Coordinates: 52°07′50″N106°39′49″W / 52.1305°N 106.6636°W
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.
| 2nd Avenue Lofts | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Location | 120 – 23rd Street East |
| Town or city | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan |
| Country | Canada |
| Construction started | 1960 |
| Client | Hudson's Bay Company |
The 2nd Avenue Lofts is a historic building located in the Central Business District of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
The Central Business District is one of seven development districts in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The central business district is Ward 6 of a Mayor-Council government represented by councillor Cynthia Block. Formerly called West Saskatoon, this area arose when the steam engines built their pumping stations on the lower west bank of the South Saskatchewan River. Retail enterprises sprang up around the newly created train station and rail yards. The city of Saskatoon's Central Business District has shopping malls and boutiques.
Saskatoon is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as the cultural and economic hub of central Saskatchewan since it was founded in 1882 as a Temperance colony.
Saskatchewan is a prairie and boreal province in western Canada, the only province without a natural border. It has an area of 651,900 square kilometres (251,700 sq mi), nearly 10 percent of which is fresh water, composed mostly of rivers, reservoirs, and the province's 100,000 lakes.
The original building on the site was a five-story concrete and steel building with a pressed brick facade building constructed in 1913, to house the J.F. Cairns Department Store. J. F. Cairns settled in Saskatoon in 1902, opening the first mill in the city before entering the retail business. [1] The five story building was built by G.H. Archibald and Company containing 90,255 square feet. [1] The building was taken over the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) department store chain in 1922 making it the 11th department store location for HBC. [2] On October 14, 1922, the Chippendale style, Imperial Restaurant opened on the fourth floor, the restaurant contained banquet facilities and was used for special events in the city. [1]
The Hudson's Bay Company is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada, the United States, and parts of Europe including Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. The company's namesake business division is Hudson's Bay, commonly referred to as The Bay. Other divisions include Galeria Kaufhof, Home Outfitters, Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue. HBC's head office is currently located in Brampton, Ontario. The company is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "HBC".
The original building was torn down and in 1960 the Hudson's Bay Company opened in a new more modern three story building on the same site. [2] At a cost of $3 Million the building provided 157,000 square feet (14,600 m2) of retail space over three floors and had provision for the addition of two more floors. [1] In 1967, a fourth floor was added as well as a skywalk to a six floor parkade. [2] In 2000, HBC left the building to move into the former Eaton's location in Midtown Plaza (Saskatoon) shopping centre a few blocks away. [1]
The T. Eaton Company Limited, commonly known as Eaton's, was a Canadian retailer that was once Canada's largest department store chain. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, a Presbyterian Ulster Scot immigrant from what is now Northern Ireland. Eaton's grew to become a retail and social institution in Canada, with stores across the country, buying-offices around the globe, and a catalogue that was found in the homes of most Canadians. A changing economic and retail environment in the late 20th century, along with mismanagement, culminated in the chain's bankruptcy in 1999.
Midtown Plaza is a shopping mall in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, located in the Central Business District neighbourhood. The main anchor store is Hudson's Bay, with one vacant anchor last occupied by Sears and the shopping centre has a total store count of 154 stores. The mall was built on the former site of the city's main railway station as part of a major inner city redevelopment project in the 1960s that also saw construction of a freeway, the Senator Sid Buckwold Bridge, TCU Place - an arts-convention complex - and a new facility for the city's YMCA.
In 2004, Wayne Lemauviel, Gary Bender and later Gene Dub purchased the building and began work on converting the building into lofts. [2] A fifth story was added to the building, and due to the high ceiling on each floor it was possible to create each loft with an internal mezzanine. The ground floor was retained as retail space. [3] The same year, the skybridge across Second Avenue was removed and the parkade torn-down. [4] The interior design on the building has won an Award of Excellence. [5] The conversion from retail to lofts is part of a larger residential revival occurring in the central business district with an influx of people moving into the area. [6]
