Description of Historic Place

The Craik Town Hall is a Municipal Heritage Property located on the northwest corner of First Avenue and Third Street in the Town of Craik. The property features a two-storey brick structure with a hip roof surmounted by a central cupola and a bell tower in the southwest corner. It also includes a seperate single-storey public washroom and a non-contributing communications transmission tower.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Craik Town Hall lies in the property's long-term use as a public building. The Town Hall was constructed in 1913 and has been used for a variety of public functions ever since. These functions were not necessarily simultaneous, but evolved over time. They included: Second Floor – public meetings and entertainment; main floor - town offices, fire hall, library, post office, Royal Canadian Mounted Police offices and barracks, community archives; Basement - jail cells accessed by a covered ramp on the north side of the building. Public washrooms were added to the property in 1957, when a separate building was constructed north of the main structure.

Heritage value also resides in the historic use of the second floor auditorium as a community hall. The hall played an important role in the social life of the community, and has been used for a wide variety of cultural, recreational and political events, as well as school concerts.

Heritage value also resides in the architecture of the building, which reflects Queen Anne Revival influence. The 1913 design is the product of the prominent Saskatchewan architectural firm of Storey and Van Egmond. Some of the Queen Anne Revival influences can be seen in the hip roof with its formerly ornate air vent cupola and decorative gables used to incorporate the date of construction. The top of the cupola was blown off during a severe windstorm in 1976. The Town Hall also features a three-storey corner tower, with a canopy roof, and a separate entrance for the upstairs hall, with the name “Town Hall” incorporated into the tympanum over the entrance. The style can further be seen in the irregular placement of doors and windows.

Source:

Town of Craik Bylaw No. 4/81.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Craik Town Hall resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those features that reflect the building’s varied public use, such as the basement jail cells and associated covered prisoners ramp, the main floor Town Office vault; reinforced floor in the fire hall area; the decorative railings leading up to the second floor at the front and rear stairwells; and several original wooden doors with glass transoms;
-those features that reflect the property’s use as a community hall, such as the large open auditorium on the second floor; the raised stage with its proscenium arch; and suspended chandelier;
-those features that reflect the Queen Anne Revival architectural style, such as the use of red brick for the exterior cladding; the hip roof with its wooden air vent cupola; numerous vertical wooden windows with multiple panes; decorative gables with date medallions incorporated into the roof; the corner bell tower with its canopy roof; and columns flanking the bell tower entrance and the tympanum featuring the “Town Hall” name;
-those exterior features of the public washroom that reflect that function, including the signage and exterior cladding.