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Vancouver Heritage Foundation is a registered charity supporting the conservation of heritage buildings and structures in recognition of their contribution to the city’s economy, sustainability and culture. |
Vancouver's first school was located at Hastings Mill, at the foot of Dunlevy Street (the area currently known as Railtown), in an 18' x 40' frame building set in a stump-filled clearing. The 15 students reflected the diversity of early Vancouver, with First Nations, mixed race, Kanaka (Hawaiian) and settlers' children. Miss Georgia Sweeney was the teacher. It was established in 1872, the same year the BC Government passed a Public Schools Act which " explicitly stated that all public schools would be officially non-sectarian, distinguishing British Columbia from all other Canadian provinces; and that education would be free. The purpose of public education was clearly expressed in the Act as being ‘to give every child in the Province such knowledge as will fit him to become a useful and intelligent citizen in after years.’" (Vancouver Schools: Establishing Their Heritage Value, p.15, Sept 2007 Revised). Read more in this key document for understanding Vancouver's heritage schools Vancouver Schools- Establishing Their Heritage Value.
"The quintessential image of the early North American school building is the ‘little white
schoolhouse’ – a wood frame building that was domestic in scale and contained one or
two rooms." (Vancouver Schools, p.27). In Vancouver's case, it's the little yellow schoolhouse we may think of, many of which are no longer standing, but a few great examples still survive. (Many of the wooden schools found around Vancouver are currently painted a light yellow or grey, but as far as we know, not white.)
Carleton Hall Photo Credit: Green Thumb Theatre
Two of the small wooden schoolhouses of Sir Guy Carleton School, dating from 1896 and 1901 respectively, offer a great story of adaptive reuse. In 1986 when there was pressure to close down the small schoolhouse, the Collingwood community had already managed to save the school and establish its heritage importance with Vancouver School Board (VSB). In March 2008, Carleton Hall (c 1896) was set ablaze by an arsonist and the kindergarten classes had to be relocated due to fire damage. Before the fire in 2008, Carleton Hall had the distinction of being the oldest continuously operating school building in Vancouver. The school sat vacant and experienced increased damage due to moisture penetration and lack of maintenance until 2010 when Green Thumb Theatre proposed converting it into their offices and rehearsal space. The rest is history as an extensive restoration and rehabilitation took place in 2012-2013 in this "win-win-win-win-win situation" (Don Luxton, Heritage Consultant). VHF's 2015 Case Study gives you an indepth look at the successful adaptive reuse of Carleton Hall.
General Gordon’s little yellow schoolhouse. Photo Credit: West Kitsilano Residents’ Association
Historic wooden schoolhouses are still found at Henry Hudson Elementary and on the General Gordon School site. The little wooden building on the corner of Cornwall Avenue and Maple Street at Henry Hudson School was built as a manual training centre and has operated as a daycare since 1973. The similar little yellow schoolhouse at General Gordon, dating to c.1912, was slated for demolition this Spring but community outcry has led to an April 20th deadline for proposals on reuse of the space with the funds to support the job. The building was until recently being used by a Montessori school. Go here to read the requirements and submit a proposal by the deadline. Important: there is a mandatory site visit, Wednesday, March 23, 2016 at 11am. Be sure to attend if you are interested in supporting a proposal.
The VSB is working to seismically upgrade many of the schools in Vancouver, a very large task of capital investment in the school infrastructure. Many historic schools such as Henry Hudson Elementary have yet to be upgraded and like a number of others, Henry Hudson Elementary's buildings are not currently on the Vancouver Heritage Register (though over 100 years old). Of great importance is the opportunity for the school community, the neighbourhood, the VSB and Vancouverites to have meaningful conversations and input on the future of Vancouver's heritage schools.
Now is the time to get involved and informed about the future of Vancouver's heritage schools. VSB Engagement for 2016 includes public consultations and an online survey.
Learn more about all the schools currently on the City of Vancouver's Heritage Register by using Vancouver Heritage Foundation's Heritage Site Finder Interactive Map. A free iphone app is available here, or you can add the link to the homescreen of your mobile device and find heritage sites anywhere you go in the city!
