Identical Twins

Okay you may be wondering about the title. Well this is not just another ordinary school. This is the Queen Alexandra School located on the southside of Edmonton. Built in 1906 it is the second oldest brick school in the city. When it was originally built it was half this size. Only the one side made up the school when it opened. Later as the enrollment became much larger and the school needed to expand the powers that be made a wise decision and duplicated the school when they enlarged it
I mentioned that this was no ordinary school. It was originally named the Duggan Street School after S S Duggan the Mayor of Strathcona where the school was located. In 1910 it was decided that the school needed a more formal name and it was changed to Queen Alexandra in honor of the consort of King Edward VII.
As well at the time the University of Alberta had started operation in 1908 and since no buildings had yet been built on campus they came over to this school and used the auditorium on the third floor to hold the first classes of the Unviversity. The President of the U of A had his office in this building as well making it the only public school in Edmonton to have a room designated as The Office of the President.
Today this school also has a family connection as Melody's cousins two boys currently attend school here.

[Maggiemae]

It looks as if it might be around for a few years to come. Tremendous building!

[Shirley Chetwynd]

Fantastic looking school Brian is that snow on the roof and ground ?

[Maaikel]

Great story, and the b&w worked out perfect here!

[Kerri]

Beautiful building

[summerfield]

very nice structure, brian. i like the arched windows in particular.

[Kim]

What a fitting history for such an interesting building. Love the architecture.

[Janet Shaffer]

It's a grand building.

[Anne ❀]

so much more interesting than the boxes they built a few decades later. hope it's around for a long time

[mittens (Marilyn)]

Very nice capture and an interesting looking building. I looks like it has held up very well.

[❀ Lynn]

Excellent idea to mirror image it and add on....looks to be in great shape! What a history the kids have in that school.

[Wendy Bowden]

The snow makes this shot, wonderful building

[Disha Parekh]

Fantastic shot and bit of history. Very interesting.

[Tamara Dawn]

Love the black and white! Great story behind it too!

[Sharon]

Great story and history of this lovely old building. They did a great job with the remodel. You can't tell which is the original half.

[Kathy Burzynski]

Love the beautiful building - perfect b&w shot. Reading the history is also very facinating!

[Glenda B]

It is always nice to hear the story behind the picture. Love history, great choice with the b&w too.

[Darlene]

What a fascinating story, Brian. Great photo of such a gorgeous piece of architecture.

[Jack]

Great building with a wonderful story. I can certainly understand why you were motivated to photograph it. You have captured it perfectly.

[jerry plume]

Great shot! I love the history!

[Vicki Dixon]

interesting! and a nice idea to preserve the look!

[John]

Cool tones and building

[mervyn hobbs]

Absolutely lovely and I always look forward to the history lesson.

[Laura]

Great image and story.

[Claire]

Great historical info, the b&w certainly adds a grandness and that snow adds more historical effect, good shot

[Carole Imes]

Lovely shot of this building and I enjoyed its historical background. Looks like you're having an early winter with the snow I'm seeing in this photo.

[Cindy Rez]

Great old building ...thanks for it history very interesting!

[Leslie Manna]

What a great old building Brian, and i really like the perspective you chose. I think it's fantastic that it's still in use. Thanks for including the building's history; quite interesting. Take care up there, Les

[Ian Fisher]

A very imposing building, and fascinating history!

[Lisa Pouncy]

What a great building and super idea to add on a mirror image. Looks like one building xx

[Pyrrhula]

Great view on architecture of the building Interesting history tale

[Juliette Packham]

what a great building - I like your B&W edit too, superb history too

[Hubregt Visser]

Great picture and accompanying story of the (modern) history.

[bkb in the city]

@wenbow Glad you like it

[bkb in the city]

@dishaparekh176 Glad you like it

[bkb in the city]

@tamaradawn Glad you liked it

[bkb in the city]

@tesnonian It is very hard to tell

[bkb in the city]

@myhrhelper Glad you enjoyed it

[bkb in the city]

@glenda_b Thanks Glenda

[bkb in the city]

@darsphotos Thanks Darlene

[bkb in the city]

@jackster Thanks Jack

[bkb in the city]

@orangecrush Glad you enjoyed it

[bkb in the city]

@vickisfotos It is so much better that adding on a newer design

[bkb in the city]

@johnnyfrs Glad you like it

[bkb in the city]

@carwyn3 Glad to share it

[bkb in the city]

@la_photographic Glad you like it

[bkb in the city]

@claireuk Thanks Claire

[bkb in the city]

@cimes1 To early for my liking

[bkb in the city]

@cindyrez You're welcome

[bkb in the city]

@glimpses Thanks Les, glad to share our history with everyone

[bkb in the city]

@if1 Glad you like it

[bkb in the city]

@psychographer I am glad that they chose to do that

[bkb in the city]

@pyrrhula Glad you liked it

[bkb in the city]

@sparkle Glad you liked it

[bkb in the city]

@hjv Glad to share it

[bkb in the city]

@maggiemae I am sure it will be around for a very long time indeed

[bkb in the city]

@http365proj Yes it is snow

[bkb in the city]

@maaikel Thank you

[bkb in the city]

@kerristephens Glad you like it

[bkb in the city]

@summerfield It is a lovely old building

[bkb in the city]

@kimshots Glad you like it

[bkb in the city]

@janets It really is

[bkb in the city]

@sunnygreenwood I am sure it will be

[bkb in the city]

@mittens It is in very good shape

[bkb in the city]

@lynnb The great part about it is that they make sure they teach the history to the kids

[Diane]

I really like this in B&W. Interesting architecture and background. So nice it's still in use, too.

[bkb in the city]

@eudora I am sure it will in use for many years to come

[michelle mcintyre]

Great shot of a lovely old building - like the snow too!!

[bkb in the city]

@michelle58 Thanks Michelle

[Ann H. LeFevre]

That's great that it's still in use! I like how the b/w gives the shot a feel as if it was taken in the 50's. Nice!

[bkb in the city]

@olivetreeann Thanks Ann. I think some shots are just so much better in b/w

[PasadenaRose]

Love this shot and the history. And I love that they decided to 'twin' the building when they enlarged it. Somebody back then came up with a great idea.