Next of Kin Memorial Avenue NHS at Woodlawn Cemetery

Description of the Historic Place

The Next of Kin Memorial Avenue National Historic Site of Canada is a picturesque 0.7 kilometre-long “Road of Remembrance” located in Woodlawn Cemetery in Saskatoon. The Avenue begins at a pair of stone pedestals, flanked by a wrought-iron fence, and runs northwards following the western boundary of the cemetery. It ends in a paved circle surrounding a stone memorial cairn. The asphalt-paved roadway is flanked on either side by a single row of 112 stately, mature elm trees, accompanied by bronze plaques on wrought-iron stands that dedicate each tree to a deceased soldier.

This historic place, located at 1502 2nd Avenue North, was designated as a National Historic Site in 1992. Official recognition refers to Memorial Avenue and a boundary extending 14.2 metres from its centre, including the stone cairn.  

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Next of Kin Memorial Avenue National Historic Site of Canada lies in its significance as an excellent example of the “Roads of Remembrance” phenomenon which was developed to honour those who died in WWI; and it is the only such boulevard in Canada to have retained its integrity.

Following the First World War, the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (IODE) sponsored and initiated the tradition of planting memorial trees to honour Saskatoon residents killed in the war. Memorial avenues were based on two symbol-laden images. The first was the long, straight, tree-lined roads of France; the second was, as a living memorial, trees symbolizing the victory of life over death. Initially, 265 trees were planted in single rows on either side of the avenue. Each tree was planted in individual memory of a deceased First World War soldier and was accompanied by a standardized bronze plaque bearing his name, rank and dates of birth and death. The tradition was later expanded to include tree memorials to casualties of both the Second World War and the Korean War. The cemetery now contains more than 1200 memorial trees, 112 of which are on the Next of Kin Memorial Avenue.

Source: City of Saskatoon Built Heritage Database / Canadian Register of Historic Places

Character Defining Elements

Key elements which contribute to the heritage value of this historic resource include:

• Its siting in Saskatoon’s north end, bounded by a residential neighbourhood on one side and Woodlawn Cemetery on the other;
• The 0.7 kilometre long, 10 metre wide roadway, extending through much of Woodlawn Cemetery;
• The existing characteristics of a Road of Remembrance, including a linear, evenly-spaced, tree-lined roadway, semi-rural setting, and a single species of tree;
• The pair of stone pedestals and wrought-iron fence that define the beginning of the avenue at the southern end of the cemetery;
• The mature trees on either side of the avenue with their bronze plaques on wrought-iron stands that dedicate them to individual soldiers; and
• The memorial cairn situated at the opposite end of the avenue.