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The Oliver School grounds occupy a full city block between 117 and 118 Streets NW and 102 and 103 Avenues NW. Like many historic schools in the city, the neighbourhood's growing populace demanded increased capacity for students, sparking the construction of additions to the property. The original brick structure built in 1911 has since been shrouded by appendages of differing architectural styles, creating a unique patchwork of facades and typologies that represent the prevailing design trends of the time.
The Edmonton Public School Board built 20 schools between 1903 and 1913, most of which were designed in-house by architect George E. Turner. The three-storey Oliver School was one of them, and opened to a pupilage of 280. It boasted a dozen classrooms, an auditorium, a library, offices, teachers' lounge and even a rifle range located in the basement. The first brick school constructed west of 109 Street, it was also the largest to come online in the early 20th century. The Collegiate Gothic style building was fashioned with arched battlements, large chimneys and stone quoins, with separate entrances for boys and girls advertised.
The school bears the name of Frank Oliver, who had served in the federal cabinet as the Minister of the Interior and Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs, and was instrumental in the creation of Banff National Park and Edmonton's designation as provincial capital. In 1918, the building doubled as a hospital for patients stricken by the Spanish flu.
In response to the area's population growth, a 12-room addition was constructed on the west side of the building in 1928. The school's footprint was once again expanded in 1957, this time on the east elevation, where a gymnasium attached itself to the original structure. As a result, the two separate entrances are now obscured by the boxy modern extension, hiding much of the building's architectural beauty from public view.
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