REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN

HISTORY

In the beginning , the people of Regina had many hardships. Long, cold winters, hot summers, lots of mosquitoes, flooding of Wascana Creek and prairie fires are just a few of the things they had to deal with.

old train


1882 was a very eventful year for the site called Pile O' Bones.
    - the first train arrived
    - site renamed Regina
    - N.W.M.P. headquarters moved to Regina
    - first wooden shack was built
    - post office and bank opened
    - a church was built
church
  • 1883 - Regina became a town; school and newpaper office (Leader) opened; St. Paul's Church built; Court House opened in a downtown building; a well was dug; school was set up in a private home
  • 1884 - a fair was held; first public school established
  • 1885 - North West Rebellion & trial of Louis Riel; Knox Presbyterian Church built
  • 1886 - Town Hall built (also used as a school, fire hall, jail)
  • 1887 - Telephone service arrived
  • 1889 - school built (Hamilton and 11th); hospital set up in a home
  • 1890 - first electric lights
  • 1892 - police officer hired
  • 1894 - larger Court House built
  • 1895 - Anglican Church opened (St.Paul's); first Territorial Exhibition was held
  • 1898 - Government House and Cottage Hospital opened (Hamilton and 13th)
  • 1899 - first Roman Catholic Separate School is established
  • 1901 - Victoria Hospital built

    frontier town

  • 1903 - Regina had 3000 people, became a city
  • 1905 - Regina became the capital city of the Province of Saskatchewan.
  • 1906 - A street is paved, concrete sidewalks; Knox Church built (Lorne & 12th);
    CNR (railway) arrived in Regina; first movie was shown in a tent
  • 1907 - Fire Station built on Hamilton Street; General Hospital opened (100 beds)
  • 1908 - Began construction of the Legislative Building; City Hall opened (Rose and Hamilton St.)
  • 1909 - A high school (Regina Collegiate Institute) built; library opened; curling rink made with nine sheets of ice; Post Office completed on Scarth and 11th Ave. (photo)
  • 1910 - Grey Nuns Hospital built; first department store; Regina Theatre built with over 800 seats
  • 1911 - Four streetcars were in use; Fire Hall #2 opened (Scarth St. & 8th Ave.); Regina College established as a residential high school

    streetcar

  • 1912 - Legislative Building (photo) officially opened; Union Station (railroad) opened; cyclone (tornado) hit Regina
  • 1913 - Sherwood Dept. Store opened; Holy Rosary Cathedral finished
  • 1914 - Fire Hall #3 (Robinson & 14th) and Fire Hall #4 (Winnipeg and Victoria) opened
  • 1916 - Oil refinery built
  • 1918 - Flu epidemic swept the city (350 died)
  • 1920 - Airport built
  • 1921 - Central Fire Hall opened (1600 block 11th Ave.); Capital Theatre built
  • 1922 - CKCK Radio broadcasted; Wascana flooded - 75 homes underwater.
  • 1927 - Hotel Saskatchewan built
  • 1928 - General Motors Assembly Plant opened
  • 1929 - Darke Hall (performing arts centre) opened
  • 1935 - Regina Riot
  • 1930 - Albert Street Memorial Bridge built (photo)
  • 1939 - King George and Queen Elizabeth visited
  • 1947 - First trolleys - electrical cars with rubber tires
  • 1950 - Oil pipeline reached Regina; Queen City drive-in theatre opened with speakers for 500 cars
  • 1954 - CKCK TV station broadcasted (first tv station in western Canada)
  • 1955 - Museum opened (photo); first diesel buses
  • 1956 - Prairie Pipe Manufacturing Co. opened a steel pipe plant
  • 1959 - Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited
  • 1961 - present-day Court House officially opened
  • 1962 - IPSCO steel mill opened
  • 1963 - laying of cornerstone for the University, Regina Campus
  • 1965 - Northgate Mall Shopping Centre opened
  • 1970 - Centre of the Arts opened
  • 1971 - first Canadian Western Agribition was held
  • 1973 - Plains Hospital opened; Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited
  • 1975 - Southland Mall opened
  • 1976 - Regina had a new city hall (photo); Saskatchewan Indian Federated College established (SIFC became First Nations University of Canada in 2003)
  • 1977 - Agridome opened on the Exhibition Grounds
  • 1978 - Western Canada Farm Progress Show began
  • 1979 - Candy Cane Park built
  • 1983 - Construction of Tower 1 (McCallum Hill Centre) , 22 storey building with reflective glass
  • 1986 - Co-op Upgrader began operation
  • 1989 - Saskatchewan Science Centre opened
  • 1992 - Tower 2 built next to Tower 1; now called Twin Towers
  • 2002 - Canada Saskatchewan Production Studios is constructed.
  • 2003 - Regina turned 100 years old; hosted the CFL Grey Cup game;
  • 2004 - Corner Gas first epsidode aired in January; project to deepen Wascana Lake
  • 2005 - Jeux de Canada Summer Games hosted by U. of Regina; Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip helped celebrate the Saskatchewan Centennial
  • 2007 - RCMP Heritage Centre opened
  • 2008 - New Bus Depot opened downtown
  • 2011 - Regina Transit 100th anniversary
  • 2012 - Legislative Building 100th anniversary



Learn about Regina pdf





REGINA: ATTRACTIONS ** IMAGES ** HISTORY ** TRIVIA
GOVERNMENT & SERVICES ** WELCOME ** RCMP



SASKATCHEWAN INDEX



J.Giannetta
2003 (updated January 2017)
Web Pages for Students


SOURCES: Regina the early years 1880 to 1950 - http://scaa.usask.ca/gallery/regina/index.html
Regina Public Library - Prairie History Collection http://www.rpl.regina.sk.ca/prairiehistory/highlights_buildings.html