INSIDE
4
HOME FRONT
A Greeting from the Publisher
7
FOOD FOREST
Vegetables, Herbs, Fruit and Flowers in Harmony
~ Photo Jessica Robinson
15
TIMELESS TRANSFORMATION
Old World Charm Meets Contemporary Elegance
~ Photo Garrett Kendel
27 FROM HOUSE TO HOMESTEAD
Planning Spaces for Conversation and Connection
TIMELESS TRANSFORMATION PAGE 15
Chantelle and Kyle's Nutana home is “unassuming” from the front. But like a magical Harry Potter tent, it opens up to a surprising and stunning new space inside.
~ Photo Garrett Kendel
35
HOMETOWN REFLECTIONS
The Tunnels of Saskatoon
~ Photo: The Cavern Club, Third Avenue, 1940s. Local History Room - Saskatoon Public Library - B 354
43
MAUREEN’S KITCHEN
Memories of Cinnamon Raisin Biscuit Pinwheels
~ Photo Maureen Haddock
HOME FRONT
Spring is here and with it comes a sense of renewal and fresh possibilities. At Saskatoon HOME, we’re celebrating the season by diving into inspiring stories that highlight the beauty, character, and ingenuity of homes in our city.
Great rooms, living rooms, rec rooms and man caves have gained a lot of traction in recent years. But anyone who has attended a hockey parents’ party or any family gathering will recognize the kitchen is the destination location in any home. We congregate in this timeless heart of the home not only during parties, but for much of everyday life. In this issue, we take you on another installment of our resident Instagramer’s acreage build as she tackles the creation of the perfect kitchen. And while you’re in this perfect space, stop for a delicious bite as our favourite foodie Maureen tempts your tastebuds with her raisin biscuit pinwheels.
Issue 69, Spring 2025
ISSN 1916-2324
info@saskatoon-home.ca
Publishers
Amanda Soulodre
Rob Soulodre
Editor
Karin Melberg Schwier
Contributors
Julie Barnes
Maureen Haddock
Garrett Kendel
Karin Melberg Schwier
Jeff O’Brien
Jessica Robinson
Jenna Rutherford
We also take you on a journey through a stunning character home remodel where charm and history meet modern living. For green thumbs, you’ll love a sprawling backyard garden, one that produces not only bounty for the table but also celebrates the inherent joy of nurturing edible green leafy things. And finally, who knew Saskatoon had an underbelly? Come with us and step down into the mysterious world of Saskatoon’s historic tunnels, unearthing the stories and legends beneath our feet.
This issue captures the essence of spring—a time to dig deep, grow, and celebrate the unique stories we are proud to tell, all sourced right here in Saskatoon. Happy Reading!
OWNER & PUBLISHER
The booking deadline for advertising in the Summer 2025 issue is April 18, 2025 Contact Amanda for more information. Email: amanda@saskatoon-home.ca Phone: 306-373-1833 Text: 306-717-0663
Saskatoon HOME is printed four times a year. Subscribe to receive every issue direct to your mailbox for $20/year. Visit www.gethomemagazine.ca
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Saskatoon HOME is published by: Farmhouse Communications
Telephone: 306-373-1833 info@saskatoon-home.ca www.saskatoon-home.ca
No part of this publication may be copied or reprinted without the written consent of the publisher. Publications Mail Agreement # 41856031
Amanda Soulodre
“Good-bye pads. Now I can laugh, sneeze or workout without any bladder leaks, and I did it simply by sitting on a chair, fully clothed and pain-free”. It’s not just a chair. It’s your comeback story. Talk to us about coverage.
BY: KARIN MELBERG SCHWIER PHOTOS: JESSICA ROBINSON
FOOD FOREST Vegetables, Herbs, Fruit and Flowers in Harmony
Saskatoon musician/ singer/songwriter Jessica Robinson knows a thing or two about creativity. As a fresh-faced 16-year-old, she carried her fiddle to the Big League as a country music artist in Nashville. Over the years, she’s performed at the iconic Carnegie Hall in New York, and the release of her new album, The Phoenix
Project, happens this spring. During her career, she’s accumulated three albums, a few music videos and several awards, and is the owner and instructor at JR Music Studio. Thing is, behind every music star is a dirty little habit. Jessica’s just happens to be that. Literally. She loves to get into the dirt. Specifically, her ongoing labour of love is
cultivating a veritable “food forest” in the backyard of her Arbor Creek home. Why grow petunias when you can grow peppers? Zinnias when you can have zucchini? Lilies or lettuce, well, you get the idea.
Ticking Off the Must-Have List Back in 2019, when Jessica and her partner
Julie Dell embarked on the hunt for a home where they could blend their families of four children, the combined wish list included a few things. Julie, a chef, wanted a great kitchen. The kids, Eden, Emily, Summer and Hudson, wanted a pool. Jessica’s must-have was space to garden.
There’s no hard and fast rule about where herbs and vegetables should be planted. Lettuce forms a lush edging to the pathway.
Jessica is proud of her olive tree that actually produces fruit, even in this zone.
Jessica has augmented her backyard space with a greenhouse and has appropriated nooks and crannies for vegetables, herbs and flowers. The kids love the pool; she loves to grow green.
“We all fell in love with what we call the Adaskin Creative House,” she says. “Built in 2001, it had a chef’s kitchen and pool.” Check, check…
Sadly, there was no space to garden. Since no one had lived on the property for some time, it was overgrown with trees, shrubs and vines. It was hardscaped with concrete, stone and a water feature in the front.
Casting Some Creative Seeds
“This wasn’t my first rodeo,” Jessica explains. “Every property I’ve owned has had its own voice about what it needed to be.” On an acreage, she designed a raised gardening area since the soil beneath had high gravel content. She created a fruit orchard that did well in those conditions, and built a yearround greenhouse using SIP (Structural Insulated Panels) technology for a thermal barrier and climate control. Another property was heritage status-worthy, so she wanted to “tread carefully with respect” as
she developed a threetier English garden and an outdoor oven made of bricks from a downtown heritage warehouse demo.
“When we bought this house, it had its own unique challenges with an in-ground pool, stamped concrete backyard and all so overgrown,” she says. “I did what I always do and lived through a season so I could make the best decisions about what the property needed to be.”
Ultimately, what Jessica heard it say was “more life, more fluidity, more death and rebirth cycles through food foresting.” It also reminded her it was going to take a lot of work.
A Bit of Blood, Sweat and Tears
Undaunted, Jessica did some research about the best ways to make use of the catch-as-catch-can spaces and how to add more by appropriating other areas. She was always more interested in vegetables, herbs and fruits—a nice complement to possibilities for her partner’s dream
kitchen—so she pulled on some work gloves.
“It took a lot of hours, sweat, laughter and a few scrapes and bruises but the dream was coming true,” says Jessica. She often enlisted the help of the kids and Julie.
“After some research, I knew food foresting was the best option,” she explains. “I used a light meter to tell what trees and shrubs had to be removed, re-homed where possible, to make room for edibles. We augmented the soil where it was needed. Then I was off to the races.”
There would be no symmetrical rectangle plots with neat, tidy rows marked with sticks and string. In this food forest, plants and herbs would grow in nooks and crannies, along curved pathways or tucked into sunny spots where Jessica knew they’d thrive.
This was more like guerrilla gardening. Or song writing.
When the Spirit Moves
“I could feel the spirit of the property enough by then to know what to try. I say try because it’s just like my songwriting,” she explains. “It’s a journey of trial and error. By the third and fourth year, I had moved the food forest around enough to know what I was happy with and where.”
As a musician, Jessica says losing herself in any creative process, whether it’s songwriting, singing, gardening and caring for plants, is “so much of who I am. We have hosted several garden pool concerts from bluegrass to funk with Saskatchewan superstars like Jake Vaadaland and the Sturgeon River Boys. Maybe that’s why my plants are so happy. They literally listen to music all summer long, whether it’s me singing while I garden or my daughters writing songs with their guitars.”
Friends anticipate a feast, and often on the menu are ingredients harvested from the yard. From left, Glenda Bell, Coreen Franke, Jessica and Julie, Lori and Greg Newman, Heidi and Dave Shockey. Photo by Lorne Bell.
Jessica makes heavy use of the greenhouse she built, just as she has on previous properties.
It’s been said communicating with plants and animals is a thing. Jessica wholeheartedly agrees.
“Creating and caretaking are the love languages I give to myself. I always feel better and more inclined to create when I spend time in the gardens. Song ideas come to me when I’ve got my hands in the soil among the plants. Songwriting and gardening,” she explains, “share similarities. You give it the best of you. You try things, even if you’re not certain it will work. You fail, but sometimes a beautiful thing is created out of that vulnerability.”
Crop Rotation
“Every spring I started about 500 seedlings from scratch. I slowly experimented with locations to see what grew best where, and eventually after six years I can proudly say that anyone with a desire to grow food does not need a traditional garden space to do it.”
'Traditional' certainly isn’t a descriptor for Jessica’s style of food forest. Lettuce forms verdant hedges along the curve of a stone walkway. Cucumbers and zucchini sprawl and spread. Herbs and strawberries flourish happily around the sweep of a tiny artificial turf putting green by the pool. Keeping the turf was a small homage to the original owner, an avid golfer; the plants bring life to an otherwise static area.
“I focus on edibles in the south-facing back yard,” she says. “There is a long list of edible perennials but I also do a lot of annual edibles like lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, beets, aubergine and many annual herbs including fun ones like curry and unique basils. I’ve tried growing black peppers and pineapple tomatoes. Nasturtiums make a lovely garnish. One year I had 12 varieties of tomatoes. My favourite was the yellow pear. Amazingly delicious.”
Collaborating with Mother Nature
Because the front yard consisted mainly of trees, shrubs, a substantial water feature with lots of rocks and smaller stones, Jessica’s approach to edible possibilities there were a bit
different than the mostly vegetable, fruit and herb forest in the back.
Once a manicured space, the front transformation was driven by her “re-wilding desire.” She thought of herself simply a caretaker, letting Mother Nature create the canvas she wanted. Some plants thrived, others died. Jessica’s hope was for a more natural space, evolving over time as she kept it tidy enough not to alarm the neighbours. Still, there are things to eat here, too, like flourishing strawberries.
“No one can tell me you can’t have it all,” she says. “I hope the food forest Mother Nature and I have created here in the middle of the city inspires others to listen to what their lawns and gardens need. I’m a spiritual person, and I believe all my properties have spoken to me. But that’s a story for another day!”
Karin Melberg Schwier
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, along with mint, basils, curry, oregano, chives, lemon balm, lavender, strawberries and Hungarian wax peppers thrive beside the putting green.
511-45th Street East | Saskatoon, SK | S7K 0W3
Phone 306-934-0660 | Email info@majesticcabinets.ca www.majesticcabinets.ca
TIMELESS TRANSFORMATION
BY: JULIE BARNES
Old World Charm Meets Contemporary Elegance
The experience of stepping inside Chantelle and Kyle’s newly renovated Nutana home has been likened to a dreamlike fantasy—in more ways than one.
“My favourite comment was that it’s like the Harry Potter tent,” says Chantelle. “The house looks so
unassuming from the front, and it just opens up and expands when you come in.”
It’s also been compared to Alice in Wonderland: when you enter, it’s like falling down the rabbit hole into a stunning—and surprising— new space.
The couple embarked on
an extensive eight-month renovation with Mavrik Home Builders, transforming the interior while leaving the facade mostly untouched.
“Passersby would look at the house and say, ‘What the heck are they doing inside?’” says Mavrik owner Chris Popplewell. “There were no
changes to the exterior other than a different front door, but beyond the front door, there was literally nothing that stayed.”
Before purchasing the circa1912 house, Chantelle and Kyle lived in Arbor Creek. “The $60 Uber rides after a night out were getting a
PHOTOS: GARRETT KENDEL
Before
Although the staircase is original, new treads and a new railing were installed. “I love how it turned out,” says Chantelle. “It looks like it belongs here.”
With its dark, dramatic walls, richly veined marble fireplace and intimate seating arrangement, the front living room has a cosy salon-like atmosphere.
little old,” Chantelle says with a laugh.
“During COVID, we would take the dogs and walk around different neighbourhoods with the idea of finding a new place to live,” says Chantelle. They explored several areas including River Heights, Varsity View, City Park and Nutana.
“Then this house came up for sale,” she says. Located steps from the river, the area’s stately elms and the excellent walkability in the area were major bonus points.
Although the location was perfect, “the inside of the house was not ideal. Various add-ons and spotty updates made the house feel disjointed,” Chantelle says. “I knew we would have to do a lot of work to it if we bought it.”
Before making an offer, they asked Chris to accompany them on a walkthrough, so they could hash out ideas and discuss costs.
Sheathed in Venetian plaster, the kitchen’s hood fan blends seamlessly with the quartz backsplash and white cabinetry.
An intersection of steel beams that support the second floor is cleverly tucked inside the kitchen’s tray ceiling detail.
Chris told the couple that if they gave themselves a year to work with his company on the design and finishing details, “it’ll really pay off,” says Chantelle.
Following his advice, the couple purchased the house and rented it out for a year while collaborating with Chris and Mavrik’s lead designer, Jennifer McLean.This planning period, combined with the subsequent construction phase, allowed them to be very selective with furnishings and finishes, says Chantelle.
Timeless and Custom Touches
The result is a classic yet contemporary home brimming with old-world charm. Timeless elements, such as the black-and-white marble tile in the entryway, and treasured family heirlooms, ensure the space will never go out of style.
One particular meaningful piece is an antique hutch rescued from Kyle’s grandparents’ homestead garage. Once the cobwebs were dusted off, the couple had it refinished, and it was topped with the same quartz used throughout the home.
It now sits in the dining room next to a bespoke walnut table crafted by local furniture maker Rachel Bergsma, owner of Sawdust & Smoke. The table, featuring a fluted pedestal and goldleaf base, was made to fit the space perfectly.
A whimsical woodland wallpaper paired with olivecoloured velvet drapes brings rich texture to this cosy space, where the family gathers for meals.
Upstairs in the ensuite, another antique hutch— found at an antique dealer in Alberta—has been
transformed into a vanity. Believed to date back to 1908, the piece’s decorative moulding was removed, refinished and reinstalled as a mounting plate for the faucet and taps.
Across from the sink, a wall of shimmering deep green zellige tile with an inset two-sided fireplace creates a glamorous backdrop to the jetted tub—one of Chantelle’s must-haves.
Connected Spaces
“The original home was broken up into a lot of small, disconnected spaces,” says Jennifer. A key priority was to create connections between the spaces for entertaining while maintaining the option for privacy.
Two separate living rooms now sit off the kitchen, with one doubling as Chantelle and Kyle’s home office. Sleek,
black-framed glass doors between the kitchen and living room/office preserve the open feel while keeping noise out.
With its dark, dramatic walls, richly veined marble fireplace and cosy seating arrangement, the room has a chic salon-like feel.
“We like spending lots of time in here,” says Chantelle.
Behind the Scenes
The renovation was a top-to-bottom overhaul. The water and sewer service was upgraded, and all mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems were updated.
“Where the dining room is now, there was an older addition that was poorly done,” says Chris. “We pulled down the entire ceiling, restructured the roof and spray-foamed the ceiling.”
Several interior loadbearing walls were removed. “We restructured columns and footings in the basement, added new support columns
and restructured a large section of the main floor,” adds Chris. The kitchen now features an elegant dropped tray ceiling that combines style with function, concealing an intersection of steel beams that support the second floor.
Tucked around the corner from the kitchen island is a custom bar designed by Jennifer.
“Negronis got us through COVID,” jokes Chantelle, who loves making batch cocktails for guests. The bar’s open shelving, with an antique mirror backsplash, displays crystal drinkware that’s been passed down through Chantelle’s family.
“My grandparents were gifted some of the crystal at their wedding,” she says. “I insist that people use them.”
Steps beyond the bar is a new screened-in sunroom, a three-season space that extends the home’s living area. Installed on the new back deck, the room
A mossy green zellige tile adds a luxe, shimmery backdrop in the ensuite.
The Mavrik team repurposed an antique sideboard Chantelle found, turning it into a vanity.
features operable windows, allowing it to be closed in cooler weather or opened to let in fresh air on warmer days. A fire table helps extend the use of the room into the fall.
“I think I tried to talk Chantelle out of the sun room,” says Chris with a laugh. He had concerns that the translucent roof would block sunlight from entering the home.
“I had this vision in my mind of this nice bright room becoming gloomy, but I was pleasantly surprised with how much light filters into the heart of the home.”
Shared Vision
Chantelle drew inspiration from designers Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent. “They integrate classic and timeless elements in their designs. I don’t like adopting trends that I think will go out of style.”
Fortunately, Chantelle and Kyle’s shared taste in interior design ensured a seamless
selection process.
“Through our travels we like to stay at as many Marriott Autograph Collection properties as possible,” says Chantelle. “We love the dark, moody, detailed finishes the hotels are known for, and that was our starting point.”
Most weekday mornings, Chantelle and Kyle walk together to their downtown offices, embracing the walkability they had hoped for in their new neighbourhood.
“We wouldn’t change a thing,” says Chantelle. “The final result is a testament to Jennifer and the Mavrik team’s ability to combine our ideas and inspirations with their experience and expertise into a plan. We had a fantastic working relationship. They translated our dreams into our reality. We are just beyond happy with how everything turned out.”
Julie Barnes
Crystal drinkware takes pride of place in the bar.
“It’s been passed down in my family,” says Chantelle. “My grandparents were gifted it at their wedding.”
A double-sided fireplace warms up the principal bedroom and ensuite.
Located just off the back living room, a screened-in sunroom is one of Chantelle’s favourite spaces in the home. “I spend as much time out here as possible,” she says.
FROM HOUSE TO HOMESTEAD
BY: JULIE BARNES
Planning Spaces for Conversation and Connection
As her new acreage home nears completion, Jenna Rutherford reflects on the design of her family’s kitchen, a project that took seven months to design and perfect. Her goal? To ensure “not a detail was missed.”
Functionality and timeless finishes were top priorities, she says.
“I also wanted it to be a space for conversation and connection since our family spends the most time here.”
Jenna’s design inspiration
came from Calgary home builder Veranda Estate Homes. Having followed the company on Instagram for awhile, she admired their kitchens’ statement-making designs. “I pulled inspiration from the owner’s style and
finishes to design a kitchen that works for our family,” she says.
The Perfect Space
The kitchen’s white oak island, hutches and range hood add warmth, while
Jenna selected black faucets and brass light fixtures for her kitchen, as well as a mix of neutral finishes.
The cabinetry supplier provided black and white kitchen renderings and Jenna later added the colour detail (seen below) in Photoshop, to see how her chosen finishes and colours would look together.
Jenna worked out the kitchen design by sketching potential layouts by hand.
perimeter cabinetry painted in Benjamin Moore’s Light Pewter brightens the space and provides a crisp backdrop in the sunlit room.
“Our oldest and middle daughters have taken an interest in cooking and baking, so we hope this space will spark their inspiration,” she says.
Accessibility was another key consideration. “I ditched the traditional 18-inch appliance pulls and went big with 54-inch pulls, so anyone of any age can easily access the fridge or pantry,” Jenna says.
Known for her DIY skills, Jenna entrusted Evoke Cabinets with designing and building the kitchen cabinets but plans to add her own personal touches once her
family moves in.
For example, she envisions building a spice rack that drops down from a concealed cavity in the extra-wide range hood. She also plans to install European stone or flagstone on the kitchen’s window wall.
The pantry is another functional feature. It will house both a coffee bar and a “pet bar” for the family’s dog, Mylo. “There will be a sink for easy water bowl and coffee pot filling, as well as hidden dog food storage,” Jenna says. “A built-in dog dish will also be part of the lower bar.”
Go with the Flow
The open-concept kitchen and dining area flow seamlessly into the living room, a
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A top-down view of Jenna’s kitchen design. A pantry is tucked away behind the panel-ready fridge (bottom right).
deliberate choice for the family. “I know a lot of people are moving away from open concept, but we still prefer it for connection,” Jenna says.
She plans to add custom built-ins on either side of the living room’s fireplace. Painted in Sherwin Williams’ Iron Ore, the cabinets and open shelving will provide a dramatic, moody contrast to the light, airy kitchen.
Jenna also intends to build a fireplace feature wall with a mantel, install wood beams in the coffered ceiling and add architraves between the living room and kitchen to delineate the spaces while preserving the open flow.
Brock, who owns a plumbing and heating company, will install the fireplace. The living room will also feature a Frame TV, which resembles framed artwork when turned off. “This way, we can enjoy the room as an entertainment space but also as a place to relax without technology,” Jenna says.
Great Glazing
Large windows throughout the kitchen, dining and living areas offer nearly panoramic views of the fields and trees surrounding their new build.
It’s a feature Jenna is especially excited about.
“The view from the kitchen sink is my favourite,” she says with a laugh. “I’ll be able to watch the kids in the yard, enjoy nature and maybe spot some wildlife while doing a task I’m not a fan of but needs to be done—washing dishes.”
Julie Barnes
This is the seventh in a series featuring Jenna’s DIY transformations. Watch for Jenna’s next project in the Summer issue of HOME.
Creamy white millwork around the kitchen’s perimeter is now topped with quartz (shown in photo above). The island will be topped with a honed black granite.
Jenna plans to add drop-down spice racks, tucked inside the edges of the extra-wide hood fan.
HOMEtown Reflections
THE TUNNELS OF SASKATOON
In 2015, workers renovating the basement of the Senator Hotel on 21st Street uncovered something very strange: a brick archway in the stone foundation wall fronting 21st Street, packed solid with dirt. Literally, a door leading nowhere. What was it for? How did it get there? Could this have been an old entrance to a secret tunnel, buried beneath the streets of Saskatoon?
It was not, as it turns out. But we’ll get to that later.
The Tunnels of Chinatown
The idea that there could be a network of tunnels beneath Saskatoon goes way back. In the 1920s and ‘30s, there were tales of the mysterious Chinatown district, a huddle of ramshackle buildings crammed together on 19th Street with secret tunnels connecting the buildings and
BY: JEFF O’BRIEN
Secrets Beneath our Feet
Tales of Saskatoon’s forgotten tunnels persist to this day. And why not? The idea of hidden spaces, existing unknown to us in the realms beneath our feet has an amazing allure. Look at the “Tunnels of Moose Jaw” which are so cool that 70,000 people visited them last year. Or the Seattle Underground, created when streets in a low-lying
radiating out into downtown. There is a small grain of truth to these stories. The buildings and yards in Chinatown had been extensively subdivided, to the point where the newspaper described them as a “rabbit warren, with a labyrinth of hallways and cellars.” Police in the 1920s were known to complain of wanted men disappearing into one end of Chinatown and coming out somewhere else. In fact, when Saskatoon’s Chinatown was demolished in 1930, openings were discovered between some adjoining basements. Other than that, however, no evidence of the rumoured downtown tunnels was revealed.
Saskatoon's Chinatown was thought to sit atop a rabbit warren of hallways and cellars, 1925.
Photo: Local History Room - Saskatoon
area were re-graded in 1889, leaving the ground floors of some buildings below street level. The sewers of Paris are so cool they’ve been a tourist attraction since 1867, and there are nearly 200 miles of abandoned mine tunnels beneath the city, including “the Catacombs” containing the tastefully-arranged bones of millions of people, removed from the city’s overflowing cemeteries in the late 1700s. (And also a tourist attraction. Oh, those wily Parisiens.)
In fact, there are tunnels, secret and otherwise, beneath the streets of every city in the world, including Saskatoon. We couldn't survive without them. Like Paris, Saskatoon also has sewers, although no one’s lining up to take tours of them. The University of Saskatchewan has an extensive steam tunnel network, some parts of it dating back more than a century.
There’s even a tunnel under Spadina Crescent linking the Bessborough with the parking garage across the street as well as a service tunnel under Second Avenue between the Hudson’s Bay building (now the Second Avenue Lofts) and the old parkade. The Bessborough tunnel is still there, although closed to the public, but the Hudson’s Bay tunnel was filled in when the parkade was demolished in 2005.
The 20th Street Pedestrian Subway
Arguably Saskatoon’s most important tunnel is also its most forgotten: the infamous 20th Street Pedestrian Subway.
For nearly 20 years, from the 1920s to 1944, the Riversdale business community lobbied for a tunnel under the downtown railway yards at 20th Street.
Photos: (top) Courtesy Paul Whitenect; (bottom) Courtesy Jeff O'Brien
“The Empire of the Dead”—ossuaries in the catacombs under Paris were built in the 18th century to ease the burden on full cemeteries.
The Saskatoon power station pump house tower, with utility tunnel, 2019.
The yards were a barrier to traffic nearly as impenetrable as the river itself, with no easy way for shoppers coming downtown to get to the west side except by going the long way around, or by taking the Overhead Bridge. This was a narrow, rickety footbridge over the tracks at 20th Street, which could only be reached by high, steep stairs at either end. An impossible climb for the elderly, the disabled or anyone pushing a baby carriage. An underground link would fix this, bringing commercial traffic—and prosperity—to the west side.
The original call had been for a roadway under the tracks. This would have cost more than a million dollars. Instead, the City Engineer came back with a plan for a pedestrian tunnel, 15’ wide, 12’ high, running 650 feet from Avenue A to
First Avenue. The estimated cost? About $255,000. This was still a lot of money. But Saskatoon was booming in the spring of 1929 and so it was not beyond reach, especially if the railway and senior governments were willing to chip in. Which they were not.
Not in 1929, and not in any year thereafter. Despite the many presentations, protestations, letters and petitions submitted by the westsiders, the 20th Street Subway was a low priority project, and as the Great Depression took hold in the 1930s, it kept getting lower.
Not that City Council rejected it entirely. But the money just wasn’t there, not even when a much cheaper, pared-down version was suggested as a relief-work project in 1938. Finally, in 1944, the railway, which had been against the idea from the start, put its foot down. “The railway
City of Saskatoon storm sewer construction in 1967.
Photo: Local History Room - Saskatoon Public Library - PH-2014-16-M-12
is loath to support the plan,” it wrote. And that was the end of that.
Cold War Commuter Tunnels
Saskatoon boomed in the 1950s, as our once-compact city sprawled out into the surrounding countryside. The population doubled, and the number of cars on the road tripled. And every morning, every single one of them drove downtown.
Traffic congestion wasn’t a new problem in the 1950s. Or downtown parking. But they were getting worse. Then, as now, concerned citizens weren’t shy about proposing solutions to the city’s woes. Perhaps the most visionary of these was the one calling for the construction of a network of commuter tunnels leading from the suburbs into a giant parking garage deep beneath downtown. This, it was argued, would solve not only our traffic woes, but also our downtown parking. Even better, it would make a dandy bomb shelter, if and when, meaning we could get federal funding for it as a civil
defence project.
It was a win-win proposal. Sadly, City Council didn’t see it that way, and simply filed it away.
The 21st Street Railway Tunnel
The most legendary of Saskatoon’s tunnels is, of course, the one under 21st
Street connecting the railway station to the Bessborough hotel and rumoured to have been used either to transport hotel guests or their luggage. It was also rumoured to have been used to transport illegal liquor during Prohibition. Which makes no sense because unlike the US,
alcohol wasn’t illegal in Canada during Prohibition, only the public consumption thereof.
But it doesn’t matter, because there has never been a tunnel under 21st Street.
You can’t dig a 1,700-footlong tunnel under
The train tunnel exits from the downtown railway yards are visible in 1940.
The Tunnels of Moose Jaw is a tourist attraction that suggests life underground in the passageways first built by, according to legend, Chinese railway workers in the early 1900s. The Passage to Fortune tour describes how people lived beneath the city during early Chinese immigration.
Photos: (top) City of Saskatoon Archives - HST-019-006; (bottom) Bobby Hill, Tunnels of Moose Jaw
one of Saskatoon’s most important downtown streets without a huge, very public, expenditure of money and effort. The kind that leaves a permanent record a mile wide. And no such record exists. It doesn’t show up in the files at the City Archives, in newspaper accounts or in the blueprints for either the hotel or the railway station. Even the source of the story is a mystery. And we looked hard. The CNR announced plans for the Bessborough early in 1929, the same year work first began on a new railway station. By 1930, there would have been construction happening at both ends of 21st Street. Was there something in the newspaper about a tunnel? Or did someone say something at City Council or the Board of Trade? Or maybe it was just wishful thinking. Other cities have had hotels linked by tunnel to railway stations. Why not Saskatoon? Especially when they were both owned by the same company. Whatever it was, we were unable to find anything to say where the story started.
There were tunnels under the train station, for passengers to get to the railway platforms where the trains stopped. Also, some buildings on 21st Street had sidewalk vaults, where the basement extends under the adjoining sidewalk. These usually have glass blocks set into the pavement to mark their location. The most famous was in the Avenue Building, where the vaults formed part of a downstairs dance hall called the Cavern Club (later the Club 400). Perhaps people saw these in other buildings and mistook them for tunnels. But
sidewalk vaults in Saskatoon don’t go under streets or connect to anything other than the building they’re part of, and so by definition are not tunnels.
The Mysterious Senator Hotel Arch
Which brings us back, finally, to the Senator Hotel and its mysterious arch. There is no connection, of course, between whatever was going on at the Senator
and our apocryphal 21st StreetTunnel. Built in 1907, the Senator long predates both the Bessborough and the railway station, which faced 20th Street in those days. The arch is located directly below the original entrance to the main floor saloon, so it may be that they intended to create an additional belowground entrance there, with stairs leading down from the sidewalk.
We see this in many older buildings, including the Oddfellows Temple down the street. If so, they never did. But this is probably the answer. Still, there are no records to say one way or another, and so, unlike some of the other stories floating around out there, this one is a bona fide mystery.
Jeff O’Brien
A crowd awaits the next performance at the Cavern Ballroom, 1947.
The mysterious Senator Hotel arch is still a puzzler today.
Photos: (top) Local History Room - Saskatoon Public Library - PH 96-38-91; (bottom) Courtesy Jeff O'Brien
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If you haven’t visited crossmount, you are missing out!
Visit our agri-tourism area where you can enjoy delicious meals or snacks at our Pine & Thistle Kitchen + Bar. Shop at The Little Market which carries unique prairie made items and cheese handcrafted on site. The Crossmount Cider Company is a working cidery where our cider is also handcrafted on site. Come to the tasting room or relax on one of the outdoor decks while trying a flight of cider. In cooler months you can enjoy good old fashioned pond skating on our natural pond beside the cidery or try one of the cross country ski trails. Come visit us for an enjoyable experience.
Located 5 km south of Saskatoon on Lorne Avenue (Highway 219), Crossmount is a 55+ aging-in-place community settled into 480 acres of natural prairies. Residents in our first neighbourhood of independent homes can enjoy two community gardens, a pet-friendly environment with spaces to walk dogs, numerous activities and clubs, an on-site doctor and medical clinic, and lots of fresh air and sunshine. We are in the predevelopment stage of our next neighbourhood of independent homes. Please send an email to info@crossmount.ca for further information or to join our waitlist.
BY: MAUREEN HADDOCK
MAUREEN’S KITCHEN
Memories of Cinnamon Raisin Biscuit Pinwheels
I began my relationship with cinnamon raisin biscuits the same year I became obsessed with the Hudson’s Bay department store. It was 1967, and I was a student at the University
of Saskatchewan. On Thursday nights, my friend and I walked to Five Corners from our boarding house on Temperance Street. From there, we caught a city bus to 2nd
Avenue and 23rd Street. Our destination was Hudson’s Bay, which, for us, represented everything “big city.”
In those days, we barely had enough money for
groceries, but we scoured the sale bins at The Bay and became familiar with the clerks. As time passed, we established ourselves as loyal customers. The Bay influenced
our choices in several areas, including fashion, lingerie, jewellery, hosiery, bedding, fine bone china, fabric and tasty treats. We loved visiting the cafeteria
and sipping coffee amid the excitement of the busy retail store.
In its 23rd Street location, The Bay set the bar for every cinnamon raisin
Cinnamon Raisin Biscuit Pinwheels
I first made this recipe in 1970.
INGREDIENTS FOR DOUGH:
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
DOUGH INSTRUCTIONS:
1/4 cup cold butter
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening
1 cup of cold milk
Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut in shortening and butter with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
INGREDIENTS FOR FILLING:
1/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
FILLING INSTRUCTIONS:
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins (I prefer Sun-Maid)
Melt shortening and mix with the sugar, cinnamon and raisins. Let cool slightly before spreading evenly over the dough. Leave a margin free of filling around the edges. Roll the dough lightly, like a jelly roll. Seal the edge by pinching the dough gently. Cut into 12 pieces and place them in greased muffin cups.
Add milk all at once to dry ingredients and stir with a fork until a soft dough is formed. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead it 8 to 10 times. Roll the dough into a 12-inch square.
Bake at 425°F for 14 to 18 minutes. Remove from the pan immediately and cool on a rack. Serve warm.
These biscuits can be frozen and reheated. Hint: To knead the dough, gently press and push forward with the heels of your hands. Fold the dough over and give it a quarter turn. Repeat the process about eight times to make a smooth, soft dough. Use just enough flour on the board to keep it from sticking. Too much flour will make the dough tough and dry.
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biscuit we would ever taste. Whenever I make Cinnamon Raisin Biscuit Pinwheels, memories from our shopping adventures accompany me in the kitchen. On the recipe card, I wrote, “Almost as good as the ones from The Bay.” I have used this recipe since 1970, and it is still my favourite.
I have a weakness for all things cinnamon raisin, so I only make these biscuits for special occasions. When I decided to make them for this column, I automatically made them with butter, even though the recipe clearly calls for
shortening. Much to my dismay, the filling boiled over onto the bottom of the oven and began to smoke and spatter. There was nothing I could do but let the biscuits finish baking. Once they were cooked, I let the oven cool, set it to the self-clean position and calmly poured a cup of tea. As I contemplated how to salvage my scorched and sticky muffin pan, I managed to eat two biscuits. They really do help you think better.
Butter contains around 20% water, while shortening is 100% vegetable oil. Shortening
has a higher melting point than butter, resulting in a lighter, softer product. However, butter creates a flaky, tasty biscuit. I made another batch, using half shortening and half
butter in the biscuit dough and vegetable shortening in the filling. They were delicious, and my oven remained clean.
Maureen Haddock
CheeseVintageBiscuits
This recipe is from the 1940s and uses less fat than modern recipes.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
METHOD:
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1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon lard or vegetable shortening
3/4 cup cold milk
Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the chilled shortening and butter. Add the chilled liquid to make a soft dough.
Toss the dough onto a floured board, and don’t handle more than necessary. Pat or roll lightly into a rectangle.
Generously sprinkle with grated, aged cheddar cheese. Roll the dough like a jelly roll and cut into 1- to 2-inch slices. Place the slices in oiled muffin cups. Brush the tops with milk and bake in a 400°F oven for 12 minutes.
I enjoy these biscuits with a salad for lunch.
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