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This edition of Architrivia goes Halloween with a story of a designated heritage building reportedly said to be roamed by a perished construction worker. Besides the ingrained value of its impressive Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, the McKay Avenue School has merit in its political association as the host of the inaugural sessions of Alberta's Legislative Assembly.
When the school was built between 1904 and 1905, Edmonton's transition from a frontier town into the administrative capital of nascent Alberta was at its peak. As construction began, Edmonton was officially incorporated as a city. As a growing population centre and the hub of political activity in the newly formed province, local officials launched a broad initiative to enlarge the footprint of the community's educational holdings.
McKay Avenue School proved an integral part of this mission, replacing the original school that had stood on the site since 1881. After construction completed in 1904, Governor General Lord Minto laid the cornerstone for the new building, which was named after Hudson's Bay Company physician Dr. William MacKay. Though the name of the building mistakenly omitted the first 'a' in 'MacKay,' the spelling was never corrected.
With the Legislature not yet erected, the Henry Denny Johnson-designed schoolhouse was the chosen site of the first provincial assembly. The expansive assembly hall and overall sophistication of the design won the building points among the political elite. The third floor of the structure was rented out for the first two working sessions of the Legislative Assembly in 1906 and 1907, with Premier Alexander Cameron Rutherford leading the way in drafting legislation to entrench the values of the nascent province. These decisive sessions produced a number of formative bills for the province, including the founding of the University of Alberta, the establishment of the provincial courts system, and the provision of charters for railway companies.
The semi-circular arched windows and entrance Ionic columns were augmented by an addition in 1912 that matched the decor and style of the original. Today, the building houses the Edmonton Public Schools Archives and Museum, which has faithfully restored the 1906 legislative assembly room and a 1950s classroom. Staff at the school believe Edmonton's oldest brick schoolhouse is also frequented by an apparition of a construction worker who had fallen off the roof and died during the 1912 expansion. Stories of strewn-about items and overwhelming feelings of being watched have been common tales told by the school's visitors.
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