Description of Historic Place

The Land Titles Office is a Municipal Heritage Property occupying two commercial lots on Main Street in Arcola. The property features a one-storey, brick-and-stone office building and a landscaped green space around the building.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Land Titles Office lies in its status as a representative example of the smaller land titles offices that were erected across Saskatchewan in the early 20th century. The transfer of land administration from the Federal to the Provincial government in 1906 created the need for new buildings to house the land records. The last of a series of four similar buildings to be constructed across the province between 1907 and 1911, the Arcola Land Titles office was the least elaborate of the four. Not only was the building smaller than its three contemporaries, but it featured less stone and brick ornamentation. Designed by the Regina architectural firm of Storey and Van Egmond, the Land Titles Office still conveyed the images of modernity, stability and self-assurance desired by the new province through the use of the Georgian Classicism style of architecture. The importance of the land records required that the building be built fireproof according to the standards of the day. These fireproofing requirements included the use of metal, stone and brick for the floors, walls, roofs, stairways and doors. The placement of the building back several metres from the sidewalk on landscaped grounds added to the prestigious look of the building. Completed in 1912, the building housed the records for the Cannington Land District until the 1960's.

Source:

Town of Arcola Bylaw 2-01.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Land Titles Office resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements which reflect the Georgian Classicism style of architecture, including the stone entablature, pilasters around the doorways, arched, segmented windows and brick spandrels;
-those elements which reflect the role of the building as a land titles office, including signs, fixtures and furnishings;
-those elements which reflect the prestigious nature and fireproof nature of the original building, including the high ceilings, marble and stone decorations, brass and copper clad windows and doors, metal and stone staircases, and landscaped green space around the building.