Description of Historic Place

The Territorial Administration Building is a Provincial Heritage Property located within the City of Regina at 3304 Dewdney Avenue. The property features a Second Empire-style, two-storey brick office building constructed in 1890.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Territorial Administration Building lies in its status as the first permanent government office building in Regina. Built in 1890, it is also the second oldest building remaining in Regina. When it was completed, the building provided office space for the entire territorial public service as well as an office for the Lieutenant Governor. In 1905 the building was transferred to the Province of Saskatchewan and it continued to house some operations of the public service until 1910.

The heritage value of the property also lies in its architecture. The building exhibits a French Second Empire influence and is one of the few buildings of this style in Regina. The brick and stone building was designed under the direction of Thomas Fuller, Chief Dominion Architect (1881-1896). The influence of the Second Empire style is visible in the prominent mansard roof and inset dormer windows, and can also be seen in the double segmented arches above the main floor windows. The interior of the Territorial Administration Building maintains a high degree of spatial and material historical integrity, illustrating the composition of a government building of the late-19th century.

Heritage value also lies in the Territorial Administration Building’s orientation to the surrounding landscape. The building is the only remaining structure from the original governmental building complex in Regina, which included the initial Lieutenant Governor’s residence, Territorial Council Chamber and other temporary buildings built to the north of the Territorial Administration Building. The building’s orientation to the north with its front entrance opening onto an adjoining park rather than onto Dewdney Avenue as might be expected, illustrates its relationship to the other structures that formed the administrative precinct.

Sources:

Province of Saskatchewan, Notice of Intention to Designate as Provincial Heritage Property under the Heritage Property Act, February 22, 1982.

Province of Saskatchewan, Order to Designate as Provincial Heritage Property under the Heritage Property Act, July 23, 1982.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Territorial Administration Building resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements that reflect the property’s use as a government building, such as the spatial configuration of the offices and the flag pole;
-those elements that reflect the building’s history as part of a larger government complex, such as the building’s orientation to the north;
-those elements that reflect its Second Empire architecture, such as mansard roof with inset dormer windows and segmented arched windows;
-the interior woodwork, including the banisters, floor boards, doors and frames as well as the wainscoting along the first and second-storey hallways.