Major Construction, 1970
Below is a 1989 photo showing the completed buildings.
To the right, the south wing, added in 1955, is mostly hidden by the original 1924 structure. The roofs of the 1971 addition and the sports field can be seen behind the 1924 building.
By the late 1960s Jarvis was badly pinched for space, trying to provide for 1,250 students in a building designed for 1,050. The facilities—classrooms, band rooms, library, cafeteria, student lockers—were all inadequate. The old pool, the pride of the new building when it was opened in 1924, had become cramped, overcrowded and known as "cockroach heaven."
In 1967 approval was given for the spending of $2.5 million to renovate the old building and construct a major addition. A three-storey apartment building behind the school was expropriated, making room not only for a new addition but also a new sports field. No longer would the Jarvis football team have to take a bus up to Rosedale Park for games and practices. The Jarvis site expanded to four acres—puny, it is true, compared to the 25-acre schools being built in the suburbs but luxurious compared to the previous site and roomy for a downtown location.
The new facilities included two music rooms, a cafeteria, a girls' gymnasium, a swimming pool, a physics laboratory, three standard classrooms, two "team-teaching" rooms, the playing field, and an underground parking garage underneath the field.
The renovations included converting the old swimming pool into a theatre arts room and the old girls' gym into a library.
Construction was completed in 1971.
The new addition included underground parking for teachers after many had transferred to the new, more convenient suburban schools.
