Description of Historic Place

1503 Victoria Avenue is a Municipal Heritage Property which occupies three municipal lots within the General Hospital area of the City of Regina. The property features a two and one-half storey house, known as the McInnis Residence, which was constructed in 1908-09. The first storey of the house is constructed of rusticated concrete blocks with brick veneer on the second storey.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the property resides in its association with distinguished Regina businessman and Mayor, John Kenneth McInnis. J.K. McInnis was born in 1854 on Prince Edward Island and educated there as a teacher. He moved west in the late-1870s. While living in Wolseley, McInnis became the local correspondent for the weekly newspaper, the Regina Journal. McInnis moved to Regina in 1891 and became the editor and co-owner of the newspaper with Walter Scott, who later became the first Premier of Saskatchewan. McInnis changed the paper’s name to the Regina Standard. When Scott purchased the Regina Leader newspaper from Nicholas Flood Davin in 1895, McInnis became the sole owner of the Standard until selling it in 1913 to focus on politics. McInnis ran unsuccessfully in several territorial, provincial and federal elections but was more successful in local politics, becoming Regina’s Mayor in 1899 and serving on Council for eleven years. In addition to his newspaper and political interests, McInnis had significant real estate holdings in and adjacent to Regina, including the area where the present-day Eastview subdivision is located. McInnis died in 1923.

The heritage value of the property also resides in its distinct architectural details. The house is unique within the General Hospital area, the city’s original working-class neighbourhood, for its imposing scale, construction materials, and detailing. Completed in 1908-09, the property features a first storey constructed of locally-made rusticated concrete blocks and a second storey of brick veneer construction. The voussoirs above the arched window on the east facade are also of concrete and represent an unusual design element for Regina homes. The large gables extending from the hip roof are decorated with half-timbering. Two corbelled chimneys and hipped dormers also embellish the roof. A large partially-recessed bay window adorns the second storey on the north façade, while the frieze has a stucco appearance.

Additional heritage value lies in the conversion and use of the property as rental accomodations. In 1928 a large addition was added to the original building by the son of the original owner and the entire complex developed to house apartment units. The conversion reflects both a generation change in the personal history of the McInnis family and a response to the economic prosperity, and corresponding housing demand, experienced in Regina in the late-1920s.

Source:

City of Regina Bylaw No.7787-HR-B84.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of 1503 Victoria Avenue lies in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements that reflect the property’s association with former Regina businessman and Mayor, John Kenneth McInnis, including the property’s location on its original site;
-those elements which speak to its distinctive architecture, including the rusticated concrete blocks, large gables with half-timbering, corbelled chimneys, hipped dormers, stained-glass transom with the street address marked in leaded colours, projecting bay with partially recessed window on the second storey, and stuccoed gable with decorative tracery on the third floor.