Description of Historic Place

The Shaunavon Hotel is a Municipal Heritage Property consisting of six town lots in the Town of Shaunavon. The designation applies to a three-storey, wood-frame building located at 189 Centre Street.

Heritage Value

An intergal part of the community's business district over 90 years, the Shaunavon Hotel is valued for its landmark status in the town. Constructed in 1915, only two years after the founding of the town, the hotel was one of the larger and more luxurious hotels in southern Saskatchewan at the time. An 1928 addition further enhanced its size and importance to the community streetscape.

The heritage value of the Shaunavon Hotel also resides in its architecture. The erection of the original portion of the hotel in a mere two months was considered record breaking at the time. The 1928 addition gave the three-storey building a U-shape, unique in the community. The building's modest architectural features illustrate the desire of its first owner to build a large, yet unadorned building in order to accommodate the growing influx of people to the region as quickly as possible.

Source: Town of Shaunavon Bylaw No. 99-08.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Shaunavon Hotel resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements that speak to the building's architectural style, including the building's U-shaped configuration, symetrical massing, wood frame construction and restrained use of ornamentation except for the wooden cornice and dentils.
-those elements that contribute to its landmark status, including the siting of the hotel on its original position.