Queen Victoria
Parkdale's second public school was built in 1887, the year in which Queen Victoria celebrated her 50th anniversary since her ascension to the throne. At that time she was the ruler of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Ireland, and sovereign over a large and expanding empire, including the Dominion of Canada.
In her golden Jubilee Year, marked by an endless round of festivities, it is not surprising that Queen Victoria's name was imprinted on Parkdale's newest public school. The cornerstone of the school was laid on June 28, 1887, and the doors opened to the first group of students on Thursday, March 1, 1888.
Alexandria Victoria was born May 24, 1819 and ascended to the throne at age 18. Victoria celebrated her diamond Jubilee or 60th anniversary as Queen in 1897. She died on January 21,1901 at 81 years of age, thus becoming the longest reigning monarch in English history.
The Canadian Parliament established May 24 as a public holiday in Canada in honor of the Queen.
The explosion of home construction in the early 1880's in Parkdale necessitated that some new schools be erected by the Town.
The designs for the original two-story red brick school building were predictable: square and box-like--sturdy, symmetrical, yet homey. The stylistic elements were of Romanesque design; semi-circular, detailed red stones, and Credit Valley sand-stone. This perfectly complimented commercial structures which were being erected on Parkdale's Queen Street West.
A clock was placed at the center front entrance of the school, no doubt to distinguish the structure as being public rather than a private building. The single front entrance elevated slightly to the first floor emphasizing the democratic universality of the one common education system for all who entered, regardless of background or economic status.
At the time of construction, Close Avenue (then supporting the prouder name of Grand Avenue) was practically an undeveloped lane which ran between two partially built streets now know as Dunn and Jameson Avenues.
Almost immediately after the opening, extensions were contemplated and undertaken. A third storey edition in 1889 served to intensify the imperial aspect of the building.
After the roof level was raised to accommodate additional classrooms (to a total of 18 rooms), the original carved stone detail was reincorporated along the roof line. The vertical extension reinforced authoritarian elements which could have gone unnoticed in the two-storey version of the school.
In 1921, a seven-room edition was built at the south end of the school and in 1931 a further edition consisting of six rooms and a double kindergarten was constructed. By that time, the original structure had been in use for over forty years and was beginning to show it's age. It was reported that the building was leaning toward the east and had to be jacked up.
The 1921 edition existed until the building was demolished in 2000. It was a sleek albeit anonymous rectangle which stood at the northern-most section of the school. It was a workman-like Georgian Revival style building such as was mass produced across the City of Toronto. It would have seemed to its contemporaries to be very modern and reasonable. By contrast the original school building would have been dowdy, dirtied and darkened by coal soot, having lost its lustre.
All the decorative details of the 1921 building were made of precast concrete. By the post-war period new safety standards for buildings rendered the old building obsolete.
In 1961 major changes were made to the school building. The original school building and its 1889 and 1895 additions were demolished. The south end of the 1931 extension was also taken down. The remaining structure, which had been built in 1921 and 1931 was renovated. New construction consisted of a two-storey addition with a basement built onto the south end of the school. It provided two single kindergartens, eleven classrooms, administration rooms and a gym/general purpose room.
In 1970 an air-conditioned third-storey was added, providing nine classrooms including two double rooms. At this time three classrooms on the second floor were also turned into a large modern library.
By the 1990's the student population had greatly increased and space within the school building was severely limited. It was decided that a new building was needed. The challenge facing the design team of the new school was how to incorporate the needs of approximately 1100 students and 100 staff in a replacement building, while still allowing the existing school to operate, in the existing structure, during construction.
This challenge dictated that the new building would have to be located in the playground to the north of the existing school. Also, because of the accommodation needs within such a restricted construction site, a four storey building resulted. The design was a simple solution. It stacked the large facilities (the General Purpose room, Lunch Room and Mechanical Room) and surrounded these spaces with instructional classrooms on each floor.
In order to provide a sense of light and cheerfulness to the interior, in keeping with the building's young occupants, natural lighting, by means of skylights, was introduced into the interior. This together with the limited use of primary colors helped to define a central gathering space in the Dorothy Calot Children's Courtyard, which is the focal point of the school. The first classes moved into the new building on February 14, 2000. It took two weeks for all the classes to be relocated!
Click Photos to view pictures of the students and staff of Queen Victoria Public School at the turn of the 20th century.