This area has many great historic buildings. From this cache site two well known heritage properties are in view: the Arrand Block & the Farnam Block. Cache contains only a log so please bring your own pen. Please be careful of muggles. Please rehide the cache as we have hidden it.
Arrand Block
A Municipal Heritage Property comprised of two city lots on 11th
Street East in the Broadway district of Saskatoon. The property features a three-storey, Classically-inspired, brick apartment building, which was constructed in 1912, and a non-contributing small garage on the rear of the lot.n excellent example of a luxurious, neo-Classical, mid-rise apartment building constructed for a specific clientele. Built by the prominent James and Walter T. Arrand Contractors' Company during the city's 1910-1912 building boom, the Arrand Block is unique in Saskatoon and its elegance reflects the fact that the Arrand cousins intended to reside in the building themselves. The structure's neo-Classical columns, which support ornate balconies, accentuate the unique design of the building, which was divided into three large, two-storey apartments with three suites on the top floor. The apartments originally had both front and back verandas, and although the back verandas were enclosed in 1926 to make sun rooms, the original form and character of the building have been maintained. The upper-suite skylights, luxurious for their time, remain in place today, as does the circular iron fire escape, which is nestled between the back verandas. The decorative entablature sits prominently atop the concrete columns and highlights the unique design of the building. Retaining much of its original character, the Arrand Block remains one of the few "boomtime" apartment buildings from an era when many commercial and residential structures began to dominate Saskatoon's major streetscapes. Heritage value also lies in the building's association with the Arrand family and their prominence as contractors and well-known concrete specialists in Saskatoon. As owners of one of Saskatoon's major construction companies, the Arrand cousins were contractors for several prominent structures in the city, including the Broadway Bridge, the University Memorial Gates, the Saskatoon School for the Deaf, and the Capitol Theatre.
Farnam Block
Real estate speculator Arlington Ingalls Farnam built the Farnam
block in 1912, hoping to cash in on the boom the city was experiencing. He employed the newly formed Anglo/American architectural firm of Bugenhagen and Turnbull. Farnam hedged his bets by devoting the lower floors of his building to commercial uses, and the upper floors to residential. Many of the buildings dating from the pre-First World War boom period, both on Broadway and in the downtown area, feature the same mix of residential above the commercial below. The Farnam Block's boutique area below the street level is, however, unique in the city. Rumour has it that Farnam had wanted it to be a hotel, but was blocked by the Temperance movement. The Farnam Block is a key architectural feature on Broadway. Its significance is recognized by plaque adjacent to the doorway.
The building, home to Farnam for two years, has always seen a mix of commercial and residential use, and was a favourite of dressmakers and tailors. Tenants of the basement business area, unique in Saskatoon, have included the Nutana Catholic Church (1917-19) and John Gibson's photographic studio (1926-57). Today, the entire building is home to Lydia's pub and restaurant.
