Description of Historic Place

The Old City Hall, built in 1913, is a Municipal Heritage Property in the City of Weyburn. The red-brick building is detailed with Tyndall Stone and comprises two storeys. The building is situated in the centre of downtown Weyburn.

Heritage Value

The Old City Hall in Weyburn is of heritage value as the city’s seat of government for 89 years, from 1913-2002. During this period it housed the city’s administrative offices, mayor’s office, committee rooms and council chambers. Like many city and town halls at the time of its construction, the Old City Hall was built to serve multiple functions. Originally, the basement contained a court room, jail cells, police headquarters and magistrate’s office, with the main floor housing offices for the city clerk, assessor, auditor, public commissioner and mayor. The top floor was reserved for a large council chamber, committee rooms, and offices for the engineer, electrical superintendent and building inspector. The rear of the building contained the fire station, with storage for the horse-drawn firefighting equipment, stables for the horses, a hay loft and sleeping quarters for brigade members.

The property is of heritage value also for its architecture. The Beaux-Arts design is the work of deBavwere and Boyum (Benjamin O.), a Weyburn and Minneapolis-based firm. It is faced with red-brick and Tyndall Stone detailing, including a highly ornamented front-entrance surround that contains the city’s crest. The rear of the building, which contained the fire station, is of a compatible design and exhibits elements associated with its original function, including three large openings for fire equipment, a hose tower, hay loft doors and small stable windows. The building’s elegant design and central location have made it a landmark since its inception.

Source:

City of Weyburn Bylaw No. 2003-3012.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Old City Hall resides in following character-defining elements:
-those elements of the building related to its Beaux-Arts design, including its symmetrical, two-storey, flat-roof form, its red-brick exterior, Tyndall Stone detailing, metal cornices, and large metal entrance light sconces;
- those elements related to its status as a city hall, including the carved stone City crest above the front entrance and features pertaining to the integral fire hall, such as the three fire station doorways, the hose tower, the ‘FIRE STATION’ Tyndall Stone parapet tablet, and elements of the horse stable, such as the hayloft door with outrigger and small square windows demarking the horse stalls;
-contextual elements of the property, such as its central, and prominent downtown location.