Consisting of two structures in one, the vaults are to the rear of the building visible from Water St. The outer building was constructed to both increase warehouse space and as a protective covering for the Wine Vaults. Built in approximately 1903 of rubble, brick and cinder blocks imported from New York, the warehouse structure was in a terrible state of repair. Neglected for nearly 20 years the elements had taken their toll. A false pediment had been removed by public works as it was collapsing and rather than repair it, it was removed. This exposed the roof trusses to the elements and the wind on occasion would cause the roof to float; this in turn raised the two principal beams to come free of footings badly undermined by archaeology work undertaken in the 70's. Needless to say the roof was no longer water tight, as well as being in danger of collapse.

The interior was cluttered with the rubble of the archaeology work, lumber left over from the restoration of the carriage house of Commissariat House, and a beaver dam. The later was finally removed by representatives of the Newfoundland Museum, and is in storage elsewhere. The rubble was removed and carted away.

The main support beams were jacked into place while new footings with anchoring were installed. The roof trusses were attached to the front wall, new eaves, eaves moulding, and decking were necessary. Finally a new rubberoid roof membrane was installed.

The main doors which had not been opened in many years had rusted into place. Acetylene torches were used to free closed hinges. The doors had been badly damaged and had to be restored and reinforced. Now they open with the ease of a hollow core door. Restoration work was begun in the summer of 1998.. One project included the restoration of the original heavy interior wooden shutters, one of which is shown here to the left. This shutter was in almost perfect condition. A new frame was constructed. Another shutter was in extremely poor condition, and was almost completely rebuilt, using this shutter as a model.

All this was accomplished with various grants from The Heritage Canada Foundation, the Federal Student Employment Program, and the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Canadian Human Resources Council (CHRC). Four students working on the project were supervised by the Heritage Foundation.

The restoration project was made possible by the following agencies: