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Carberry-North Cypress Library

115 Main Street, Carberry, Manitoba, R0K, Canada

Formally Recognized: 2007/06/12

Primary elevation, from the east, of the Carberry-North Cypress Library, Carberry, 2008; Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport, 2008
Primary Elevation
Archival view, from the southeast, of the Carberry-North Cypress Library, Carberry, ca. 1945; Carberry Plains Archives, ca. 1945
Contextual View
Detail view of the main doors of the Carberry-North Cypress Library, Carberry, 2008; Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport, 2008
Detail

Other Name(s)

Carberry-North Cypress Library
Bibliothèque régionale de l'ouest du Manitoba, succursale Carberry/North Cypress
Bâtiment poste de Carberry
Carberry Post Office
Carberry Post Office Building
Carberry/North Cypress Branch, Western Manitoba Regional Library
Poste de Carberry

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1938/01/01 to 1938/12/31

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2008/12/22

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

The Carberry-North Cypress Library, a compact federal post office built in 1938, renovated in the early 1970s for alternate use, and then expanded in 1990, is a one-storey brick, concrete and stone structure that faces east on to Carberry's main business street. The municipal designation applies to the building and its double lot.

Heritage Value

The Carberry-North Cypress Library is a modest-sized masonry structure that otherwise holds a prominent place in Historic Downtown Carberry, a designated heritage district, because of its locally rare Art Deco architecture and high public use, first as a post office and now as a regional library. The building's solid form, sharply defined geometric lines, fine brick and limestone facades and limited low-relief ornament aptly reflect the simplicity and functionalism of the interwar Modern movement and of the standardized aesthetics then applied to federal government facilities in small urban centres. Subsequent expansion and modifications of a complementary nature have enabled the building to retain a number of its early features as well as its role as a community symbol and focal point.

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

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Carberry-North Cypress Library site include:
- the west Main Street location near Third Avenue in Carberry, within a designated heritage streetscape occupied by buildings of various types, ages, dimensions, alignments, architectural styles and materials
- the building's placement, set back from the front public sidewalk on grassed grounds, extending nearly the full depth of its property and spatially separated from structures to its south and north
- the building's visual, physical and historical relationships with nearby designated sites, including the Manitoba Telephone System Building (north), Old Town Hall (east), etc.

Key exterior elements that define the building's straightforward Art Deco style and original function include:
- the one-storey cube form with a flat roofline, sharply defined brick walls and high concrete base
- the offset and elevated east frontispiece, accessed by a concrete stairway and containing a formal public entrance set in smooth-cut limestone and stepped brick surrounds
- the ample fenestration and other openings, including tall flat-headed single- and two-part windows, a large transom over the front doorway, small basement windows, the single south-side doorway, etc.
- the restrained finishes and details, including the brown-red face brick laid in overlapping stretcher courses, the brick base and trim around windows and doors in soldier and stack-bond courses, the low-relief stone windowsills, pilaster caps and geometric blocks, the 1938 date stone, the brass mail chute (now used for book returns) in a stone surround, the frontispiece lamps, etc.

Key elements that define the building's interior character include:
- the open main-floor layout entered through a vestibule with double wood-and-glass doors topped by a transom
- the fine finishes and features, including dark-stained wooden door and window casings, wood wainscotting, a wood staircase, brass detailing, etc.
- elements that recall the building's original post office functions, including a wooden letter box

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Manitoba

Recognition Authority

Local Governments (MB)

Recognition Statute

Manitoba Historic Resources Act

Recognition Type

Municipal Heritage Site

Recognition Date

2007/06/12

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

1970/01/01 to 1970/12/31
1990/01/01 to 1990/12/31

Theme - Category and Type

Governing Canada
Government and Institutions
Building Social and Community Life
Education and Social Well-Being

Function - Category and Type

Current

Leisure
Library

Historic

Government
Post Office

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

Town of Carberry 316-4th Avenue Box 130 Carberry MB R0K 0H0

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

M0315

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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