Photo: Victoria College and High School Cadet Parade (mainly high school students, led by Sgt.-Major Malcahy). The wooden building to the right was now the home of McGill University College of British Columbia. It had been built in the winter of 1908-1909. This photo is dated ca. 1911.
(UVic Archives Photo No. 008.0801)
Image size = 60KB
The Victoria school population was expanding rapidly in the Edwardian age. The 1902 high school building had been overcrowded from the start, and was jammed to capacity by 1908. An obvious temporary expedient was to build a separate structure to house the Victoria College classes. Tenders were opened at the School Board meeting of October 19, 1908, and the contract was awarded to the low bidder, George Calder. For the princely expenditure of $1,525, Victoria thus received its first building expressly designed for higher education.
Until the spring of 1914, when the new school at Fernwood and Grant was opened, this two-room wooden structure provided all classroom accommodation for McGill University College of British Columbia. Its grand and all-but-forgotten official title was "The McGill Building"; among students of the day, it was know variously as "The Barn" or "The Chickenhouse."
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