The old Saskatchewan Hospital will likely be demolished in the spring of 2020 but efforts to preserve the facade and history of the building remain ongoing. (Tyler Marr/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Tyler Marr

PRESERVING HISTORY

Committee continues work to preserve parts, history of old Saskatchewan Hospital

Sep 9, 2019 | 1:13 PM

Even with a soft timeline set to bring down the old Saskatchewan Hospital, efforts to preserve parts of and the history of the facility remain active.

The Ministry of Central Services confirmed last week the building will likely be demolished in the spring of 2020 as it did not receive any response from its request for proposals (RFP) to purchase and redevelop the site.

The province plans to save the chapel — which was hand-built by a stonemason who was a resident at the hospital — Veterans’ Park, and three cemeteries for their historical and cultural value.

Beyond this, Jane Shury, chair of the Save The Saskatchewan Hospital committee with the Battlefords North-West Historical Society, said ongoing talks for nearly two years with the province continue to preserve more of the building. She admits saving the entire facility is absurd as it would involve a slew of individuals and ample dollars to carry it out.

“We have come up with a project and presented it to the government and they certainly are in agreement to the what our plans present,” she said.

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While Shury did not want to elaborate on anything until a firm decision is made, plans proposed in 2018 included salvaging the facade and incorporating it into a walking path that would recognize the history and progress of mental health care offered at the facility over the last century.

Shury said plans are in the works to continue to meet with the appropriate provincial bodies to pursue the plan further when appropriate.

The smokestack at the old Saskatchewan Hospital has become an iconic landmark in the area over the past century. (Tyler Marr/battlefordsNOW Staff)

The hospital opened in 1913 and Shury said it played a pivotal role in recruiting and training psychiatric nurses, who were desperately needed at the time and continue to be.

“What the hospital did over all these decades is lay a great foundation for the treatment that now exists and the new hospital in terms of helping people with mental illness,” she said.

The building and its records, she said, help convey the great strides made in mental health treatment.

Shury said it will be a sad day to see the behemoth brick building come down as it has become an iconic landmark in the Battlefords, specifically the facade and smokestack. She said many people still live in the community who either worked in the hospital or had parents, grandparents or knew someone who was employed at the facility.

“It will be terrible to see it torn down, but in the name of progress, we don’t have much choice unless someone wins the lottery,” she said with a laugh. “It is just not feasible to save it all.”

Shury said once a formal plan to salvage aspects of the hospital is in place, it will be made public.

“As soon as we get confirmation, [the community] will see what I am talking about and how they can help,” she said.

A banner hangs over the entrance to the hospital to mark 100 years of mental health care. (Tyler Marr/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Central services plans to issue a new RFP this fall for those who may want to acquire some of the buildings and remove them.

“Whatever buildings remain, we will go to the market looking for a construction company that would demolish those buildings for us and clean up the site,” Property Management Division Assistant Deputy Minister Nancy Cherney previously told battlefordsNOW.

“We need to take care of that site. It is surplus to the government’s needs. It’s been a historic kind of landmark for folks and we appreciate that, but it is time to take care of it in the sense of cleaning up that property.”

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tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr