Former Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford demolition now planned for fall

“We are going out for a request for proposals shortly to seek someone to do the demolition work,” Cherney said.

The contractor will need to complete various preparatory work, including determining where to take the recyclable materials when the structures are dismantled.

The original century-old psychiatric hospital serving Saskatchewan and the surrounding communities was closed after the new replacement hospital was opened in 2019.

Several buildings on the property will be demolished. Cherney expects the main building that housed the former hospital will be one of the last structures to come down.

“It will take several months for all of the buildings to be dealt with, and the contractor will determine the sequence,” she said.

Chapel preserved

The province still plans to save the historic stone chapel, hand-built by a stonemason resident at the hospital; the Veterans’ Park; and three cemeteries.

Cherney said the province had discussions with the Battlefords North West Historical Society about preserving some pieces of the old hospital, such as a cornerstone or some brickwork from the main building.

“We’ll continue to work with them and determine what makes most sense to retain,” she said. “But it won’t be the entire facade or a large portion. It will be some representative samples there that are of interest to them. We’ll work that out over the next little while.”

The actual building facade could not be retained, Cherney said. It would be too costly and difficult to attempt to remove the main entrance section for preservation.

Central Services has been working with the province’s Heritage Conservation Branch to discuss what features of the old facility are most noteworthy. This will help determine samples worth preserving.

The province used a drone service to take photos of the entire complex and grounds to keep as a record for the future, reflecting how the site once appeared.

“We have also done some interesting three-D [dimensional] technology based walk-through footage of the interior of some of the buildings, certainly the main building,” Cherney said. “Those things together will help capture the essence and the sense of this place and space going forward.”

She mentioned the Battlefords North West Historical Society had been looking at the potential of having walking trails and interpretive signage that would document some of the history of the site for the future as well.

“It’s an interesting time to be working on the demolition of that facility,” Cherney said. “It’s been there obviously for 107 or 108 years now, so it will be challenging to restore the area to something more natural, and retain some of those elements for the reference library going forward.”

She said the drone footage, 3D technology, and some of the physical elements of the site will still exist after the old hospital is gone.

“We want to make sure that history is preserved in whatever way is appropriate, while we restore the site to something more natural, and keep it safe as well,” Cherney said.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW

by Angela Brown

Former Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford demolition now planned for fall

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