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Heritage Planner’s Statement of Significance Description of Historic Place – McKay Avenue School McKay Avenue School is an early twentieth century, three-storey building situated on roughly 0.61 hectares of land in 's Downtown. The building embodies the Richardsonian Romanesque architectural style and features a red- brick façade, sandstone trim, round arches over the windows and doors, and Ionic columns flanking the main entrances. The school is adjacent to the historic Edmonton (1881) School, which is not included in the designation. Heritage Value The heritage value of McKay Avenue School lies in its association with the inaugural sessions of the Legislative Assembly, its connection to early educational institutions in Edmonton, and its stately Richardsonian Romanesque architectural style.

Built between 1904 and 1905, McKay Avenue School was completed in the same year that Alberta was established as a province. With the Legislature building yet to be constructed, the first provincial assembly was forced to find other quarters for their proceedings. The elegant, dignified architecture of the new school and its spacious assembly hall were well-suited for the purpose. In 1906 and 1907, the third floor of McKay Avenue School was rented for the first two working sessions of the Alberta Legislative Assembly. Attended by political luminaries like Premier Alexander Cameron Rutherford, these inaugural assemblies debated issues and crafted legislation to establish the infrastructure of the nascent province. Significant bills passed during these sessions included the confirmation of Edmonton as provincial capital, the founding of the , the establishment of a system of provincial courts, and the provision of charters for several railway companies. The third floor assembly hall has been restored to reflect its appearance during its use by Alberta's first Legislative Assembly.

At the time that McKay Avenue School was constructed, Edmonton was rapidly transitioning from a frontier settlement to the administrative and political centre of a fledgling province. Significant immigration to Edmonton around the turn of the century had swelled the community's population; in 1904, this growth resulted in Edmonton's incorporation as a city. The burgeoning population and optimistic appraisals of the city's future led local authorities to initiate an ambitious program to expand the community's educational infrastructure. McKay Avenue School was part of this expansion, replacing the original and substantially smaller school erected on the same site in 1881. Built in an impressive style reflecting the city's growing confidence, the school's image was further burnished by its association with significant national and regional figures. 's Governor General Lord Minto laid the cornerstone for the new building in 1904. It was named in honour of Dr. William MacKay, a physician for the Hudson's Bay Company from 1864 until 1898, and one of the earliest doctors in western Canada. The name of the

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McKay Avenue School is an impressive example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, embodying the enthusiasm of turn-of-the-century Edmonton and its growing sophistication. Designed by Henry Denny Johnson, the school manifests the strong influence of Romanesque Revival ideals in its semi-circular arched windows and doors, Ionic columns flanking the main entrances, recessed entrance, and rough-faced sandstone string coursing. Johnson's design was well-received and became the model for later school buildings in the city. An addition, sympathetic in materials and style, was added to the original building in 1912. In its robust massing and dignified architecture, the school embodies the educational virtues of strength, honesty, and elegance.

Character Defining Elements The character-defining elements of McKay Avenue School include such features as:

• mass, form, and style; • red brick façade; • rough-faced sandstone sills, lintels, and stringcourses; • corbelled chimneys with decorative brickwork; • hipped roof; • brick pilasters, arcading around windows, decorative coursing and corbelling; • decorative stone capitals atop brick pilasters; • corbelled brick pediment wall dormers intersecting the roofline and featuring recessed, unadorned friezes; • stone inscribed with "1904.", "McKAY AVENUE", "A", "D", "1904", "A", "D", "1912" and "PUBLIC SCHOOL"; • ionic sandstone columns flanking entryways and supporting stone arch with a keystone; • inset decorative stonework on both sides of entrance arches; • fenestration pattern and style, including round arched windows on upper level; • arrangement and style of doors, including entrance doors topped by semi- circular fanlights; • time capsule sealed under the cornerstone; • skylights on top floor; • original interior elements, including doors and windows, transom windows, masonry arches, stairways (including newel posts and balustrades), wainscoting, fanlights and sidelights, mouldings, trims, decorative grates, flooring, fittings, fixtures, furniture, radiators, columns and capitals; • extant original floorplan; and • spatial relationship and sightlines to original 1881 school also located on the site (but not included in the Designation). Adapted from Alberta Culture and Tourism Statement of Significance

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Description of Historic Place – Edmonton 1881 School The Edmonton (1881) School is a late nineteenth century, one-storey wood building located on three lots of land in Edmonton Downtown district. It is a simple building featuring vertical wood siding with battens, a gable-roofed front porch, and a sign above the entrance reading “EDMONTON SCHOOL 1881”. The school is adjacent to the historic McKay Avenue School.

Heritage Value The heritage value of the 1881 Public School lies in its association with the early establishment of educational institutions in Alberta.

In 1881, the settlement of Edmonton was transitioning from a frontier fur trade post to a bustling agricultural and commercial community. Speculation that the transcontinental railway would pass through the community led to a small population and real estate boom in 1880 and 1881, swelling the ranks of traders, farmers and prospectors already in the settlement. With the population expanding and with neither mission nor private schools in Edmonton able to provide for the educational needs of the young, several prominent citizens decided to establish the community’s first public school. A local vote endorsed the idea and Edmonton’s first Public Board School Trustees was created, composed of three members: Malcolm Groat, Matthew McCauley, and William Rowland. Though initially opposed to the creation of the school, the Hudson’s Bay Company agreed to donate four hilltop lots for the construction of the new building. Financing for the construction and later administration of the school was initially obtained through public subscriptions. Built by the firm of Oliver and McDonald in 1881, the new school opened in January of 1882. Three years later, in 1885, the Legislative Council of the North-West Territories formally constituted the School District of Edmonton of the Northwest Territories, Protestant Public School District No. 7. It was the first public school district in present-day Alberta. The school remained active until 1904, when the McKay Avenue School was constructed on an adjacent lot. Prior to World War One, the school was relocated and converted into a residence; in 1982, roughly one century after its initial construction, the 1881 Public School was returned to its original site. It is the oldest extant public school building in the province.

At the time of construction, the 1881 Public School was one of the more high quality buildings in Edmonton. It was the first sawn lumber building in the settlement and boasted six windows fitted with what were at the time the community’s largest panes of glass, each measuring 10 inches by 14 inches. The school featured exterior walls of vertical siding and battens, sawdust insulation, and a roof composed of tarpaper covered in shingles. Initially 24 feet by 30 feet, the school was expanded twice over the succeeding years to meet increased demands. Extensive restorations have been made to the school to replicate its original appearance.

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Character Defining Elements The character-defining elements of the Edmonton 1881 School include such features as:

• mass, form, and style; • front gable roof with brick chimney; • vertical board and batten siding; • fenestration pattern; • original wainscoting, floorboards, and decorative strip near ceiling; • original window, sill, and frame on south wall; • original door frame; • trap door to crawl space; and • original artifacts, including water barrel, desks blackboard.

Adapted from Alberta Culture and Tourism Statement of Significance

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