What’s Old Is New Again at Darke Hall
· 9 min. read
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“To build a temple to the arts and a centre for cultural activity.”
That was Francis Nicholson Darke’s vision for the creation of the then-F.N. Darke Building for Music and Art. Today the building is known as Darke Hall, and it has arguably succeeded in Darke’s vision – yet some believe it still has much work to do.
The building has been on the northern shore of Wascana Lake since 1929, and has become synonymous with the park’s history and legacy. Many people have fond memories of it, especially during the 1960s and 1970s when it was home to the Regina Symphony Orchestra. Others have other memories of it later in its history, during the 1990s, but those memories are of a different kind of building – one that was more beaten down and decrepit. For many, this is where their memory remains: Darke Hall was a once grand building that has fallen out of time, one, like so many other character buildings in the city, has been forgotten.
By 2014, the building had closed. It was too far gone, too forgotten and doomed to decay. But then the University of Regina put forward a program to change this. Darke Hall was to be restored, renewed, and reinvigorated. A massive overhaul project was proposed, with an extensive six year timeline put forward – one that ultimately took an additional two years to complete.
This program was to make Darke Hall not only once again culturally and artistically significant, but also accessible, affordable, and modern. In 2022, Darke Hall opened its doors once again, marking the beginning of a new era for the building.
Painstaking care went into every aspect of the restoration, with thoughtful details visible at every turn. Extreme efforts were made to preserve the original ornamentation, restore the stained glass, polish the historic lanterns, and even return the staircases to symmetry, minus a century of wear and tear, of course.
However, one of the most noticeable changes comes before you even step inside. The massive, ornate wooden heritage doors that once served as the main entrance have been permanently closed. Though preserved as part of the historic façade, they now act as a visual reminder of the building’s past rather than a functional gateway (except as an emergency exit). In their place, a new entrance has been created to the west side of the building, designed with accessibility in mind. This maintains Darke Hall’s historical integrity while making the space more welcoming to all visitors.
The new entrance opens into a ground-level vestibule that branches in three directions called The Link. To the left is Darke Hall, to the right is the Conexus Cultivator, and straight ahead is a multi-purpose space used for seasonal concerts, performances, and community activities. The Link itself can also host markets, conventions, and small concerts, such as a Christmas concert held there this past December. This is just one of the many spaces now helping to transform Darke Hall into a community-driven venue.
Other changes to the building include sloping the auditorium floor to improve the visitor experience and reopening a third entrance into the auditorium, one that had been sealed off and forgotten for decades, only being rediscovered during the renovations.
“You’re kind of walking through periods of time as you walk through the building,” said James Youck, an architect who helped with the restoration. Every doorway, every window, every lantern, and every chair is inspired by, or drawn from, a different era, stretching back nearly a century.
What’s on @ Darke Hall
The restoration project brought not only changes to the bones of the building, but to the identity, soul and brand of what Darke Hall has now become. While big names like the Regina Symphony Orchestra still perform there regularly, the new Darke Hall Presents series brings in smaller folk, country and indie performers to the big stage as well. Artists like Wolf Willow, Belle Plaine, Blake Berglund, Teagan Littlechief and Michael Kaeshammer are only some of the major names performing there within the past few months.
Throughout our city, the music scene has had a rough couple of years, with a big blow happening last year with the termination of the Folk Festival. Darke Hall is looking to help fill that void and work with local musicians and performers to help them find a new home. This upcoming March, they have partnered with the Regina Blues Association for the 31st Annual Mid-Winter Blues Festival. They also are collaborating with Heritage Regina during their Winter Lecture Series “House in a Box: Catalog Homes”. In June they are hosting Beatlemania Revisited, an international touring show which recreates the look, sound and excitement of the fab four’s live performances, and in September they are hosting Bee Gees Revisited, a testament that even after all this time, disco never died.
Darke Hall is working to reinvent themselves, and the creation of the new Darke Hall Society is the engine driving that forward. A challenge that the Darke Hall Society has is that many people still think of Darke Hall as a dusty 19th Century performance studio, with cracked leather seats and worn down carpet. Over $10 million dollars has gone into the renovation of Darke Hall to modernize the building, and the Darke Hall Society wants you to know that that money has gone into more than just a fresh coat of paint. While parts of Darke Hall might look the same, much more has changed under the surface, and a new era for Darke Hall has just begun.
As Darke Hall approaches its centennial in 2029, it stands at an intersection of memory and momentum. The past decade has reshaped not only the building itself, but the role it plays within the city’s cultural landscape. Nearly one hundred years after Francis Darke first envisioned a temple to the arts and a centre for cultural activity, that goal remains unchanged – but now larger. With renewed spaces, evolving programming, and a growing commitment to community, Darke Hall is no longer defined by what it once was, but by what it continues to become. What’s old is new again, and it’s very much alive.
Be sure to visit DarkeHall.ca for information about upcoming events and performances. Thank you to Megan McCormick, the Director of Engagement and long time friend of mine, for taking me around Darke Hall.
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Photography of the cellphone at the concert is by Kiriako Iatridis.
Categories: Canada, Regina, Saskatchewan
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