Description of Historic Place

The Old Post Office is a Municipal Heritage Property prominently located on four civic lots on the corner of 50th Street and 50th Avenue in the City of Lloydminster. Completed in 1931, the property features a two-storey, brick-and-stone building with projecting clock tower.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of The Old Post Office resides in its architecture, which reflects a Classical style that was popular for many public buildings of the era. Completed in 1931, this building replaced the original 1912 post office that was destroyed by Lloydminster's great fire of 1929, which leveled an entire city block. Designed by Thomas Fuller during his tenure as Chief Dominion Architect with the federal Department of Public Works, this replacement building had grander proportions than its predecessor. However, it also reflected the transition from the more elaborate turn-of-the-century post offices to a functional design with inexpensive detailing that was becoming common in new federal public buildings by 1930. Like many public buildings, The Old Post Office was designed to house other federal facilities, such as RCMP offices, customs facilities, the Lands Division of the Department of Public Works, the Soldier's Settlement Board, as well as a caretaker's quarters. Like its counterparts in Melville and Swift Current, which Fuller designed at the same time, the symmetrical layout, formal arrangement, flat, unadorned roofline, ordered fenestration, and pilasters evoke the qualities of tradition and strength associated with stripped Classical buildings. The building's impressive 14-foot corner-entry clock tower also contributes to a sense of grandeur and prestige, and is highlighted by a metal-clad dome and stone-corbelled brick pilasters. Located on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, often called Meridian Avenue, the building's architecture and impressive clock tower make The Old Post Office a significant historical landmark in Lloydminster.

Source:

City of Lloydminster Bylaw No. 2-81.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of The Old Post Office resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those features that reflect the Classical style of the building, including its symmetrical layout and formal arrangement, ordered fenestration with round-arched ground floor and lintelled second-storey windows, the entablature, the flat, unadorned roofline, brick-and-Tyndall Stone façade and detailing, stone-pedimented entryways, and slightly projecting end bays;
-those elements that reflect the building's original use as a public building, such as the corner clock tower, including metal-clad dome, clock faces, finial, and chime vents, original carved signage on pediment wall, exterior doors, and flagpole;
-its original prominent location on the corner of 50th Street and 50th Avenue (Meridian Avenue).