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Victoria Sandstone School
Calgary
Other Names:
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Victoria Park Sandstone School
Victoria School
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Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The Victoria Sandstone School is a pre-World War One, two-storey sandstone school building situated on a large parcel of land comprised of forty city lots in a warehouse district in the Victoria Park community immediately south of downtown Calgary. A large addition constructed in 1961 is not included in the designation.
Heritage Value
The heritage value of the Victoria Sandstone School lies in its representation of the dynamic growth of Calgary shortly before World War One, when the demands of the time warranted the construction of facilities to educate the school population in new, rapidly growing communities such as East Ward (now Victoria Park).
Constructed of Paskapoo Sandstone, a local material unique to the Calgary area, in a simply detailed Edwardian Classical style, the school was built in 1912 as an addition to an earlier sandstone school building that was later demolished. At the time of its construction, sandstone was commonly used as a building material for large public and commercial buildings and Calgary was known as "Sandstone City". From 1914 to 1930, it housed the Victoria Provisional School and was one of four school buildings used as an emergency hospital during an influenza epidemic that occurred in 1918.
The Victoria Sandstone School is a conspicuous local landmark that establishes a direct historical link with Calgary's pre-World War One boom years. A substantial structure within Victoria Park, it maintains the dominant character of the area.
Source: Calgary Heritage Authority Inventory (File: 02-112)
Character-Defining Elements
The key character defining elements associated with the Victoria Sandstone School include:
- square in plan with a pitched pyramidal roof form with central cupola, flagpole, and metal railings;
- exterior walls in rock-faced Paskapoo sandstone with carved details;
- fenestration pattern reflecting the symmetrical placement of interior classrooms around a central corridor;
- pressed metal entablature with central pediment;
- carved sandstone entranceway with entablature on three pilasters; original building identification 'VICTORIA SCHOOL' carved in entablature above doors; and
- interior slate stair treads and brass handrails with arched openings.
Location
| Street Address: |
411 - 11 Avenue SE |
| Community: |
Calgary |
| Boundaries: |
Strata Lot 46, Block 78, Plan 1512081 |
| Contributing Resources: |
Buildings: 1
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ATS Legal Description:
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Mer |
Rge |
Twp |
Sec |
LSD |
5
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1
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24
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15
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8 (ptn.)
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PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):
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Plan |
Block |
Lot |
Parcel |
1512081
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78
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46
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Latitude/Longitude:
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Latitude |
Longitude |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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51.041655 |
-114.054704 |
GPS |
NAD 83 |
UTM Reference:
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Northing |
Easting |
Zone |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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Recognition
| Recognition Authority: |
Local Governments (AB) |
| Designation Status: |
Municipal Historic Resource |
| Date of Designation: |
2004/11/15 |
Historical Information
| Built: |
1912 To 1913 |
| Period of Significance: |
From: 1914 To: 1930 |
| Theme(s): |
Building Social and Community Life : Education and Social Well-Being
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| Historic Function(s): |
Education : Composite School
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| Current Function(s): |
Education : Composite School
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| Architect: |
Hugh McClelland
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| Builder: |
J.A. McPhail
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| Context: |
Between 1892 and 1920, Calgary's public school board built some twenty sandstone schools to accommodate the city's rapidly growing student population. These imposing structures reflected the city's growing prosperity prior to World War One, and their Edwardian designs evoked the connections to the British Empire in the minds of Anglo-Saxon and immigrant schoolchildren, their parents, and the population at large.
The original Victoria School, a four-room sandstone building designed by Calgary architect William Dodd, was constructed in 1903 at a cost of $12,800.00. Along with the second Calgary General Hospital, built in 1895, the school was one of two sandstone institutional buildings in the emerging district known as East Ward and soon renamed Victoria Park. A four-room sandstone addition, also believed to have been designed by Dodd, was built in 1907 by contractors McNeil and Burns. Both the original 1903 structure and 1907 additions were demolished in 1961. The remaining historic structure is the extent 1912 addition, built by contractor J.A. McPhail at a cost of $63,000.00. It was designed by Hugh McClelland, Superintendent of Buildings for Calgary Protestant Public School District No. 19. McClelland was evidently assisted in this work by William A. Branton, who had been hired as a draftsman. Branton later served as the board's Building Superintendent and Architect.
From 1914 to 1930, the building housed both academic classes and the Victoria Prevocational School, a program for students who did not intend to pursue a higher education. During World War One, soldiers at the Ogden Convalescent Home attended the schools typing and shorthand classes. The pre-vocational program was transferred to another facility in 1930.
Like all schools in the city, Victoria School closed from October 1918 to January 1919 owing to the worldwide Spanish Influenza epidemic at the end of World War One. Victoria was one of four schools used as emergency influenza hospitals. Through public availability of its auditorium, Victoria School accommodated a variety of organizations and purposes through the decades. During World War Two, such users included the Calgary Sea Cadets, the Calgary Special Constabulary, and the War Time Prices and Trade Board, Ration Division, which used the auditorium for registration and for issuing sugar ration books. From the 1940s to the 1980s, Victoria students participated in the school's annual ice show / winter carnival, held at the nearby Stampede Corral after its constructions in 1950. Distinguished alumni have included: restaurateur Hy Eisenstadt; National Hockey League player Dutch Gainor; Calgary Herald columnist Pat McMahon; Eric Musgreave, alderman (1967-1974) and MLA (1975-1989); businessman Jack Singer; and auctioneer Bob Smithens.
In 1961, the original structure and its 1907 addition were demolished to make way for a modern wing that included new classrooms, a gymnasium, and industrial arts and music rooms. The new concrete addition, officially opened in October 1962, physically linked Victoria School to the bungalow school that had been built immediately to the west in 1919. Victoria was designated as a Community School in the 1970's, and began offering continuing education and a variety of social programs and services. As a result of declining enrollment, Victoria Community School's junior high program was closed in 1989, and closure of its elementary school followed in 1995. A charter school has occupied the campus, including the 1919 bungalow school, since 1996.
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Additional Information
| Object Number: |
4664-0128 |
| Designation File: |
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| Related Listing(s): |
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| Heritage Survey File: |
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| Website Link: |
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| Data Source: |
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