The Boom Years (1950 - 1980's)
In the 1950s, after the war, Regina began to prosper once again. An oil pipeline linked Regina with newly discovered oil fields in Alberta and refineries in eastern Canada. The City built the Saskatchewan Museum of Natural History (later named the Royal Saskatchewan Museum), a new post office and a geriatric centre. That centre later became Wascana Hospital, which was renamed the Wascana Rehabilitation Centre. During the early 1960s, Regina was growing at a rate of 4,500 new residents a year. Churches, schools and shopping centres were built. In 1963, City Hall was moved into the old Post Office at Scarth Street and 11th Ave. A new court house and public library were opened. Work began on the Regina campus of the University of Saskatchewan. The look of Regina's downtown also changed in the next decade. Towering bank buildings, hotels, office buildings, shopping centres, and yet another new City Hall (the one used today) were added. The Agridome, on the Exhibition Grounds, opened in 1977. Regina continued to change, grow and prosper throughout the 1980s. In the downtown, two enclosed shopping centres, the Cornwall Centre and the Galleria, opened. The Scarth Street pedestrian mall was renovated. The twin McCallum Hill Towers were built. A series of enclosed pedestrian walkways would later be built to connect many downtown buildings.