Description of Historic Place

Lumsden Plaza is a Municipal Heritage Property comprising two civic lots on the corner of 2nd Avenue and James Street within the corporate limits of the Town of Lumsden. The site features a two-storey brick building.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of Lumsden Plaza lies in its association with the development of commerce in the district. The Town of Lumsden grew around the railway station constructed in 1890 for the new rail line that linked Regina and Saskatoon. Built in 1903 across the street from that railway station, Lumsden Plaza formed the core of the Lumsden business district having housed a bank, several retailers and professional offices. A particularly notable business was the Balfour and Bros. General Store which occupied most of the ground floor from 1903 until the early 1970s.

The heritage value of Lumsden Plaza resides in the building’s architecture. Made of brick manufactured in Grenfell, Saskatchewan, the functional design features a wooden cornice and brick detailing around the windows and doors. The surviving original window and door frames feature an Edwardian influence. The design demonstrates the builder’s consciousness of the challenges of building in the Qu’Appelle Valley, having proven remarkably resilient to the soil conditions found at valley bottom. The stone and brick foundation tapers upward from its approximately two foot base. Additional support is provided by wooden columns evenly spaced along the centre of the basement.

Source:

Town of Lumsden Bylaw No. 5-2000.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of Lumsden Plaza resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements that reflect the building's prominence within Lumsden’s commercial district such as its two-storey design, the two bank vaults, the exterior walls which follow the irregular property line.
-those elements that reflect the building’s architecture such as the use of brick and stone, the foundation, the wooden cornice, the skylight, the wooden support columns and detailing on the original door and window frames.