Description of Historic Place

Regina Telephone Exchange is a Provincial Heritage Property located within the City of Regina at 1870 Lorne Street. The property features a two-storey, brick-and-stone Italianate-style building constructed in 1913 with an attached one-storey addition.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Regina Telephone Exchange lies in its association with the development and expansion of telephone service in Saskatchewan. The building was constructed to replace the original telephone exchange that had been destroyed in 1912 by the “Regina Cyclone.” When the building was completed in 1913, it housed the most advanced telephone system in Saskatchewan and the head office of the Department of Telephones. The building was used by the Department, later renamed Saskatchewan Government Telephones, until 1955 when it was purchased by the Regina Public School Board.

The heritage value of the property also lies in its architecture. The building was designed by the prominent Regina architectural firm Storey and Van Egmond as part of their contract with the Department of Telephones. The brick building, with a limestone base, was designed in a subdued Italianate style. The Telephone Exchange’s Italianate architectural style can be observed in several of the building’s key elements, including the ornate pressed metal cornice, and elaborately detailed stone carvings. The building also features two ornate entranceways constructed of carved Indiana Limestone, and four circular windows that highlight the south entrance. The value of the architecture is enhanced by the historical integrity of the interior entranceways. Combined with the architectural features, they reflect the quality materials used in the construction of the building and project an image of permanence and modernity that Saskatchewan Government Telephones was eager to present.

The heritage value of the property also lies in the building’s prominent position in downtown Regina across from Victoria Park, the city’s central square. The location of the property speaks to the importance the Government placed on the visibility and accessibility of this facility. Today, it is an integral component of a group of heritage structures which surround the park.


Source:

Province of Saskatchewan, Notice of Intention to Designate as Provincial Heritage Property under the Heritage Property Act, December 10, 1998.

Province of Saskatchewan, Order to Designate as Provincial Heritage Property under the Heritage Property Act, March 18, 1999.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Regina Telephone Exchange resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements that reflect building’s use as a government office, such as the provincial crest and carvings above the east entrance;
-those elements that reflect the building’s Italianate architecture, including the cornice with dentils, quoin, window pattern and keystones;
-those elements that speak to the prominent nature of the property, including the stone entrance ways and the circular windows;
-those interior elements that speak to the historical integrity of the property, including the marble staircases and paneling, the iron rail staircase, boiler room door, and crown moulding along the eastern wall.