The
Town Hall & Opera House was established in 1906. The building is
constructed of "Classic Wolseley Architecture" because it has a stone
foundation and the rest is built of brick. The house consists of
two-toned brick because they didn't have enough brick in Wolseley to
finish the structure so they had to import brick from Manitoba.
The original Opera House had council chambers, a fire hall, a library,
and even a jail cell. The Town Hall/Opera House was electrified
right from the time it was built and the original lights still exist in
the hall. In the 1940's and 1950's, the Opera House was used as a
movie theatre. The only remnants of the original Town Hall
building exist in the basement kitchen as a safe and some brick.
The large tower was called a Hose Tower and used by the firemen to dry
the hoses. They would hoist the hoses up by pulleys so they would
hang vertically in order to drain the water properly so the hoses
wouldn't crack and get moldy. In 1989, it was discovered that the
roof of the Opera House was rotten. They had a meeting to decide
whether or not it was going to be torn down. After long
discussion, it was decided that the roof would be fixed and the heritage
kept alive.
They took apart the old roof and to their alas what did they find?
None other than the original molding and lights...still in Good
Condition! When they changed the roof, they changed the floor plan
from a sloped floor to a two level floor. After the hall was
restored they put up a plaque outside the hall and it states: "In
the early 20th century, Saskatchewan optimism was a chief driving force
for many communities reflecting the view that growth was inevitable."
Many towns built elaborate Town Hall/Opera House structures.
Wolseley commissioned Manitoba architecture J.H.C. Russell to design
this, one of the most elegant such buildings in the province. Half
of the brick needed was produced locally, the other half manufactured
elsewhere, giving the building a two-toned effect. The variety of
architectural elements create the structure's impressive design.
The building was restored by the community between 1990 and 1993.
