Hudson's Bay Company Store

The Hudson's Bay Company Store is a Provincial Heritage Property occupying one commercial lot in the central business district of Fort Qu'Appelle. The property features a 2-storey brick and stone building and attached 1-storey annex that were constructed in 1897.

The heritage value of the Hudson's Bay Company Store lies in its status as the oldest surviving retail store building of the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada. Designed by Archibald MacDonald, the last Chief Factor in the service of the Company, the building represents the transition of the Hudson's Bay Company from a fur trading operation to a retail merchandising business. To distance itself from the its fur trade image, the Company constructed this stone 2-storey building with one-storey annex and faced it with an uncommonly ornate brick façade. Once touted as "The finest store west of Winnipeg", the 1897 store, located on the town's main street, was a dramatic change from the small, wooden building located on the edge of town. Notable on the façade were two prominent signs advertising the Hudson's Bay Company. The refined image was perpetuated inside with a modern retail area covered by an elaborate pressed tin ceiling.

Source:

Province of Saskatchewan, Notice of Intention to Designate as Provincial Heritage Property under The Heritage Property Act, August 23, 1983.

Province of Saskatchewan, Order to Designate as Provincial Heritage Property under The Heritage Property Act, November 8, 1983.

The heritage value of the Hudson's Bay Company Store resides in the following character-defining elements:

-those elements which reflect the building's use as a Hudson's Bay Company Store, including signage and fixtures;

-elements that reflect the substantial and refined nature of the store, including its form and massing, stone construction and decorative brick façade, crenellation along the roofline, recessed entry ways, large plate glass windows and the pressed tin ceilings.