Saskatoon city hall gets a new building in 1956

Every Thursday, we feature an image from the StarPhoenix archives , curated by the City of Saskatoon Archives. Today, we see the new, modern city hall building next to the old building before it was torn down, from April 17, 1956. A StarPhoenix photographer climbed about 65 feet up the fire department’s 100-foot aerial ladder to get the shot.

( City of Saskatoon Archives StarPhoenix Collection S-SP-B132-3) From the StarPhoenix archives: June 23 has been settled upon as the date for the official opening of Saskatoon’s new $1,000,000 city hall, Mrs. Lily Bowman, chairman of the hall opening committee, announced today. The Hon.



L.F. McIntosh, provincial minister of municipal affairs, is being invited to be principal speaker at the opening ceremonies.

Details of a parade and other opening ceremonies are being worked out. The ceremony will begin at 2 o’clock. It is hoped that the mayors of all Saskatchewan cities will be present, as well as mayors, reeves and heads of towns, villages and other municipalities surrounding Saskatoon.

NEARING COMPLETION The hall is rapidly nearing completion, with the upper floors almost finished except for cleaning up and moving in furniture. Moving date is still subject to change, but the weekend of May 12 is presently in mind. The main differences between the 60,000-square-foot new hall and the converted school house which has served as a city hall for more than 40 years will be the soundness, color and space of the new building.

It is laid out in three floors which extend throughout the three wings, designated as ground, main and first floors. The west and central wings also have second floors, and the centre wing has a third floor. The front entrance will lead to the main floor, which will accommodate precisely the same departments as are presently housed in the main floor of the old building.

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Every floor has numerous storage spaces, vaults, double washrooms and splendid lighting facilities. Only the west wing has air conditioning. The other wings have air handling facilities to provide ventilation.

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All details for the opening of the new building are being handled by Mrs. Bowman’s committee, including Ald. Bill Gray, Ald.

Bert Sears, Mayor John McAskill and City Commissioner Harold Balfour, and Carl McLeod, personnel director. Throwback Thursday is a weekly StarPhoenix series where we revisit photos from Saskatoon’s past. Check out our entire collection here .

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