Description of Historic Place

The Travellers Building is a Municipal Heritage property comprised of four commercial lots in Regina’s downtown district. The two-storey, brick-clad, concrete structure faces onto Broad Street, a main throughway in Regina’s central business district. The designation applies specifically to the exterior of the structure.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Travellers Building lies in its association with Mr. George Broder, a prominent business person in the early history of Regina. George Broder, founder of the Broder Development Company, was responsible for the construction and sale of more than 200 homes on his former farm east of Winnipeg Street. Now known as Broder’s Annex, the development was one of Regina’s earliest residential neighbourhoods. Broder was also responsible for the development of several other commercial buildings in the city, including the Allen Theatre and Broder Building, both of which have been demolished, and the former Champlain Hotel located on the corner of 11th Avenue and Rose Street.

Heritage value of the property also resides in its association with the work of the architects Storey and Van Egmond, the most prolific architectural firm in Saskatchewan throughout much of the first half of the 20th century. Constructed in 1929, Storey and Van Egmond’s building is typical of commercial architecture of the 1920s. The front façade is symmetrical in appearance, characterized by regularly-spaced brick pilasters, large display windows on the ground floor and stepped parapets at roof level. The architectural firm and its successors are not only credited with designing the Travellers Building, but also several hundred other buildings, including the Land Titles Building and the McCallum Hill Building. Edgar Storey, the senior Storey and the founding member of the firm, passed away in 1913. In 1918 Stanley Storey, Edgar’s son, partnered with Van Egmond. The firm’s name was changed to Van Egmond and Storey in 1924. The property was one of the last commercial buildings constructed in Regina during the later half of the 1920s. Thus the building reflects the economic prosperity and population growth in the city during the period.

Heritage value also lies in the property's association with numerous prominent business and service groups. The main floor originally housed an automotive dealership and repair shop, while the second floor was occupied by the Arcadia Ballroom and dance studio (1929-1945). Other notable commercial tenants included; the Saskatchewan Motor Club (1931-1960), the Bus Depot (1936-1949), and Group Medical Services (1949-1964).


Source:

City of Regina Bylaw No. 2001-18.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Travellers Building resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements which link it to Mr. George Broder, including the location of the property on its original site;
-those elements of the property which speak to the association of the property with the architectural firm of Van Egmond and Storey, and reflect the 1920s commercial design of the building, including the projected pilasters, the large display windows, and the stepped parapets at roof level;
-those elements which reflect the property’s association with its many notable tenants, including a large automotive service bay door at the rear of the building.