Description of Historic Place

The Selkirk Dominion Post Office and Customs Building, built in 1907-09, is a two-storey red brick and stone structure in downtown Selkirk. The provincial designation applies to the post office and its lot.

Heritage Value

The stately Selkirk Dominion Post Office and Customs Building is a substantial Classical Revival-style structure on a prominent corner site in Selkirk. Its design by James Chisholm and Son of Winnipeg closely resembles DPW's standard `Plan B' for postal outlets in smaller urban centres, differing mainly in trim details and the presence of a shallow front pavilion. The interior follows the cue of the showpiece exterior, featuring Neo-Classical elements composed in a dignified and refined manner. The project symbolized the community's growth and progress and enabled all of its federal offices, including the North West Mounted Police, to be brought under one roof. The facility continues to have a high public profile as the home of the Selkirk Community Arts Centre, an art gallery and restaurant.

Source: Manitoba Heritage Council Minute, December 10, 1988

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Selkirk Dominion Post Office and Customs Building site include:
- the building's commanding presence, standing out among its later and less ostentatious neighbours, at the southeast corner of Main Street and Manitoba Avenue in downtown Selkirk

Key elements that define the post office's Classical Revival styling include:
- the rectangular massing under a flat roof with a slightly projecting centre front pavilion
- the substantial facades of red brick, including a rusticated main floor, set upon a rubble stone foundation faced by smooth-cut limestone
- the prominent modillioned and dentilled sheet metal cornice painted to contrast with the brick
- the ample fenestration throughout, including tall segmental-arched windows on the main floor with brick voussoirs and protruding limestone sills, rectangular upper-level openings with large limestone keystones, etc.
- the centred front (west) entrance with a large limestone staircase and recessed double doors of glass and panelled wood topped by a segmental-arched transom
- the details, including the smooth-cut limestone parapet coping, belt course and sills, the tablets engraved with 'CANADA POST OFFICE' and 'CANADA CUSTOMS' beside the main entrance, etc.

Key elements that define the post office's striking internal details and finishes include:
- the rectangular plan with the main floor's informal open spaces and the second floor's more formal plan
- the main entrance featuring a solid oak arched doorway and the staircase with intact wooden risers and treads and a carved balustrade
- the details, including maple and terrazzo floors, Douglas fir moulding and trim throughout, some intact plasterwork, ornamented cast-iron columns on the main floor, brick safes located on each level, the upper level's burlap dado etc.