Our City: How Downtown Regina’s Oldest Building Became a Cathedral
St. Paul’s Cathedral is nestled in Regina’s downtown, on the corner of McIntyre Street and 12th Avenue. It is the oldest place of worship in Regina, as well as the oldest building downtown.
St. Pauls Cathedral in 2024. Taken from Albert Street and 12th Avenue, downtown Regina.
Image source: Jessie Stueck
The first sermon delivered to St. Paul’s Anglican congregation took place in a tent in 1882. A physical church soon followed, completed in early 1883. This first church was quite modest, though it did have a striking Norman-style bell tower. After 11 years, the congregation felt a need for a more permanent church, and laid the first cornerstone for their new building in 1894. This original portion of the church, which is still in use today, hosted its first congregation in 1895. It was designed in the Gothic Revival style by Winnipeg architect Frank Peters.
St. Paul’s in 1895. The old rectory can be seen in the left of the image.
Image source: https://reginadowntown.ca/downtown-regina-cultural-trailway/
St. Paul’s during the construction 2012-2013. The cathedral has a field stone foundation and yellow Pilot Butte brick walls, as can be seen here.
Image source: https://www.stpaulsregina.ca/galleries/building-in-faith
In 1905, the church was enlarged with the addition of a chancel and transepts, designed by William Reilly (City of Regina), and in 1911 a parish hall was built. After World War Two, a memorial chapel was added. In the fifties, the old rectory was torn down and a new parish hall was constructed. The church underwent interior renovations in the eighties, and most recently updated their hall and did some restoration in 2012-2013.
St. Paul’s was never intended to be a cathedral. It was originally constructed as a parish church, which it was, until 1944 when it was given the designation of pro-cathedral. This meant that the church would act as a cathedral until a more intentional cathedral could be built, and the Anglican diocese certainly intended to build one. Over thirty years before St. Paul’s pro-cathedral designation, the diocese had begun acquiring land and erecting buildings on the corner of College Avenue and Broad Street. Unfortunately, impacts of the Great Depression and both World Wars made this project unattainable and the intended cathedral was never built. St. Paul’s remained pro-cathedral for over 28 years, acting as a cathedral but without the formal designation. There was a brief resurgence in the idea of building a new cathedral on the diocese land in the fifties, but it didn't gain enough traction. St. Paul’s finally and formally achieved the status of cathedral in 1973, and was designated as a Municipal Heritage Property in 1982.
Traces of the never to be built Anglican cathedral can still be found on the former diocese land at College and Broad. In 1913, the provincial government commissioned prominent English landscape architects, Thomas Mawson and Sons, to create plans for the legislative grounds and surrounding areas, including the Anglican diocese land. Much like the cathedral itself, Mawson’s plans for Regina were never fully realized. Mawson’s vision for the diocese land included a diagonal vista from the corner of College and Broad towards the cathedral. Hedges following this sightline are present on the site today. Though the cathedral was never built, there are several beautiful brick buildings built by the diocese on the site that reflect the Collegiate Gothic style of architecture.
From left: Mawson’s plan for the diocese land, a 1951 aerial photo of the site, a current google maps screenshot.
Comparing Mawson’s plans for the diocese land with historical and present day land use, the impacts of the Mawson plan through history are quite apparent.
Image sources from left: Regina Virtual Archives, https://opengis.regina.ca/arcgis/rest/services/Imagery/Airphoto_Regina_1951_20cm/ImageServer,
Google Maps
Canada’s Historic Places. Diocese of Qu’Appelle.
https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=1312
Canada’s Historic Places. St. Pauls.
https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=5823
Chabun, W. What if… September 13, 2003 (page 65 of 78). (2003/09/13/, 2003 Sep 13). The Leader Post (1930-) Retrieved from https://login.libproxy.uregina.ca:8443/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/september-13-2003-page-65-78/docview/2218968798/se-2
City of Regina. Points of Interest Related to the Regina Tornado of 1912. Downtown Regina: Historic Map Guide. https://www.regina.ca/export/sites/Regina.ca/about-regina/regina-history-facts/.galleries/pdfs/Cyclone-Tour.pdf
CTV News. St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral demolishes hall. November 25, 2012.
https://regina.ctvnews.ca/st-paul-s-anglican-cathedral-demolishes-hall-1.1053317
St. Paul’s to become cathedral. January 20, 1973 (page 42 of 44). (1973/01/20/, 1973 Jan 20). The Leader Post (1930-) Retrieved from https://login.libproxy.uregina.ca:8443/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/january-20-1973-page-42-44/docview/2217716612/se-2