Description of Historic Place

The Station Building is a Municipal Heritage Property that comprises one commercial lot on the corner of 22nd Street and 1st Avenue West in the Town of Battleford. The property features an adapted Canadian Northern Railway station constructed in 1907.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Station Building lies in its association with the town's first access to the rail system. As the Territorial capital from 1876-1883, the community initially flourished but when the railroad, and subsequently the capital, was diverted to Regina, direct access to the railway was delayed for nearly thirty years. Consequently, the arrival of a spur line and its accompanying station in 1907 provided Battleford residents with the long-awaited link to the outside world and stood as a symbol that the town of Battleford was emerging as a viable community.

Heritage value also resides in the building's architecture. Constructed according to Special Plan 100-19, the Station Building displays architectural features that were common to Canadian Northern Railway stations. The high pyramidal roof with prominent front and back gable dormers, as well as a shingled, bracket-supported awning along the trackside, were trademark features of Canadian Northern stations.

Though the structure has been relocated and significantly altered from its original form, the building continues to stand as a symbol of the historical beginnings of Battleford.

Source:

Town of Battleford Bylaw No. 12/81.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Station Building resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements that reflect the trademark architecture of a Canadian Northern Railway station, such as the distinct roof line with its pyramidal roof and prominent gable dormers; the broad overhang supported by curved brackets.