Description of Historic Place

2915 14th Avenue is a Municipal Heritage Property located on a portion of one civic lot in the City of Regina. The property features a four-storey, Chateau-style building, known as the Mayfair Apartments, which was completed in 1929. The building is faced with variegated, dark-brown brick. The designation is limited to the building’s exterior.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of 2915 14th Avenue resides in its architecture, which combines the Chateau style with Scottish Baronial elements. Designed by the noted Regina architectural firm of William Van Egmond and Stan Storey, who also designed at least two other local examples of the Chateau style, the Mayfair Apartments demonstrates an elaborate and consistent application of this style. Constructed from materials and equipment supplied exclusively by local companies, the Mayfair Apartments exhibits elements of the Chateau style, such as the steeply-pitched Mansard roof line with stepped gable and hip roof dormer windows, and elements of the Scottish Baronial style, such as tourelles, turrets, and spires. In Canada, the Chateau style was typically applied to railway hotels and some public buildings prior to the Second World War.

The heritage value of 2915 14th Avenue also lies in its association with Provincial Apartments Ltd., a company created in 1928 by several prominent leaders of the local business community. The company was formed in Regina during a period of economic prosperity and rapid population growth in response to the decision by General Motors of Canada to build an automotive assembly plant in Regina, which involved the relocation of many of its workers from Ontario.

The heritage value of 2915 14th Avenue also resides in its association with several long-term and prominent residents. Several of these residents led distinguished careers in the private, public and volunteer sectors and achieved regional or provincial prominence. The list includes former Saskatchewan New Democratic Party minister Gordon MacMurchy, who served in Premier Allan Blakeney’s cabinet from 1971 until 1982. Business and sportsman Morris Burns also resided here from 1935 until his death in 1987.

The heritage value of 2915 14th Avenue resides in its association with the former 14th Avenue Methodist Church, which was constructed on this site in 1912. The site has an historical connection to the early development of Regina and the formation of the United Church of Canada in 1925, and the merger of the church’s congregation with that of Westminster Presbyterian Church.

Source:

City of Regina Bylaw No. 10077.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of 2915 14th Avenue is associated with the following character-defining elements:
-those elements that reflect the Chateau style, such as steeply-pitched Mansard roof line with stepped gable and hip-roof dormer windows, and recessed main entrance with access through a Gothic-arched opening executed in Tyndall Stone;
-those elements which reflect the Scottish Baronial style, such as tower-like projections at the three street-facing corners and framing the main entrance on the north elevation of the building, and slender decorative tourelles, spires and finials which extend above the roof line;
-those features that speak to the building's use as an apartment building, including the window placement, layout and massing, and brick façade.