Albert Memorial Bridge
Municipality/Province: Regina, SK
Memorial number: 47013-073
Type: Albert Memorial Bridge
Address: Albert Street
GPS coordinates: Lat: 50.4373793 Long: -104.6182021
The Albert Memorial Bridge was Saskatchewan’s first war memorial erected on behalf of the public. It was constructed in 1930 as a make-work project at the start of the Depression, and many of the 1,302 men who built it were unemployed Veterans of the First World War. The bridge cost $250,000 to build at nearly two and a half times over budget. The memorial is dedicated to Saskatchewan’s fallen soldiers of the First World War.
The 850 feet long and 74 feet wide bridge spans Wascana Creek and was designed by James Henry Puntin of Puntin, O'Leary & Coxall. The Art Deco-influenced architectural style elements include the obelisk-like entry towers adorned with portraits of Queen Victoria, lamp posts adorned with images of bison heads, and terra cotta balusters decorated with lotus flowers and papyrus plants. The bridge, is noted for its Egyptian ornamentation, lamp standards and glazed terra-cotta balusters and buffalo heads.
The Albert Memorial Bridge was dedicated on November 10, 1930, and re-dedicated on October 2, 1988, after a $1.4 million restoration. Thanks to powerful lobbying of Albert Memorial Bridge Vigilantes, City council hired Structural' Division of Reid Crowther & Partners Ltd. Manager D. L. Harrison, P. Eng, found ways to reinforce the structure while restoring the bridge's artistic components to their original splendor. The recesses in the pylons remain empty today.
Inscription found on memorial
Albert Memorial Bridge
The Honourable James F. Bryant, then provincial Minister of Works and the person largely responsible for the bridge’s construction, intended for the government or some organization to raise funds for commemorative plaques inscribed with the names of the province’s war dead. Once struck, the bronze tablets were to be installed on the inner face of the large pylons located at each end of the structure. Yet this never happened.
Street view
Note
This information is provided by contributors and Veterans Affairs Canada makes it available as a service to the public. Veterans Affairs Canada is not responsible for the accuracy, currency or reliability of the information.
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