Mackenzie House

Description of Historic Place

Built in 1914, the Mackenzie House features a one-and-a-half storey dwelling in the neighbourhood of City Park.  

This historic place, located at 802 8th Avenue North, was designated as a Municipal Heritage Property in 2017.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Mackenzie House resides in its association with John Mackenzie. Mackenzie co-founded Mackenzie & Thayer Ltd. - a coal and building supply firm – in 1910. Some of the materials the company provided included brick, roofing, tile, plaster and pipe, and as result contributed immensely to the City’s earliest construction boom. They were also the exclusive Saskatoon supplier for the Dominion Fire Brick & Clay Products of Moose Jaw whose factory was located in Claybank, Saskatchewan. 

The Mackenzie House is also valued for its relationship with its neighbouring property at 806 8th Avenue North. Mackenzie and his partner (Reginald Montague “Monty” Thayer) lived side by side at the Sunnyside Terrace on Duke Street in 1913. They continued to be neighbours on 8th Avenue North from 1915 - 1917. MacKenzie lived at 802 8th Avenue North from 1915 - 1920 while Thayer lived at 806 8th Avenue North from 1915- 1917. Because both houses were constructed in the same year, and are of similar form and style, it is assumed that Mackenzie and Thayer purposely built these two identical homes.

The Mackenzie House is designed in an American Bungalow style and features solid dark red/brown brick construction with a hipped roof. The Mackenzie House continues to retain many of its original features, including its original windows, hipped dormer, clinker brick chimney, open porch and fieldstone retaining wall along the front and side of the property. 

Source:  City of Saskatoon Built Heritage Database

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that contribute to the heritage value of this historic place include:

• Its American Bungalow style with its brick façade and hipped roof;
• Its original features such as its windows, dormers, chimney and porch; and
• The original fieldstone retaining wall.