Before leaving that part of the province I spent a bit of time in the town of Prince Albert.
The North Saskatchewan River runs through Prince Albert
Now a museum, the fire hall in Prince Albert was built in 1911
I'll talk more about the actual day of travel later - it was a very enjoyable day - but for now I'll jump to being in Regina. Regina is the capital city of Saskatchewan and within the Treaty 4 territories. Regina was previously the seat of government of the North-West Territories, of which the current provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta originally formed part, and the District of Assiniboia. The site was previously called Wascana ("oskana" or "Buffalo Bones" in Cree), but was renamed to Regina (Latin for "Queen") in 1882 in honour of Queen Victoria. Unlike other planned cities in the Canadian West, on its treeless flat plain, Regina has few topographical features other than the small spring run-off, called Wascana Creek.
Early planners took advantage of such opportunity by damning the creek to create a decorative lake, with the Provincial Legislative Building on one shore of Wascana Lake.
Looking across Wascana Lake to Regina's downtown
And looking across to the Provincial Legislative Building
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Academy, "Depot" Division is at the western outskirts of Regina. As capital of the North-West Territories, Regina was the headquarters of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police (the RCMP's predecessor). To this day, "Depot" has been providing police training to all RCMP cadets since its establishment in 1885.
Parade Square
The oldest remaining building in Regina is the RCMP chapel, dating from the earliest establishment of the North-West Mounted Police as a guardhouse in 1883. It subsequently served as a mess hall and canteen and became a chapel in 1895. It was constructed in Ontario and moved by flatcar, steamer and ox team to Regina.
On each side of the altar is a stained glass memorial window, each portrays a member of the force. On the left is a constable in mourning; on the right is a trumpeter sounding reveille.
Space was allocated on the north side of 'Depot' Division for a cemetery. Over the years, hundreds of deceased members and family members have been buried in the cemetery. The new main entrance to the cemetery (built in 2012) consists of two pillars mounted on either side and these are connected by a prominent arch on which the various crests of the Force are depicted. Historical custom holds that a Memorial Service is held for the deceased member in the Chapel. After Chapel, the funeral cortege marches slowly around the Parade Square for the final time. The procession then takes a route past the stables to the Depot cemetery. Here the procession meets an RCMP sentry standing at attention at the main entrance. At graveside, no matter the rank, - a final salute is given.
Coming from the 'big city', I have to admit that downtown Regina was a bit quiet on a Sunday afternoon, especially the Sunday afternoon of a holiday long weekend, but then again it made it quite easy to take some photos without a lot of people, or traffic, being in the way. And given that Regina's population is only about 220,000, it's perfectly okay for the city to have some quiet times.
Some interesting public art in the downtown area
This sculpture is called "oskana" to honour the Cree language, to commemorate the history of the land, and to honour the First Nations People of the province. Oskana is the Cree name for the site known as Regina. An approximate translation is "bones that are piled together". There are many different stories about how the site got its name, and the origin of the bones referred to. Depending on the explanation, the name can refer to the bones of First Nations People, the bones of the Buffalo Nation, or in a more figurative sense, the bones of the land itself.
The Prince Edward Building is the official name of the historic post office building in Regina. Construction of the post office took place in 1906/07 and the distinctive bell tower was added in 1912. The building functioned as the post office from 1907 until 1956, then it was Regina's City Hall until 1976 and now it houses a theatre, small shops and a restaurant.
Looking down Scarth Street Mall - a pedestrian mall.
St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral is an historic church in Regina. Built as a parish church in 1894, its status was eventually raised to that of cathedral in 1973.
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