Description of Historic Place

The North Battleford Public Library is a Municipal Heritage Property prominently located on a .5-hectare corner lot in central North Battleford. The property features a raised one-storey, brick-clad building constructed in a Georgian Classical style, which was built in 1916.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the North Battleford Public Library resides in the building's status as the only remaining Carnegie library in Saskatchewan. Built entirely from a $15,000 grant from the Carnegie Foundation of New York, the Carnegie library helped identify North Battleford as a modern prairie city. Not only was its association with American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie significant, as he is well-known for funding the construction of over 2000 libraries throughout North America, but the arrival of a public library also signaled that North Battleford was embracing its new status as an incorporated city and beginning to provide civic services.


Heritage value also lies in the building's architecture, whose size and style reflect the importance that the community placed on this facility. Designed by Saskatoon architect W. H. Evans, the building, with its symmetrical lines, decorative cornice, unadorned roofline and portico, exhibits elements of the Georgian Classical style. Additionally, the building's rectangular shape, raised main floor, and high ceilings reflect the style of library architecture preferred by Carnegie himself.


Only 13 Carnegie libraries were built west of Ontario, of which only nine exist today. The North Battleford Public Library now houses the Allen Sapp Gallery, an internationally known Indigenous art collection, and serves as a reminder of North Battleford's commitment to education.


Source:


City of North Battleford Bylaw No. 1363.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the North Battleford Public Library resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those features that reflect the Georgian Classical style of architecture, such as the brick and stone façade, the pressed metal cornice, the fan-shaped, symmetrical windows, and rusticated columns;
-those features that reflect the Carnegie library style of architecture, such as the raised first floor and the vaulted ceilings;
-those remaining original features, such as the interior glass, ceiling fixtures, and elaborate door frames and doorways.