Historian frustrated 'beautiful' 1920s brick building demolished without public notice in Regina

Frank Korvemaker saysthe demolition of a "picturesque" small brick building in Regina is a great loss.

"You drive by one day, and it's gone. What a loss," saidKorvemaker, whois a retired archivist and construction historian.

He said he was surprised to see a flattened lot where SaskPower's Light and Power Sub-Station No. 2 stood since 1929, at1953 ElphinstoneStreet.Korvemaker is also frustrated by what he sees as a lack of opportunity forpublic input.

"If there was consultation it was very minimal, certainly not adequate," he said.

Korvemaker trailed his fingertips alongthe fence that surroundsthe remains of the toppled structure Wednesday andspoke wistfully about the building's features: contrasting brick colours, imitation Spanish tile awning, a Romanesque arch doorway and a "beautiful keystone over the front door."

"All of these architectural features were so attractive, and they were small," he said, adding that's what made it charming and allowed it to blend in with the neighborhood.

He calledthesubstation agem in themetaphorical crown that is Regina.

"Every time you pluck a gem off the crown, one gem doesn't wreck the crown, but if you have no more gems on it your crown is looking pretty meager."

SaskPower citessafety concerns

A SaskPowerspokesperson said the Crown corporation didn't seek city heritage designation because it didn't believe the building was suitable for preservation.

"The building itself was really more of a shell that helped the substation kind of blend in with the urban environment around it," the spokesperson said.

He saidthe building was littered with hazardous materials, like asbestos and lead paint, which made it "difficult to preserve."

SaskPower is in the process ofenvironmental reclamation on the site and plans to sell the land once that is complete.

The spokesperson said SaskPower followed recommendations from Saskatchewan Heritage Branch in the demolition process. It also createda virtual model of the building

"We've visually preserved the building and we saved some select pieces of the building exterior as well: that include the keystone and some pieces from the masonry arch."

SaskPower alsosaved the cornerstone and is evaluating a selection of the four main types of bricks.

Korvemaker said these are good steps, but not enough in his mind.

"That beautiful awning made of imitation Spanish tile, you just can't get that and here it's trashed," he said.

"What a waste."

Two similar buildings to be demolished

Two similar buildings are slated for the same fate.

Preliminary work has begun on the decommissioning of the Smith Street substation, which is expected to be demolished in mid-2019. Demolition of the Market Square substation is expected to happen in late 2020.

"SaskPower will consult with the Saskatchewan Heritage Branch on this work as appropriate," the spokesperson said.

Korvemaker said he'sseen too many "fine buildings" torn down many that don't have heritage designation.

"We can't save everything, but we should at least try to preserve some of these sites," he said.

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"We're not giving anything to our future generations about the past. We're supposed to be stewards of our environment, stewards of our city, stewards of our built heritage and we're not good stewards."

Historian calls forlocal review board

Korvemaker wants the province and municipalities to create something akin to the Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office.

"Before any federal building older than 40 years is modified, sold or demolished there has to be a review process undertaken," he said.

He said this is necessary, "so we don't get caught with yet another demolition completely coming out of nowhere."

Korvemakersuggested building owners place a public sign in front of the building they plan to demolish in advance.

That could alert concerned people and lead to discussions with community experts about how and what to preserve.