St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church and Rectory

Description of the Historic Place

St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church and Rectory is a large two and-a-half storey brick church located on the corner of Broadway Avenue and 8th Street in the neighbourhood of Nutana. Built in 1928, the church is a prominent example in the City of a building designed in the Romanesque Revival architectural style.

This historic place, located at 535 8th Street East, is listed under Bylaw No. 6770 (Holding Bylaw). This Bylaw provides short-term protection of the building from demolition by providing for a 60 day holding period in the event a demolition permit is received. Within that 60 day period heritage designation is considered by City Council.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church and Rectory lies in its architecture. The church was designed in the Romanesque Revival style, which is often characterized by thick walls, round arches, sturdy piers and large towers. The church features variegated red and brown brick with terracotta accents. The architectural plans for the church, school and rectory were prepared by Saskatoon architect Gentil Verbeke, and was constructed at a cost of $85,000.

Built in a cruciform plan, St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church and Rectory has many striking architectural features including paired towers with octagonal domes. The left tower is taller, and was intended as a bell tower (although bells were never installed). The building also features open arcades that frame an arched entrance complete with Gothic columns and decorative capitals, and a large rose-window. The thickness of the walls, built to withstand the load and thrust of the vaults, adds strength to the design. The interior of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church and Rectory is distinguished for its symmetry of design - columns, painted mouldings, restrained stained-glass windows and the use of oak throughout (choir loft, pews, lower wall paneling). 

The heritage value of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church and Rectory also resides in its value as a religious and cultural landmark in Saskatoon. The Temperance Colonization settlers had formed a fairly homogeneous Protestant base for Saskatoon, but in 1904 the small St. Paul's Parish was formed. In 1920, St. Mary's Church on 20th Street West was constructed to meet the growing needs of Saskatoon's Catholic population. A Roman Catholic Mission in the Nutana area had been formed in 1917 and the first Holy Mass was celebrated in the basement of the Sommerfeld Block.  Services continued to be held there before moving to the Farnam and Doerr Blocks in 1919.  In 1920, an old boarding house was moved to the corner of Main Street and Eastlake Avenue and renovated into a chapel and school.  It served the Nutana Roman Catholic population for seven years, until the new church, St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, could be completed. The construction of the church in 1928 marked the establishment of a permanent place of worship for the Nutana Roman Catholic community and the formation of a third parish for Saskatoon, the only one on the east side of Saskatoon at the time.

Source: City of Saskatoon Built Heritage Database

Character Defining Elements

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

• Its Romanesque Revival style of architecture, evident in: its cruciform plan; red and brown brick façade with terracotta accents; its paired towers with octagonal domes; open arcades that frame the arched principal entrance with Gothic columns, decorative capitals and lintels; its hipped roof with a shallow gable parapet roofline; cornice with modillions; arched windows; rose windows; and apse;
• Those elements that reflect its historical importance in Saskatoon’s Roman Catholic community and its cultural importance as a church, including the crosses topping the octagonal domes, alter and the stained glass windows; and,
• Those elements that speak to its status as a neighbourhood landmark, including its orientation on its original lot and prominent location along the corner of Broadway Avenue and 8th Street.