Description of Historic Place

The Sherwood Department Store is a Municipal Heritage property comprised of 6 commercial lots in Regina's downtown business district. The property features a 3 storey brick office building faced in glazed terra cotta. The designation applies only to the façade of the building.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the The Sherwood Department Store lies in its status as the oldest department store building in Regina. Built in 1913, the three-storey building is the only pre-world war one department store remaining in Regina. Costing an estimated $350,000, the Sherwood Department Store was also the most expensive building constructed in the city prior to 1920.

The heritage value of the building also resides in its architecture. Designed by the prominent Montreal architectural firm Brown and Vallance, the Sherwood Department Store was touted as the finest building west of Winnipeg. Designed in the Gothic Revival style, with Chicago School influences, the building features an elaborate brick, ornamental iron and glass façade highlighted by sculpted pilasters, coloured tiles and intricately formed gargoyles made from glazed terra cotta. Reflecting the pre-war optimism which abounded in western Canada, the building was designed to accommodate additional floors which were never completed

The heritage value also lies in its association with the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool. The building was the first permanent head office for the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool. Formed in 1924, the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool was a cooperative corporation established by provincial farmers to market wheat and other grain crops. Purchased in 1925, the building provided the Wheat Pool with a prominent office location from which it could coordinate its provincial grain handling operations and international marketing efforts. Still used today as part of the corporate head office complex, the building is identified as a symbol of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool.



Source:

City of Regina Bylaw No. 7674

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Sherwood Department Store resides in the following character-defining elements:

- those elements which reflect the Gothic Revival style of architecture, including the vertical piers flanking recessed window bays topped by rounded arches and decorative shields, gargoyles and other motifs which comprise the façade
- those elements which reflect the Chicago School style of architecture, including large window openings, regular window patterning and the terra-cotta, brick and iron façade elements (spandrels)
- any elements which reflect the use of the building as a department store, including the flagpole
- any elements which reflect the use of the building's association with the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, including signage and fixtures.