and fortification drawings.
- Government officials generated correspondence, reports, inventories, financial records, construction documents and military records.
- Approximately 750,000 pages of historical documents and 500 maps and plans were copied from archives in France, England, Scotland, the United States and Canada during the research associated with the reconstruction.
Louisbourg wasn’t reconstructed because somebody remembered what it looked like. It was reconstructed because the people who built it left behind an extraordinary paper trail.
18th-century plan
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Archaeological foundation
↓
Construction record
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Inventory/property record
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Historical description
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Other contemporary map or drawing
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Modern reconstruction
Aerial photographs, King’s Bastion
- Repository – Beaton Institute Archives
- 1964 (Creation) Creator – Parks Canada Agency
- Reference code – CA BI FOL-A946
Resident Engineer, L. Vachon
- June, 1964 (Creation)CreatorParks Canada Agency
- Reference code – CA BI FOL-G1548
- Repository – Beaton Institute Archives
Eric Krause & Krause House
Eric Krause is an important figure in the modern study and reconstruction of the Fortress of Louisbourg. As a historian and historical records specialist with Parks Canada, Krause spent decades researching and organizing the extensive documentary record surrounding Louisbourg, including French maps, architectural plans, archival documents, military records, archaeological research, and information about the people who lived there.
His website, KrauseHouse.ca, preserves and makes accessible a remarkable collection of Louisbourg research, bringing together historical documents, timelines, maps, biographies, architectural information, and other resources that help researchers understand the original town.
http://www.krausehouse.ca/krause/FortressOfLouisbourgResearchWeb/FortressMaps/LMapsPlans.htm
Uncover the Layers
Drag the divider across each model view to wipe between its hidden line wireframe and the fully textured reconstruction.
The digital top down reconstruction wiped against the modern satellite record measure the model’s fidelity against the surviving terrain.
The Historical Timeline:
1713: French colonists establish a settlement on Cape Breton Island (Île Royale) following the Treaty of Utrecht
1719–1720: Construction begins on the grand fortified town to protect the lucrative cod fishery and French trade routes.
1748: The fortress is handed back to France under the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
1758: British forces under General Jeffrey Amherst and Admiral Edward Boscawen besiege and recapture Louisbourg during the Seven Years’ War.
1760: British military engineers systematically demolish the fortifications to prevent future French reoccupation
1760–1763: Britain conquers New France.
1765: Britain is deeply in debt from the war. Britain taxes the Thirteen Colonies to recover costs.
1775: The American Revolution begins.
1928: The ruins are designated as a National Historic Site.
1961: The Canadian government launches a massive historical reconstruction project, rebuilding roughly one-quarter of the original town using original 18th-century-style techniques and blueprints.
2026: Daniel C. MacNeil Creates the Full Digital Reconstruction
Architectural Drawings: Studying the Fortress
Before I model a building in 3D I often sketch it by hand. These drawings are studies of Fortress architecture created through years of examining archaeological reports, historic maps, surviving buildings, illustrations and countless hours spent walking the site.
Working in pencil allows me to understand each structure before it is recreated digitally. Roof pitches, masonry, chimneys, dormers, streetscapes, and sightlines become easier to visualize through drawing, making these sketches an important part of my reconstruction process.
Original drawings and limited edition prints are available for collectors, history enthusiasts, and anyone with a connection to the Fortress of Louisbourg.
Original pencil sketch(8.5×11)
$175–350
Highly detailed panoramic drawings:
$400–800
Framed originals:
$500–1,000
Limited edition Signed Prints:
$60–150
Open edition prints:
$35–60
About The Artist
I am an artist, filmmaker, actor and father. I grew up in Sydney Nova Scotia, but spent my summers at the Fortress from 1996 – 2007. I was enrolled in the immersive historical summer experience through the Fortress Louisbourg Association. First starting in the Children’s Program (5–12 ) and the Apprentice Program (13–16.)
Long before I started in 1996 my father put me on the waiting list while I was still in diapers. It was was something planned long before I was born and I never had a choice in the matter (not that I would be opposed to it..)
During these summers I lived as a young French boy in the 18th Century. Essentially method acting this role, in costume, on-site 5 days a week. I would wake up at 7am, get dropped off at the Visitors Centre and be transported back in time to the Fortress. The group of us would have our own building which would act as our home-base. We would be fitted in custom attire that was made of authentic materials and we would be sent off to act as a character in the Fortress.
During these years I learned almost everything there was to know about all the ins-and-outs. Every nook and cranny was logged in my photographic memory logbook. Every factoid about historical trivia that could be used to explain to visitors was told to me by other participants and employees. I bonded with the animals, the sheep, the goats, the chickens, the pigs and those evil geese…
As I grew older I would always return to the Fortress for one reason or another. In recent years, I was brought back because of my involvement in the Cape Breton Film Industry. In 2016 I was cast as an extra in the Netflix show “Frontier” where if you look closely in episode 1, you might find me.
Contact Form for Media Inquiries and Artwork Purchases:
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY NOTICE
The digital reconstruction of the Fortress of Louisbourg is an original creative and technical work by Daniel MacNeil / Avalon Design Studio. The 3D modeling, digital reconstruction, visualizations, artwork, presentation materials, documentary concepts, and original creative assets produced for this project are the intellectual property of Daniel MacNeil / Avalon Design Studio, unless otherwise credited or identified as third-party historical source material. The project is based on extensive historical research, archival documentation, period plans, maps, archaeological evidence, and publicly available historical records. Those historical sources remain the property of their respective institutions and creators.
© 2026 Daniel MacNeil / Avalon Design Studio. All rights reserved.
Please do not reproduce, modify, distribute, or commercially use the original digital reconstruction or project materials without permission.