Sunalta

It’s after dark one mid-winter’s evening, no snow and plenty warm. If that’s not a good excuse to get out with the camera and shoot, I don’t what is. So here we are, at a place we’ve been meaning to photograph for some time, Sunalta School. Located in the Calgary community of Scarboro, overlooking downtown, it’s an amazing sandstone structure dating back just over a century. And at one point in the 1970s, your author attended class here. Briefly.

The school opened for class in 1912 or 1913. Reports differ. When new is was on the western edge of town but today the neighbourhood it’s in, (alternate spelling Scarborough), is considered quite inner-city. My, how Calgary has grown around it! The school shares a name with a community just down the hill – interestingly, on many old maps what is present day Scarboro is sometimes listed as being part of Sunalta. Confused yet? Presumably the name Sunalta is a portmanteau of the words “Sunny Alberta” (alta itself being an abbreviation for the province).

Sunalta was made from locally sourced sandstone with the quarry being located just a bit to the west, about where present day Crowchild Trail runs. There’s plenty of this material under Calgary and lots of buildings in old downtown were made from it. And a good number of early schools too (more in a moment). Easily accessed and well suited for large structures there were many quarries active in the general area up until about World War One. Scars from some of these operations can still be found in parks and along river valleys throughout town. Calgary, back when, had the moniker “Sandstone City”.

There were nineteen sandstone schools built across the city between 1894 and 1914 with many still being used today. Many share a similar design with Sunalta. All are massive and imposing. As was done in the day, there were two entrances to the school on opposite ends and marked accordingly in the stonework above each, one for girls, one for boys. Each gender also had its own playground too – seems they liked to keep them separated back then.

This gender splitting rule, it appears, was in place into the early 1970s, at least in this part of the country. And I believe it was Canada wide at various times. Your author recalls it being enforced back when attending grades one and maybe two – I’m pretty certain of it. Suspect those who attend Sunalta today must wonder why the entrances are so marked.

A gymnasium was added to the building in the latter half of the 1950s. A larger mural adorns two sides and is visible to many passing motorists everyday on busy-noisy Crowchild Trail.

At various times grades kindergarten through six (including currently) and kindergarten through nine were taught here (and I swear grades seven through nine at one point – more in a moment). Some three hundred or so students are currently enrolled, which is slightly more than the traditional average over the last few decades. Classes for students with special needs are also taught here as well.

So back in 1977, Chris, forever your humble author, attended grade seven at Sunalta. For a few months anyway – the old man was always running from the law, so we rarely stayed in the same spot long – made it hard to make friends don’t you know. I swear it was a junior high at that time serving grades seven through nine, which I touched on earlier. I just don’t remember any little kids attending. But then again, it was long ago and memories are cloudy. Had a passionate hate-on for school then – dreadful, hellish, jail like – too structured. It was not my scene, being a skinny little trouble-making s**t was.

Still there was a pivotal moment. One day, while serving my sentence, mundane day after mundane day passing at a snail’s pace, an announcement. Seems that well known author/historian Pierre Burton* is due to speak at the school. It sounds kinda interesting. Mental note: don’t skip out that day.

And it begins….”hello, I’m Pierre Burton”. The subjects he touched on were broad, but much time was spent telling of his days as a youth in Dawson City Yukon. Way up in Canada’s far north, an historic town central to the Gold Rush of 1898, it’s a place your author has long been fascinated with. And that’s even before hearing Burton tell his tales of the Yukon – it’s been on my radar for some time, even if so far I’ve yet to make the journey. Hearing him just drove the desire to go to insane levels, and the fever is still strong to this day. I’ll get there yet.

Ducked backstage afterwards and got the chance to chat one on one with Mr Burton for a time. I stood there spellbound, hanging on every word, as he spoke more about the history of the Yukon. I think it’s here I caught the bug. A fond memory from school? So it wasn’t a total wash?

The school grounds were dead quiet on our visit with only the noise from Crowchild Trail breaking the silence. Many planes pass overhead. Cool, made it into the photo as a streak. Wonder where it’s going? On the grounds, a boulder with the names of graduates from 2004 carved in. Rock on! A fire escape leads to the second floor. That’s a long way up for some who hates heights – and the see-through slotted tread doesn’t help. But what good views of downtown! I used to go this schools, hated it and wished to see it burned down, but here I’ve come to appreciate it as a fine old structure. Made peace with it I suppose.

The community of Scarboro dates predates Sunalta School by a couple years and is home to many fine residences. We lived down the hill a bit in a more blue-collar neighbourhood.

Hope you’ve enjoyed exploring Sunalta with us. We sure had fun. Please comment to tell us what you think.

*The National Dream and The Last Spike, on the building and running of the Canadian Pacific Railway, are Burton’s most well known books. But there are a lot of others. Some have been have be made into TV mini-series.

The ABCs…
Roland School.
sKool dAyz.
Wanda one room school.

Then and now!
Calgary then and now – city skyline.
Calgary then and now – Sunalta School.

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us!

Date: December, 2017.
Location: Calgary, Alberta.
Article references (and thanks): Calgary Board of Education, Calgary City Records.

Sunalta, after dark.

We’re in the community of Scarboro.

It’s one of the city’s iconic Sandstone Schools…

…And is just over a century old.

Your author, briefly, attended class here in the ’70s.

It’s 9pm some snowless winter’s night and we’re all alone.

The gym was a later addition.

Fire escape view!

Rock on! And a plane flying to where ever.

Beside it, busy Crowchild Trail.