Sturdy Stone Building
- Regular
Description of the Historic Place
The Sturdy Stone Building is a ten-storey concrete building located on a large site in Saskatoon’s downtown at 122 3rd Avenue North. Built in 1977, the Sturdy Stone building is a prime example of Brutalist architecture.
Heritage Value
The heritage value of the Sturdy Stone Building lies in its architectural style. Brutalist architecture was popular between the 1950s and 1970s, and emphasized the aesthetic use of basic building processes, especially cast-in-place concrete, with no apparent concern for visual amenity. Designed by Forrester, Scott, Bowers, Cooper and Walls, the Sturdy Stone Building is constructed of reinforced concrete clad in Tyndall stone. In true Brutalist fashion the building is characterized by the use of rough materials, an exaggerated sense of weight in its masonry walls, a clear exhibition of structure, angular design, and geometric irregularity (Saskatchewan shaped). The large mural on the east exterior wall was designed by Randy Wodsey of Cupar and Greg Hardy of Meacham. The mural on the west exterior wall was designed by Regina artist Jack Sures. The building is named after two prominent Saskatoon citizens – John H. Sturdy and Arthur T. Stone.
John H. Sturdy was born in Goderich, Ontario in 1893, and settled in Saskatoon in 1912. He attended Normal School and started teaching in 1913. In 1915 he enlisted in the War and returned to Saskatoon in 1919. From 1923 to 1935 he was the principal of Fort Qu'Appelle School and then served as secretary of the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation in Saskatoon from 1935 to 1940. During World War II he returned overseas, this time with the Canadian Legion Educational Services and served three and a half years in Britain, returning in 1944 just one month before the provincial election. Sturdy was a successful Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) candidate and went on to represent Saskatoon in the legislature for sixteen years. He spent forty-seven years in Saskatchewan public service in several capacities.
Arthur T. Stone, a machinist born in Croydon, England in 1897, came to Saskatoon in 1920. Stone was one of the early members of the (CCF) party, joining in 1935. He represented the city of Saskatoon from 1944 to 1964 in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan as a CCF member, being only the second member of the CCF to ever do so. Stone had also been a trade unionist for more than forty years and represented his union on the Saskatoon Trades and Labor Council, serving on the executive for several years and as vice-president for four 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 Brutalist style of architecture, evident in: its form; concrete and stone construction; its angular design and irregular geometric shape; and
- Those features that represent its historical and cultural importance including its ‘Saskatchewan Shape’ and two exterior wall murals.