On June 19, 1973, a three-alarm fire broke out at the old King Edward High School at West 12th and Oak Street. The building was destroyed, but remnants remain on the old site, now part of Vancouver General Hospital.
From Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History
Designed by William T. Whiteway:
William T. Whiteway, the same architect who designed the Sun Tower, designed the school in the neoclassical style and topped it off with a central cupola. It was the first secondary school built south of False Creek, opened in 1905 and was officially renamed King Edward five years later.
Impressive Alumni:
The list of King Ed alumni includes an impressive array of Vancouver luminaries. There is philanthropist Cecil Green and broadcasters Jack Cullen and Red Robinson. Other notables to pass through the school’s corridors are Dal Grauer, president and chair of BC Power Corporation and BC Electric; Nathan Nemetz, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of BC; Grace McCarthy, politican; Yvonne De Carlo, actor; Jack Wasserman, newspaper reporter; Jamie Reid, poet; educator Dr Annie B. Jamieson and Olympic athlete Percy Williams.
In 1962 King Ed became an adult education centre and the kids transitioned to Eric Hamber, says Andrea Nicholson, alumni coordinator. Vancouver City College took over the King Ed building in 1965. David Byrnes attended first-year university there in the late 1960s. “One day when we were goofing around my friend Malcolm told me he’d found a way into the attic,” says David. “I remember climbing up to look out the cupola and finding a rifle range.”
Taught Shooting:
Andrea confirms there was a rifle range and students from Cecil Rhodes and Henry Hudson elementary schools used to train there. Andrea’s mum Elizabeth (MacLaine) Lowe taught at the school and later became department head for business education. She was supposed to teach night school on the day the school burned down. “I remember as a child going up into the turret, and I remember when they pulled that school apart the dividers for the bathroom stalls were solid marble,” says Andrea, who could see the flames from the grounds of Cecil Rhodes Elementary at 14th and Spruce.
Building Sold:
Vancouver General Hospital bought the King Edward building and land in 1970, though it remained an educational institution until the fire. Now, all that’s left is the stone wall at Oak and West 12th Avenue, a stained-glass window installed in Vancouver Community College’s Broadway campus, and, in the Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre that replaced the school, there is a plaque, a large photograph of the original school and a circle of yellow tile in the lobby outlining the original King Ed High School.
The wall received a Places that Matter plaque in 2012. Former King Ed teacher, and vice-president Annie B. Jamieson (1907-1927) had an elementary school named after her.
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11 comments on “Fire takes out King Edward High School”
[…] Fire takes out King Edward High […]
Yeah I remember being on 12th avenue watching the smoke as the fire trucks started arriving….so long ago.
My father went to highschool at King Ed. I went to first year university at King Ed. The day of the fire, I was working at VGH and my car was parked at King Ed. I quickly moved my car and briefly watched it sadly burn down. No my daughter works at the King Edward Campus.
I was a nursing student at the time. I watched the fire from my residence room.
I remember that day, I was working at an auto dealership that was located at Birch and Broadway. There were pieces of ash raining down on our lot, some the size of a dollar bill.
I was there in 1962…..I remember well Mr. Wilson..(Principal)….. and Ms. Hopkins..and Mr. Freshwater…and other old time characters now long gone…Those were the days…a far far better world……
I was at King Ed it’s last year and at Eric Hamber it’s very first year. We lived at 901 west 10th. Right across the street.
An interesting story actually is the life of Eric Hamber, the man.
I attended VCC briefly in 1980, when it was located on the site.
As I remember it, the old gym was intact and used for office cubicles.
My father attended King Eddy and I at Eric Hamber. And you are right Ian Thompson about Hamber , his home alone on 88,000 sqft with ( this one takes the decadent cake) a 10 car Art Deco underground garage! Inside one bdr the ceiling was shell shaped with undulating plaster mimicking the shell! Dad was quite upset repeating , its all stone , how can it burn.
The original Vancouver High School opened downtown in 1890, and on 6 January 1905 moved to a new building at Oak Street and West 12th Avenue. Students complained about having to take the streetcar to get there. In 1910 it was officially named King Edward High School, and a new wing was added along the north side of 12th Avenue in 1912.
After I graduated from Point Grey High School in 1966 I attended Vancouver City College at King Ed. for two years. Due to a lack of credits I completed two grade 12 courses and did five first year college level classes in one year. The grade 12 courses were held at the old Model School at 12th and Ash Street, and it was a brisk (and often wet) walk to change classes. My official Grade 12 certificate is from Vancouver City College.
King Edward was handling over 2,200 students when I was there. Study carrels lined some hallways. The only washroom for male students was in the basement with original plumbing. Mme. Pain, my French teacher, told us of how King Ed. was turned into a hospital during the Spanish Flu in 1918. Favourite teachers entertained us in their homes with pot luck suppers. Some parties lasted all night!
I lived just one block from the school, and one day I was driving home from errands when I saw the smoke in the sky. I parked on Oak Street and went home to get my camera. When I returned I saw the last of the roof cave in, and my car was completely blocked in with fire hoses. The fire could be seen all over the city, and ashes covered a large area. It was a very sad day.
I knew you would have a great story!