Engineering Building - Construction
Fait partie de University of Saskatchewan Photograph Collection
Brickwork almost completed during construction of the Engineering Building.
Bio/historical note: The original Engineering Building was destroyed by fire on Friday, 13 March 1925.
Fait partie de University of Saskatchewan Photograph Collection
Group of men standing in front of Engineering Building before a formal photograph has been taken; first class ever held on the campus.
Fait partie de University of Saskatchewan Photograph Collection
Looking east at Engineering Building at left and Livestock Pavilion at right. At centre in background is the University farm foreman’s residence at left and the boarding house for farm workers at right.
Engineering Building - Exterior
Fait partie de University of Saskatchewan Photograph Collection
View of first Engineering Building shortly after completion; winter scene.
Engineering Building - Exterior
Fait partie de University of Saskatchewan Photograph Collection
View of first Engineering Building shortly after completion.
Engineering Building - Exterior
Fait partie de University of Saskatchewan Photograph Collection
View of first Engineering Building shortly after completion.
Fait partie de University of Saskatchewan Photograph Collection
Looking northwest with field in foreground. A rail car sits in front of the College Building at far right. Campus buildings in background (l to r): Power House, Engineering Building, Livestock Pavilion and University (Main) Barn visible in background.
Fait partie de University of Saskatchewan Photograph Collection
Looking northwest with feed (grain) elevator and Rutherford Rink in foreground, Engineering Building at centre and Western College of Veterinary Medicine at top.
Engineering Building - Exterior
Fait partie de University of Saskatchewan Photograph Collection
Looking southwest at Engineering Building shortly after completion. Power house at left; cars parked in front. North addition nearing completion.
Bio/historical note: The original Engineering Building was destroyed by fire on Friday, 13 March 1925.
Fait partie de University of Saskatchewan Photograph Collection
View of ruins after fire destroyed the first Engineering Building on Friday, 13 March 1925.
Fait partie de University of Saskatchewan Photograph Collection
View of ruins after fire destroyed the first Engineering Building on Friday, 13 March 1925.
Engineering Building - Construction
Fait partie de University of Saskatchewan Photograph Collection
Early view of construction of new Engineering Building.
Bio/Historical Note: The modern day Engineering Building was built on the foundations of the original Engineering Building which was destroyed by fire 13 March 1925. Construction began the following June with an expected completion date of 1 November 1926. Gentil J.K. Verbeke of Saskatoon designed the new building, which was initially budgeted at $277,150. In reality the project would run well into February 1926 and eventually cost $304,169.65. The still uncompleted Engineering Building was occupied by the college in January 1926. Similar in design to its predecessor, the new Engineering Building featured a few noteworthy improvements. These included skylights for the top floor and individual lights for the draughting tables, a smoking lounge for students, and a new library and reading room. The new building contained 89,000 gross square feet of space, and also housed the dean and assistant dean’s offices, about 15 staff offices, drafting rooms, several lecture rooms, laboratories and postgraduate student offices. In 1939 the west wing of the new building was extended northward to house the Mechanical Engineering laboratories and the welding shop. An extension of the tractor lab was completed on 7 February 1941 for $33,188.60. The extension was designed by Gentil J.K. Verbeke and was built by Shannon Bros. Construction. A full addition to the west wing also designed by Verbeke was completed in 1946 by W. C. Wells Contractors for $31,890. The official opening of the west wing took place on 10 February 1948. In 1949 a World War II Air Force hangar was adjoined to the building to provide “temporary” space for the college. In the fall of 1961 the Evan A. Hardy Laboratory was completed as part of greater construction on the building. The laboratory project included extensive space for the Department of Agricultural Engineering, the Agricultural Engineering Research and Development Section and the Divisions of Hydrology and Control Systems. The project was completed in 1963 for $611,761; it was constructed by W.C. Wells Construction. The lab was designed by architect J. K. Verbeke while the further addition was designed by the architectural firm of Webster, Forrester and Scott. In the late 1970s the Engineering Building would undergo drastic renovations.
Engineering Building - Exterior
Fait partie de University of Saskatchewan Photograph Collection
Early view of first Engineering Building.
National Research Council and Engineering Building
Fait partie de University of Saskatchewan Photograph Collection
Elevated view looking northeast at National Research Council building, with Engineering Building in background.
Bio/Historical Note: In 1916 the National Research Council legislation was enacted and the institution was formed with the mandate to advise the government on matters of science and industrial research. For the first 15 or 16 years of its existence the NRC consisted of offices and borrowed lab space. It launched Canada’s first research journal, “Canadian Journal of Research” and funded research for human and bovine tuberculosis – a significant domestic problem in the 1920s. In 1932, NRC’s first dedicated lab was built in Ottawa. The NRC established a laboratory on the east side of the University of Saskatchewan campus in 1948. The original purpose of the facility was to “use chemistry and biology to diversify Canadian agriculture.” Originally called the “Prairie Regional Lab” then the “Plant Biotechnology Institute,” the facility is now known as “NRC Saskatoon.”
Fait partie de University of Saskatchewan Photograph Collection
View of ruins after fire destroyed the first Engineering Building on Friday, 13 March 1925. Bushes and lamp post in foreground.