Drinkle Building (1913)

115 3rd Avenue South

The Drinkle Building was designed by Thompson & Crockart and was constructed in 1913 for J.C. Drinkle. Drinkle moved to Saskatoon at 25 years of age in 1903, with less than $500 to his name. At this time Saskatoon was a dirt street town with a population of less than 500 people. Only ten years later Saskatoon was booming with a population of 28,000 and J.C. Drinkle had become a multi-millionaire.

The Drinkle Building, which has been known as Regent Plaza since 1976, was originally planned to be a ten-storey office tower with a grand cornice, marble corridors and a rooftop garden. As the money supply tightened in 1913, construction of the Drinkle Building was stopped halfway resulting in the five-storey building that stands on 3rd Avenue today. In 1917, J.C. Drinkle was bankrupted and the building remained empty for the first six years following its completion.

The building was never used for offices and was instead converted for residential use in 1919. Over the years the Drinkle Building has been home to many Saskatoon families and businesses.

A 72 foot tall mural, “Founders,” has been added to the outside wall of the building depicting the portraits of seven of Saskatoon’s founders. A sundeck on the roof of the building provides panoramic views of the city.

Drinkle Building website >>

Site Information:

Public Washrooms Street Parking (Meters)

* Visitors to the Downstairs Mall will receive a guided tour of a photo exhibit sponsored by Heritage Canada entitled “J.C. Drinkle: Boom to Bust”

Delta Bessborough Hotel (1912)

601 Spadina Crescent East

The Delta Bessborough is Saskatoon's landmark building, affectionately known as the Castle on the River. Designed by Archibald-Schofield of Montreal, with warm brick from Claybank in Southern Saskatchewan, this ten-story hotel is located in the heart of downtown Saskatoon.

The hotel was designed in the Chateau-style and built by the Canadian National Railway from 1928 to 1932. The Bessborough Hotel officially opened on December 10, 1935, with 1,000 people at the opening dance.

It was the last of the grand railway hotels built in Canada. Such a hotel is a kind of world on its own, with wonderful exterior and interior features. Original features include plaster relief art in the Battleford Ballroom and recovered chandelier medallions in the William Pascoe Foyer. The exterior boasts a copper roof along with Tyndall stone heraldic emblems, gargoyles and grotesques.

Each Prime Minister and Governor General to visit Saskatoon since 1935 have stayed at the Delta Bessborough Hotel.

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Disabled Access Public Washrooms Restaurant Available Metered Parking

HMCS Unicorn (1943)

405 24th Street East

Established in 1923 as the Saskatoon Half-Company, Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Unicorn has been a cornerstone of Saskatoon for nearly a century. HMCS Unicorn was the initial recruiting and training depot for 3500 prairie sailors who joined the Navy during the Second World War. The ship moved to its fourth and present location across from city hall in 1943. The building features a Prairie Sailor monument, a crest bearing a unicorn with wings, and two UN flags that flew during the Korean conflict and World War II. HMCS Unicorn has played an active part in the life of Saskatoon over the years, and remains home to a proud heritage and more than 80 sailors that contribute to Canada's defence at home and abroad.

Site Information:

Disabled Access Public Washrooms Guided Tours