Description of Historic Place

The Wynyard Court House is a Municipal Heritage Property situated on 1.45 ha of grounds on the corner of 4th Street and Avenue C E in Wynyard. The property features a two-storey, brick building constructed in 1928.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Wynyard Court House lies in its architecture. The building is one of a series of court houses designed by the office of the provincial architect, a government department responsible for the design and/or supervision of all public buildings from 1905 until the office was discontinued in the early 1930s amidst the depression. Architect and engineer Maurice Sharon held the position between 1916 and 1930 and is credited with the design of ten Provincial court houses. Several towns and cities were identified as judicial centres with those at Yorkton, Kerrobert, Prince Albert, Weyburn and Estevan receiving buildings of substantial size, while those at Gravelbourg, Shaunavon, Wynyard, Melfort and Assiniboia received more modest buildings that share an identical prototypical design. While Sharon’s first courthouse at Yorkton exhibited an elaborate Beaux-Arts style, similar to other government buildings constructed to that time, he embraced a Colonial Revival style for the remaining nine buildings. These buildings featured pitched roofs, rain gutters integrated with projecting metal cornices, central cupola with attic ventilation, and brick cladding trimmed with stone. The incorporation of these design elements enabled the government to reduce construction costs and solve technical problems of roof drainage while retaining the appropriate sense of grandeur and presence symbolic of a judicial building.

The heritage value of the Wynyard Court House also lies in its prominence in the community. Situated on large, landscaped grounds on a prominent corner in Wynyard, the building is a local landmark due to its size, brick cladding, and location.

Source:

Town of Wynyard Bylaw No. 54/02.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Wynyard Court House resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those architectural elements that reflect the Colonial Revival style of architecture, such as the building's symmetry, sloped roof, portico, and entrance trim;
-those architectural elements specific to Saskatchewan court houses designed by Maurice Sharon that speak to the Wynyard Court House's design as part of a series of prototypical buildings, such as the hip roof, central cupola, and metal cornice with integral rain gutters;
-those elements associated with the building's prominence in the community, including its size, brick cladding, the sign on the front exterior, interior doorknobs with a map of Saskatchewan, and its location on a large maintained lot at the corner of 4th Street and Avenue C E.