Description of Historic Place

The Canadian Northern Railway Station is a Municipal Heritage Property located at the head of Main Street in the Town of Radville. The property features a two-storey, wood-frame railway station built in 1912.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Canadian Northern Railway Station resides in its status as the only surviving Canadian Northern Second Class railway station in Saskatchewan. Established as the division point on the Canadian Northern's Brandon to Lethbridge route, it was expected that Radville would develop into a significant regional centre. For this reason, the company chose to construct an impressive wood frame railway station according to plan 100-39. One of only two such stations constructed in the province, the building features the distinctive chateau-inspired hipped roofline which was typical of Canadian Northern station design. Unique to this station design are the three symmetrically placed dormers on the second floor. The large passenger and freight areas and the second floor residential accommodations contributed to the prominence of the station.

The heritage value of the Canadian Northern Railway Station also lies in the siting of the building on its original location at the head of the town's main street. As the principal entry point of goods and people into Radville, the town's commercial district radiated out from the station building. Now rarely seen, the close relationship between the railway station and the commercial district typified the urban landscape in early prairie communities.


Source:

Town of Radville Bylaw No. 8-84

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Canadian Northern Railway Station resides in the following character-defining elements:
-the location of the station on its original site at the end of the town’s main street;
-those elements which define the Second Class Canadian Northern Station, including hipped roof, dormer windows and the broad overhanging roof with brackets;
-those elements which reflect the role of the building as a combination freight and passenger rail station, including exterior window and door openings and the ticket windows and shelves on the interior.
-the name "Radville" set in the shingles on the roof overhang.