Fire Hall (B-3)

The Firehall (B3) at Wasagaming townsite is a log building with widely flared ends and a distinctive roof. It features a tower clad with logs that taper slightly to the base of a half-timbered cupola-like structure with a bellcast roof. It has a single vehicle entrance on its front façade. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

The Firehall (B3) is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental value.

Historical Value

The Firehall (B3) is associated with Depression Relief funding and labour programs in the National Park system. The extensive building program equipped the park with new administrative, operational and recreational structures. This addressed the shift in transportation to the park from train to automobile, resulting in increased park attendance. As the largest recipient of this funding, Riding Mountain National Park was the centre with the greatest building activity between 1931 and 1937.

Architectural Value

The Firehall (B3) is a very good example of the multi-functional firehalls built within townsites located in Western Canada’s larger national parks during the 1920s and 1930s. Its value lies primarily in its rustic design elements and their picturesque arrangement. It exhibits excellent quality craftsmanship in its log construction.

The Environmental Value

The Firehall (B3), located in an area that was set aside for various park maintenance facilities, reinforces the rustic character of the Wasagaming townsite at Riding Mountain National Park and is well known in the community.

Sources: G. Edward Mills, Buildings in Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba, Federal Heritage Building Review Office Building Report, 85-43/54; Fire Hall, Riding Mountain National Park, Wasagaming, Manitoba, Heritage Character Statement, 85-43/54.

The following character-defining elements of the Firehall (B3) should be respected.

Its multi-functional design with a rustic aesthetic and excellent quality craftsmanship, for

example:

- the massing of the building and the distinctive roof treatment;

- the log construction with widely flared log ends;

- the tapered tower clad in split logs, supporting a half-timbered cupola-like structure

with bellcast pyramidal roof;

- the timber ‘crib’ containing the garage and the curved hipped-roof, supported by regularly

spaced log brackets.

The manner in which the Firehall (B3) reinforces the rustic character at Wasagaming townsite and is well-known in the community as evidenced by:

- its overall scale, rustic aesthetic and materials which harmonizes with the natural setting of the townsite in Riding Mountain National Park of Canada;

- the high visibility of its prominent tower and its recognition in the community as a fire hall.