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.
