Laird Building (Regina)

 place with historical importance, warehouse, night club

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This 1906/12 building was built for Henry Willoughby Laird and his wholesale grocery H.W. Laird Co. Laird came to Regina in 1901. He served as the private secretary to Frederick Haultain, then premier of the Northwest Territories. However, he resigned after one year to pursue opportunities in the grain-handling industry and subsequently established the city's first wholesale grocery business. He took an active interest in local politics and served as mayor in 1904/05. In 1917, he was appointed to the Canadian Senate, a position he held until his death in 1940. The building housed a wide variety of tenants including Cullity & Jones wholesale confectionary and tobacco, Arliss Auto Tire Co., Capital Storage, Sharples Cream Separator Co., Consolidated Rubber Company, and Western School Supply Co. It also served as the parts supply department for the Ford Motor Co. from 1948 to 1953. That year, it was purchased for the City of Regina social services department. The Laird Building also served as the Regina Lions Junior Band Hall from the early 1970s until 1995. Saskatoon architect W. LaChance designed this property in a Chicago style. The building was originally a two-storey structure, but the 1912 tornado demolished the building and it was rebuilt as a three-storey structure that same year. It features a decorative stone plate above the doorway with entwined initials "HWL." It is one of the oldest existing buildings in the Warehouse Area. It has been on the Regina Heritage Holding Bylaw List since 1989.
www.regina.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=581

The current tenant is Gabbo's Night Club.