Description of Historic Place

Maple Grove Elementary School is situated in the west side residential neighbourhood of Kerrisdale. The school is a three-storey brick-and-stucco structure with a simple, rectangular plan, containing 24 classrooms and 4 open-area classrooms. The main facade faces east onto Cypress Street, with a semi-circular driveway leading to the at-grade double-door main entry. A small lawn graces the front of the school. The outdoor space surrounding the school also contains an adventure playground and playing fields. The property has a park-like feel, with a mix of mature deciduous and coniferous trees, including regularly spaced maples along Cypress Street. Rhododendrons and other foundation plantings are found along the main facade.

Heritage Value

Maple Grove Elementary School has heritage value for its history and its architecture. It traces its origins to 1912, when the first Magee School, with combined elementary and secondary classes, was built by the Point Grey School Board, at the corner of Magee Road (now 49th Ave.) and Cypress Street, as a result of the population growth during the tremendous expansion of Vancouver before World War I and the extension of streetcar service to Kerrisdale in 1912. Residential development after the War resulted in overcrowding at Magee School, and lobbying led to the construction of Maple Grove Elementary, adjacent to the Magee School site, in 1924-25. The impact of the baby-boom generation is seen in a classroom and gymnasium addition in 1952, designed by School Board architect E.D. King.

Maple Grove Elementary School is a particularly good example of 1920s school design in its simplification of form and reduced historicist detail, which combines vestigial Classical and Gothic features. Value is found in the architects, Townley and Matheson, and in their use of substantial concrete construction, which contrasts with Vancouver, whose ratepayers balked at the expense.

Value is also found in the survival of standard features that represented good school design, and which responded to the changing curriculum and pedagogy. For example, many classrooms have blackboards and lockers that maximize display space and reflect the drive for ‘efficiency’. This theme was carried over to the use of the departmentalized system of instruction in the 1930s and 1940s, making effective use of space and teachers’ specialized knowledge. Dedicated spaces, such as science and art rooms, facilitated the strategy. Changing pedagogy is also evident in the open learning area created on the 3rd floor in 1971.

Maple Grove’s history reflects the interest its parents took in education. A Parent-Teacher Association was established in 1924, the year the school was built. Parents’ efforts contributed to programs and buildings. Parents equipped the kindergarten in 1957. They have made an ongoing commitment to build the best elementary school library in the Province. As well as being used continuously as an elementary school, Maple Grove has served the community by accommodating overflow classes from Magee High School in the late 1920s and by serving as a Montessori school and a district resource centre.

The school has further heritage value for the collective memory of its past and present staff and pupils. The school is proud of its many ‘distinguished graduates’ and its strong connections to the community. Reunion celebrations, held in 1963, 1984, and 2000 are testimony to the strength of connections felt by alumni.

Source: City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of Maple Grove Elementary School include:

General:
- tradition of use as a school
- location in a single-family residential context
- neighbourhood landmark (along with adjacent Magee High School)

Building exterior features, including:
- construction materials, including the reinforced concrete structure, red brick on the ground floor, and smooth stucco finish above
- flat roof
- vestigial Classical and Gothic Revival features, such as the implied ‘capitals’ and pilasters between groups of windows and the ‘buttress’ surrounds beside the entrance doors
- decorative details, including the paired knee braces, ‘M’ in moulded relief on front and rear elevations; Art Deco-style principal entrances with diamond motifs; entrance capped with ‘19’ on the left side, ‘24’ on the right side and a keystone in the centre; entrance landing finished with red terra cotta tile
- additional exterior details, including multi-paned double entrance doors, with original hardware, mail slot and handrails; projecting concrete sills; secondary entrances with canopies; and ventilation panels
- fenestration: nine-pane windows on front doors with fixed multi-paned transom, recessed multiple-assembly four-pane wood sash windows with original hardware and sash ‘horns’; bank of windows in stairwells for maximum daylight exposure; scored glass block over row of three panes; hopper windows
- covered play area

Building interior features, including:
- general: intact spatial configuration of interior spaces, high ceilings, millwork, clocks, public-address speakers, features to increase storage capacity, ventilation panels, high baseboards, electric face plates, panelled and glazed wooden classroom doors with original hardware and wood surrounds
- classrooms: built-in teachers’ storage cupboards; built-in open cloak areas at the back of the classrooms, with hardware and storage spaces covered by vertically-sliding pocket doors with full length side cupboards on either side; chalkboard wood surrounds and rail with space created by multiple boards on tracks; some classrooms with built-in storage and plumbing to accommodate designated subjects such as art or science; cloakrooms with independent entrances with benches, storage and hardware; glazed (textured glass and smooth) doors
- common areas: designated student patrol case, designated lunch room with chalkboards, rolling tables and built-in kitchen features
- stairwells: central internal staircase to second floor with metal handrails on the sides and in the middle; running beveled course on staircase walls; bevelled banisters with ‘stoppers’ to prevent sliding; return above stairs; banks of windows in stairwells to maximize daylight
- gymnasium/auditorium: clerestory windows; wall-mounted metal gym equipment; dressing rooms with built-ins; house league standings board outside gym; stage with stair access on either side, storage below, and light wells
- other: boiler room with original door; designated health room with built-in bench below frosted glass in waiting area; old name plates in consistent font with designations such as ‘VISUAL EDUCATION’, ‘STORES’ and ‘MEN STAFF’; purpose-built kindergarten with independent washroom facilities on the second floor; one Dutch door with now-covered aperture; designated staff room with built-ins

Landscape features:
- evenly-spaced mature maples on perimeter of school property
- semi-circular drive from street to main entrance with accommodation for parking
- ceremonial lawn at the main entrance with memorial tree planted for teacher Rob Haas
- metal flagpole