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Online Heritage Inventory

General Currie School

General Information
Thumbnail photograph of General Currie School
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Type of Resource: Building
Common Name: General Currie School
Address: 8220 General Currie Road
Neighbourhood (Planning Area Name): City Centre
Construction Date: 1919
Current Owner: Provincial Government
Designated: Yes

Statement of Significance
Description of Site
General Currie School is a beautiful little one-room, one-storey gabled structure with a small gabled front porch. It is situated in a residential neighbourhood, fronting directly onto the sidewalk of General Currie Road. It is part of a larger school complex consisting of an existing, newer school, a new school building under construction, parking lot, and playground.

 Statement of Values
The school has significance as an excellent and attractive example of an early school building, a small scale, neighbourhood landmark with high aesthetic appeal and a character all its own. Designated by the City of Richmond as a heritage site, this building is of superior design, and is the only school in Richmond still in its original state and location. General Currie School is associated with evolution of the school system in Richmond after World War I, when growth in population, improved transportation and support for education saw expansion of the education system and construction of schools. Most small schools were built to a standard Department of Education plan, and General Currie may have influenced the design of new school buildings.

 Character Defining Elements
Key elements that define the heritage character of the site include:
· The presence of this little school building as a small landmark of great character which serves as an entry feature to the school complex in this residential neighbourhood
· Its monumental character, despite its size, as illustrated by its symmetrical, rectangular massing and the beautifully articulated heavy timber porch
· Superior craftsmanship and attention to detail as evident in the decorative wooden porch columns, half-timbering in the porch gable, and decorative brackets and bargeboards
· Its association with the evolution of Richmond’s school system
· Its consideration as one of the most attractive small school buildings in the province.

 History
General Currie School is a beautiful little one-room, one-storey gabled structure with a small gabled front porch. It is situated in a residential neighbourhood, fronting directly onto the sidewalk of General Currie Road. It is part of a larger school complex consisting of an existing, newer school, a new school building under construction, parking lot, and playground.

 Architectural Significance
Architectural Style
Tudor with Craftsman Influences

 Building Type
School

 Name of Architect or Builder
Designed by Joseph G. Bowman, Architect

 Design Features
This beautiful little school building lends its presence as a landmark and entry feature to the school complex in this residential neighbourhood. It is given a monumental character by the beautifully articulated heave timber porch, and is considered to be one of the most attractive small school buildings in the province. The building is rectangular in plan, with a concrete foundation. It has a side gable roof with a large front gable in the open porch. There is Tudor style half-timbering in the porch gable, which is supported by decorative wooden posts, and has brackets and a segmented arch. Craftsman influence is seen in carved barge boards. The roof is asphalt shingle, and the cladding is wooden shingle with clapboard siding. The windows are multi-paned double hung wooden sash. The shingle is painted red; the siding, columns and other details are painted white.

 Construction Method
Wood frame construction

 Landscape Significance
Landscape Element
There is a significant row of mature deciduous trees – Maple, Horse Chestnut - along the front of the school property, and a large single specimen maple to the rear of the school.

 Integrity
Alterations
Earlier documentation alludes to unattractive additions to the school, such as a covered play area on one side. All additions to the building have since been removed, with the exception of a set of concrete steps on the south side. In terms of original context, there is another school building on the site, with an addition to this newer building under construction.

 Original Location
Yes

 Condition
The building appears to be in very good condition.

 Lost
No

 Documentation
Evaluated By
Denise Cook BLA, PBD (Public History)

 Date
Sunday, September 24, 2000

 Documentation
Inventory Sheets by Foundation Group Designs, January 1990
“Heritage Inventory Phase II” by Foundation Group Designs May 1988
“Richmond, Child of the Fraser” by Leslie J. Ross 1979.

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