York Building

Description of the Historic Place

The York building is a two-storey L-shaped building that was built in 1914. This historic building is located at 158 2nd Avenue North in the city’s downtown.

Heritage Value

The York Building is valued for its Chicago style of architecture, which was known for its major innovations in high rise construction and for the development of modern commercial building design in the early 1900s. The building was designed for stores on the ground floor and offices on the upper floor. The building features a red brick and stone façade with large plate glass display windows with recessed entry doors. The upper floor level has yellow brick pilasters and a short parapet tops the building.  Designed by architect A.J.A Lllingsworth, the York Building was built at a cost of $45,000.

In addition to its architecture, the York Building is also valued for its association with trade unions, professional offices and associations, and non-profit groups. During the building’s first decade following construction, there were numerous insurance and real estate businesses located in the York Building. The prevalence of these types of businesses, for the most part, disappeared with the onset of the Depression. Another dominant business sector located in the York building in its early years was the medical profession. Three physicians, Alex Roberts, L.H. McConnell, and Stuart Reid, as well as the dental firm of Sommerville & Salter and the Saskatoon Optical were all long-time tenants. One of the most notable features of the building’s history is that the corner storefront was often occupied by a drug store.

The building is also historically associated with trade unions and professional associations.  It has housed no less than seven organizations since it was built.  Many of these groups were long term tenants including the United Commercial Travelers & Northwest Commercial Travelers (1922-1949), the Canadian Credit Men (1950-1966), International Union of Operating Engineers (1964-1966),  the Building Service Employees International (1954-1969), Service Employees International Union (1970-1980), Communication Workers of America (1966-1969), Union of Carpenters and Joiners Local and Provincial Council of Carpenters (1951-1955), and the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (1978-1985). The 1970s saw a steep decline in the number of professional offices located in the York Building.  The professional offices were replaced, to some degree, by non-profit groups and organizations. 

The York Building is one of the many pre-World War I buildings that add to the history of downtown Saskatoon. Although its storefront has been modernized by changing the display windows and covering the original sign fascia and transoms, it does retain its original character above street level and has been a landmark on the corner of 2nd Avenue and 23rd Street for over 100 years.

Source: City of Saskatoon Built Heritage Database

Character Defining Elements

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

• Its Chicago style of architecture, evident in its red brick and stone façade, its plate glass display windows, the recessed entry doors, yellow brick pilasters and parapet; and
• Those features that represent its historical significance including its scale, form and massing and its original location on the corner of 2nd Avenue and 23rd Street East.