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Williamson Road Junior Public School

LAST UPDATE: January 31 2022 login to edit this building
BUILDING INFORMATION
Name & Location:
Williamson Road Junior Public School
24 Williamson Road
Toronto
The Beaches
Owner:
Toronto District School Board
Occupant:
TDSB
Year Completed:
1913
OTHER IDENTIFICATION
Notes:

1912: Toronto Board of Education purchased over 4 acres of at $7000/acre. Possibly land that was part of the Glen Stewart Estate Orchard 1913: Construction of C.H. Bishop design began on a 3-storey, 29 classroom building 1914: School opened on September 1. Only 2 floors were in use for 453 students 1915: Students from Balmy Beach School began attendeding Williamson Road. 1917: Students from Kew Beach School began attending. 1919: Third floor of building completed 1959: Increase in student population resulted in need for expansion.

1961: October 30, New building designed by F.C. Etherington opened. This project was a senior school addition to an existing building which was completely renovated into a junior school.

The facilities in the new addition are two home economics rooms, music rooms, and industrial arts rooms, one science room, speech and drama room, library, art room, and seven standard classrooms. In addition, there are guidance rooms, staff rooms, administration offices, lunch room, a double gymnasium 60' x 80' complete with stage, and a swimming pool 36' x 75'.

One feature of the flush deck swimming pool is the man- ner in which the acoustics are treated. This is always a problem and on this occasion each side wall of the pool is a series of splays placed at an angle of approximately 30°. This permits natural light to enter the floor to ceiling glazing between the splayed walls. All walls are glazed tile up to 6', except for the splayed walls, which are glazed tile up to the ceiling. In this manner, any sound created within the pool is reflected to the rear wall, which has·a highly acoustic absorbent surface. The whole ceiling surface of the pool and gallery is similarly treated and in this way the reverberation period has been theoretically calculated to be 1.2 seconds.

The planning around the pool dressing rooms is such that the swimming facilities may be used independently by authorized organizations.

Above the swimming pool is the double gymnasium, which is also used as an auditorium, the floor of which is an in situ boxed girder, and the roof is a folded concrete plate 10" thick.

The staff room in this school is on two levels; the lower of which is used for dining by both junior and senior school teachers whilst the upper level is a rest area. One feature of the staff room is the exterior wall which is a steel latticed girder spanning 48' with glazing located between the lattices.

Seating approximately 220, the pupils' lunch room has a stairwell leading to an exterior grassed area so that pupils may purchase refreshments and enjoy lunches outside instead of remaining in the cafeteria for a complete meal.

 

1965: Due to continued population increase, the school board split the two schools and each had a separate administration. The senior school (newer building) became Glen Manor, and eventually Glen Ames Senior Public School. The original building is a blend of classical and Beaux-Arts styles on an axial plan. The three storeys sit atop a raised basement with windows. The exterior was clad in red-brick and patterned brickwork adorned the spandrels and parapets, contrasting stone was use for band courses, cornices, and detailing around doors and windows. The south, principal façade consists of a centre bay beneath a pediment, with three sections flanking it symmetrically on either side. At the end of each side of this façade, a 3-storey frontispiece containing an entrance projects from the building. When it first opening in the early 20th century, the architecture was so much of an imposing structure in the area that it was nicknamed "The white elephant of the beaches."

Status:
Completed
Map:
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Companies:
The following companies are associated with this building
BUILDING DATA
Building Type:
School
Current Use:
Educational
Heritage Status:
Listed
Main Style:
Sources:
Additions:
YearArchitectBuilderStyle
1961 F. C. Etherington Postmodern
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