Description of Historic Place

The Old Town Office is a Municipal Heritage Property situated on a single municipal lot in the Town of Kinistino. The designation applies to a two-storey, red brick building constructed in 1919.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Old Town Office resides in its connection to the establishment of commerce and governance in the community. The building was built in 1919 by the Merchants Bank of Canada, who operated on the site until being bought out by the Bank of Montreal in 1922. In 1933, in the middle of the Great Depression, the Bank of Montreal in Kinistino was taken over by the Bank of Nova Scotia, which operated on the site until it built a new branch at a different location. The building was then used as both a post office and town office until 1996, when it was purchased by a private owner. The building remains on its original location and stands as one of the oldest buildings in Kinistino.

The heritage value of the Old Town Office also resides in its architecture. Built in a simplified, classical architectural style, the building evokes a sense of prominence, security and stability. The use of red brick highlighted with Tyndal Stone, the building’s symmetry, and prominent location evoked a sense of authority and security, impressions desired by chartered banks that were establishing themselves across the prairies early in the twentieth century.

Source:

Town of Kinistino Bylaw No. 19/97.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Old Town Office resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those features associated with the establishment of commerce and governance in Kinistino, such as its placement on its original location on Kinistino’s main street;
-those architectural features reflecting its simplified classical style that evoke a sense of stability and permanency, such as the use of brick as the main building material, use of Tyndal Stone around the front entrance and windows, flat roof and cornice and symmetrical placement of the windows on both levels;
-those interior elements associated with the building’s original use as a bank, such as its original safe.