Remai Ventures prepares historic Legion Building in Saskatoon for destruction; callous developer apparently has no immediate plans for the site

On Friday, March 23, 2007, the exterior of the historic Royal Canadian Legion, Branch #63 building in downtown Saskatoon was being readied for demolition. Workers removed the Legion coat of arms plaque, the 1929 cornerstone and the two small maple leaf emblems situated on either end of the building.

The owner of property, Remai Ventures Inc., said earlier this month that it planned to demolish the building even though its plans for a luxury spa hotel were cancelled and there were no immediate plans for the legion site. In December 2005, Mayor Don Atchison ridiculously described Remai as "good corporate citizens".

The legion building was built in 1929 by local veterans of the First World War. The architect was David Webster a prominent Saskatoon citizen. Atchison says "the legion property has nothing to do with the city of Saskatoon."

The Saskatoon Heritage Society has advocated to save the building. The Saskatchewan Architectural Heritage Society (SAHS) sees the demise of the Legion building as another prime example of big development showing little or no consideration for built heritage.

In February 2007, the Legion building was placed on the Heritage Canada Foundation's Top Ten list of endangered places in Canada.

(Photos by Joe Kuchta)