Cromdale School
11240 79th Street
Herbert Storey, Architect
1931
Plans for a public school in the Cromdale neighbourhood date to 1911. That year, owing to intense growth in Edmonton’s Eastend, the Public School Board purchased an entire city block with an eye for erecting a modern brick schoolhouse. It wasn’t meant to be, at least not quickly.
Edmonton’s population boom stretched Board resources thin — so thin, in fact, they faced two pending lawsuits over their inability to pay contractors for the new Highlands and Rutherford Schools. With a recession setting-in and Great War beginning, a motion among school trustees to suspend all new construction passed unanimously and without debate.
Yet, the dream of a Cromdale school continued to fester in the minds of nearby residents. Following continued pressure from local parents, the Board relented and on February 19th, 1917, opened a temporary school. The facility was a relocated wooden schoolhouse used during the construction of Highlands. Initial enrolment at Cromdale was 74 pupils, but another portable building was soon required to accommodate an increasing student body. Those numbers only grew over the coming decade, and the Public Board finally issued orders to erect a new brick building on January 20th, 1930.
Design work and site-preparation followed, despite a worsening economic depression, with tenders issued on July 7th, 1931. Poole Construction Ltd. was the winning bidder and began construction that summer. Their general contract, amounting to $63,720, stipulated the use of cast stone and brick construction. Indeed, the Board stressed employing “made in Edmonton” materials wherever possible, from brickwork, to terrazzo floors and stair-treads. The promotion of local furnishings was a smart public relations move by the district, and hid the fact that the cash-strapped system couldn’t afford more exotic materials. Further tenders went to Ideal Plumbing & Heating Co. and Vernon Pearson Electrical Engineers, bringing the total cost of the new school to $82,980.30.
Structurally, Cromdale’s Tudor Gothicesque design was considered, in the Edmonton Journal’s words, “an interesting departure from the usual plan of school construction” in that it had “been made by incorporating the assembly hall in the palms of the basement rather than on the top floor as is generally the case. This was done to give the maximum classroom space on the upper floors of the building and was also found to be more economical in construction.”
Edmonton’s newest school opened to students on January 4th, 1932, although its official ribbon cutting took place on the 22nd. Some three-hundred people attended, representing one of the largest turn-outs at a school opening in years. The Honourable Irene Parlby, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Lacombe, and Famous Five activist, was the guest of honour. A speech gave way to a community dance.
Cromdale School remained in operation until 1980, when shifting neighbourhood demographics forced its closure — by then it was home to thirty pupils. For a time, the Public School Board retained ownership of the property and leased it to various non-profits. In 2004, however, they sold the structure and surrounding lands for conversion into low-cost housing and the construction of a health clinic.
Sources:
“Cromdale,” Edmonton Journal, April 1, 1911.
“New Record is Established Here For Public School Attendance; February 1917 Enrolment 8,840,” Edmonton Journal, March 21, 1917.
“School Teachers’ Salaries Cause of Fireworks; Matter Is Held Over By Trustees,” Edmonton Journal, April 18, 1929.
“Construction of High School At Westmount Recommended,” Edmonton Journal, January 21, 1930.
“Contract For Cromdale School Is Awarded by Board Tuesday Evening,” Edmonton Bulletin, July 8, 1931.
“New Cromdale School Opens After Christmas Holidays,” Edmonton Journal, December 31, 1931.
“New Cromdale School Will Open,” Edmonton Journal, January 2, 1932.
“Hon. Irene Parlby Will Be Speaker Cromdale Opening,” Edmonton Journal, January 21, 1932.
“Cromdale School Is Declared Open, Building Praised,” Edmonton Journal, January 23, 1932.
Michael A. Kostek, A Century and Ten: The History of Edmonton Public Schools (Edmonton: Edmonton Public Schools, 1992), 187, 307, 308, 495.
