Lord Tennyson History
Lord Tennyson Elementary School is located in the Kitsilano area of Vancouver and opened in 1911. The school was named for the English poet laureate Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809 – 1892).
Tremendous expansion of Vancouver in the first decade of the 20th century led to overcrowded conditions at Kitsilano School and Fairview School, which resulted in the need for additional schools in the area.
Tremendous expansion of Vancouver in the first decade of the 20th century led to overcrowded conditions at Kitsilano School and Fairview School, which resulted in the need for additional schools in the area.
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Part of the influx of families into the area came about after Vancouver Breweries Ltd. purchased the lot bound by 11th, 12th, Yew and Vine Streets from the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1909. From 1910 through the 1930s, some 80 to 100 men were employed at the brewery, and something of a company town sprang up in the area. Today, this site forms part of the Arbutus Lands residential development.
The Vancouver School Board purchased the school site from the Canadian Pacific Railway for $18,000 in 1909. The school was built in two stages, the first occurring in 1909-1910. In this stage, the clearing of the land cost $1,250, and the original building was erected for the sum of $80,000. The school opened in January 1911 with an enrolment of 381 students. Later in 1911, a tender was called for the second stage: the building of an additional eight rooms and an assembly hall. The contract was given to La Place Bros. for $79,400, and construction followed in 1912-1913. |
Lord Tennyson School ca. 1920 with its original ornamentation
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Designed by Vancouver School Board architect Norman Leech, Lord Tennyson School was designed in a Classical Revival style, in the standard ‘barbell’ plan of the day. Attractive and substantial relative to the neighbourhood, the school was designed to enhance the status of public education and promote the good taste and prosperity of Vancouver and its citizens. This is evident in the classically decorated arched main entry, which is a community icon. However, various other original ornamentation has since been removed from the building. The attention to detail is also reflected in the quality of the interior features, such as the woodwork, finishing details, and the coffered ceiling of the gymnasium.
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In 1924, the school was the first in Vancouver to adopt the “platoon system”. Devised in the US, the system helped schools deliver an increasingly diverse curriculum by rotating pupils to specialized classrooms for instruction in topics such as music, art, and science. The system also enabled administrators to place more children in the school without building new classrooms, resulting in valued "efficiency". A class photos from the period indicates 39 students in a single class.
Grade 1 class photo from 1927 with 39 students
In April 1945, Canada’s first kindergarten for hearing-impaired children opened at Lord Tennyson School.
There were no further major physical changes or additions in the school building until 1957. At this time, a contract was awarded to C.J. Oliver and Company for $176,890 for a modernization and addition program. The addition was largely in the form of a new auditorium-gymnasium, which was officially opened on Wednesday, October 23, 1957 by former Mayor of Vancouver, Charles E. Thompson. |
Lord Tennyson School today with cornices removed and covered (presumably from the 1957 modernization)
Ceremonial key to commemorate the opening of the Lord Tennyson School Addition in 1957, on display at the Museum of Vancouver. The Tennyson key has the Vancouver skyline worked into its face.
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In the 1960s and 1970s, neighbourhood and cultural changes led the school to a struggle with conflicting parental expectations. ‘Hippies’ favoured loosely structured open-concept classrooms while others wanted structured traditional classrooms. Both kinds of spaces are found in the school today.
Lord Tennyson's final year operating in English was the 1984-1985 school year, with the French immersion program starting in September 1985.
Since its inception, Lord Tennyson has continuously operated as an elementary school. The school was first listed on the City of Vancouver Community Heritage Register in 1994.
Since its inception, Lord Tennyson has continuously operated as an elementary school. The school was first listed on the City of Vancouver Community Heritage Register in 1994.
Archives
The school has an archive, which includes Parent-Teacher Association minutes, scrapbooks, photographs, trophies, and school records.
An online archive has been started, and is looking for a curator.
An online archive has been started, and is looking for a curator.
References:
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