January 15-Harbour Landing

A year ago, the area south of the airport was an empty field. Now, it is a sea of snow and dirt, pipe and underground cables jutting up from the ground like small black twigs as the builders begin to errect houses in Regina's newest community - Harbour Landing.

In a year from now, this view of Regina's downtown buildings will be blocked by row after row of houses. (I wasn't kidding when I said my town was flat!)

Go to Harbour Landing's website to see how the community will look once it is finished.

January 14-Southland Mall

The sun sets on Walmart in the Southland Mall, both literally and figuratively in this picture.

Open in 1975, Southland has been attracting shoppers in Regina's south-end for nearly four decades. It's 400,000+ square feet of retail space boasts over 80 stores.

But come February 1st, one of its anchor stores - Walmart - will be moving to a stand-alone building in Regina's newest community, Harbour Landing. I wanted to take a picture of Walmart in that mall before they turn off the lights (literally!) in 17 days.

If you want to see a picture of the mall in daylight, visit Southland Mall's website.

January 13-Canada Life Building

When I first arrived in Regina, this building was known as the Crown Life Building. Crown Life was bought out by the Canada Life Assurance Company a few years later, and now folks refer to it as the Canada Life Building. It has one of the best public cafeterias in Regina's downtown; the line-up at lunch is sometimes mind-boggling. But it's worth the wait.

I like this picture because you can see the reflection of the McCallum Hill Tower I in the building's window, and Tower II located right beside it.

For information about the company itself, go to the Canada Life Assurance Company's website.

January 12 - Hotel Saskatchewan

This photo is of the east entrance of Hotel Saskatchewan - Radisson Plaza on a balmy winter day. From this angle you can see the classical style clock on the corner, as well as the style of this grand railroad building.

CPR built and opened the Hotel Saskatchewan in 1927 to much fanfare. If you ever visit the lobby of the Hotel Sask (as it is referred to by locals), you can read the newspaper articles announcing the hotel's opening. I think one of the articles boasts about all the modern features the hotel has, one of which is automated washing machines for laundry (!).

For more information about the history of the Hotel Saskatchewan, I recommend you read the hotel's Wikipedia entry. For information about the hotel itself as it is today, go to the Hotel Saskatchewan website.

January 11 - Downtown skyline

One of the most striking memories of Regina when I first arrived here in the 1990s was the fact there were very few high-rise office buildings downtown. I heard from some 'old-timers' that it was planned that way; this allowed the few tall building downtown to have an unencumbered view of Wascana Lake. (Again, I have no verification of this tale ... but when you look at how the city is laid out, it might be true.)

This is a picture taken from one of the few tall office buildings in Regina - the McCallum Tower II - looking west. Some of the taller buildings you see in the picture (from left to right) are:

- Concentra Financial

- Knox Metropolitan United (older reddish-brown building adjacent to park)

- Office tower containing law offices and SK Liquor & Gaming

- City Hall

- Old Revenue Canada building (squat grey building before City Hall)

- Regina Masonic Temple (dark brown building before previous building)

- Regina Public Library (snow-covered roof that is adjacent to park)

- DirectWest/CGI building (far right in the distance)

On a sunny day you can literally see for miles in any direction, if you are in one of the taller buildings!

January 10 - Plains Hotel

I had to take this photo today, as I learned that this buiding is scheduled to be demolished this month and replaced with a hotel and high-rise office/condo complex (see City of Regina website to view development application.)

The hotel, built in the 1960s, is a landmark for locals. The 'tower' on the hotel serves as a weather indicator. If the forecast was for pleasant weather, the neon tubes in the tower would be green. If the forecast was for unpleasant weather, the neon tubes would glow red.

To learn more about reaction to the redevelopment, see this CBC story and this blog about Good Time Charlies (the bar in the hotel).