Description of Historic Place

The two-storey Fowler Block, a solid brick mixed-use commercial structure built in 1899, occupies a prominent corner location on the main street of the village of Baldur. The municipal designation applies to the building and its two lots.

Heritage Value

The Fowler Block is a substantial two-part commercial building with long-standing connections to a pioneer Baldur family. Alex Fowler, businessman and postmaster, chose to express his early confidence in Baldur's future as an agricultural service centre by building this moderately large-scale business/residential block, a fine example of the kind of commercial properties that sprang up in newly created communities across the Prairies at the turn of the twentieth century. The facility, which remained in the Fowler family until 1978, continues to be a prominent presence in Baldur's business district because of its size, attractive brick facade, role in maintaining the historical integrity of the intersection it is on, and association over the years with occupants such as Fowler's saddlery business, the post office and a continuous succession of grocery retailers.

Source: Rural Municipality of Argyle By-law No. 5-1995, April 11, 1995

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Fowler Block site include:
- the building's location, facing south, flush to the sidewalk on a corner of Baldur's main business street, taller and wider than the neighbouring commercial structures

Key elements that define the building's modest design include:
- the bold rectangular two-storey massing enclosed by a flat roof with a high parapet
- the asymmetrical vertical division of the front (south) elevation into two bays delineated by brick pilasters, with the widest bay on the east side
- the front's decorative upper-level brick- and stonework, including a stringcourse, well-defined corbel table and raised semi-circular date stone
- the functional fenestration reflecting the building's purposes, including single rectangular windows set in segmental arches with keystones and limestone sills on the south and east elevations
- details such as the continuous rusticated stone sill under the upper front windows running the full width of the building and the stringcourse and brick corbelling on the east side

Key elements that define the building's interior character and long-standing commercial use include:
- the roomy main-floor retail spaces with high ceilings clad in pressed metal throughout
- finishing materials on the first floor such as the natural wood flooring in some areas and vertical tongue-and-groove wood panelling enclosing the staircase
- the stone-lined basement featuring a delivery chute at the north end