Description of Historic Place

The Royal Canadian Legion encompasses two long, narrow, one-storey brick buildings developed in the 1890s as business outlets on Carberry's Main Street and later altered. The municipal designation applies to the buildings and their two deep lots.

Heritage Value

The Royal Canadian Legion, an adaptable two-building complex behind a unitary facade, is part of an important collection of functional turn-of-the-twentieth-century commercial facilities in Historic Downtown Carberry, a designated district. In scale, construction and history of occupancy, the complex is representative of the type of sturdy yet modest brick structures expected to perform multiple roles over many decades in towns and villages across southern Manitoba. The complex also physically supports the continuity of a heritage streetscape filled with business buildings of similar age and character and situated in proximity to the Canadian Pacific Railway line that spurred Carberry's development as an agricultural, transportation and, later, military training hub. Since the mid-1950s when its conversion to a legion branch began, the complex has served a key social role in the community, providing comfortable, conveniently located space for public and private events, informal gatherings and recreation.

Source: Town of Carberry By-law No. 5/2006, June 12, 2007

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Royal Canadian Legion site within Historic Downtown Carberry include:
- the mid-block location on the west side of Main Street between Third and Fourth avenues;
- the structures' placement, set flush to the front sidewalk, abutting adjacent buildings and extending nearly the full depth of their two lots;
- the structures' visual, physical and historical relationships with other nearby designated sites, including an historic hotel to the south and shops and the Old Bank of Montreal to the north.

Key exterior elements that define the complex's straightforward aesthetic and functional character include:
- the wider-than-average rectangular massing, one storey high, including the flat roofline, brick walls and stone and brick foundation;
- the unified east-facing front, unpretentious in design and finishes, including a shallow pilaster at the division between the two buildings that make up the complex, the structures' separate entrances and large rectangular windows, etc.
- the occupant-specific symbols, including the front flagpole, the name 'ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION' in raised red letters over the main entrance and other signage.

Key internal elements that define the complex's heritage character include:
- the deep, open main-floor spaces separated by a partially opened brick wall;
- the south-side basement with exposed brick and stone walls, wooden post-and-beam support system, etc.