Government House, after newly-completed addition, May 9, 2005
Designed by Thomas Fuller, architect of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, Government House in Regina opened in 1891 as residence, office and entertainment facility for the Lieutenant-Governors of the North-West Territories. After 1905, it was the residence of the Lieutenant-Governors of Saskatchewan. In 1945 the CCF government of T.C. Douglas closed the House as an economy measure; from 1946-57 the property was leased to the federal government as a centre for disabled war veterans; and from 1958, as “Saskatchewan House,” the facility was used by the province for adult education. It was designated a National Historic Site in 1968. A volunteer “Saskatchewan House Committee” (later the Government House Historical Society) campaigned for preservation of the House, which was declared a provincial historic site in 1971. Restoration by the province between 1978 and 1980 converted the facility into “Government House Heritage Property”: a museum of the 1900 period under Lieutenant-Governor Amédée Forget, and a hospitality facility for government and non-profit organizations. In 1984 the Office of the Lieutenant-Governor returned. Construction of a visitor/administration centre and coach house and restoration of the grounds to the 1905 Edwardian gardens were undertaken for the provincial centennial in 2005.
Michael Jackson