Case steamer sitting in the Engineering Building.

Stationary engine shown in the Engineering Building.

View of construction of Engineering Building addition.

Bio/historical note: The original Engineering Building was destroyed by fire on Friday, 13 Mar. 1925.

Sheep grouped together in a pen. University (Main) Barn, Engineering Building and other campus buildings in background.

Damage done to the Engineering Building by a hailstorm; several people standing in doorway.

Bio/historical note: The original Engineering Building was destroyed by fire on Friday, 13 March 1925.

Damage done to exterior of the Engineering Building after a hailstorm.

Bio/historical note: The original Engineering Building was destroyed by fire on Friday, 13 March 1925.

Men standing in a carpentry shop surrounded by machinery and tools. Names on back of photo from left: Tom Hallett, carpenter; George Dixon, carpenter, ? Morrison; Walter Coppings, father-in-law; W.E. McClelland, chief engineer; Jack Smith, janitor; A.V. Copping, general foreman; Wm. Davies, machinist.

Ewes and lambs grazing in a fenced-in enclosure. Engineering Building and Livestock Pavilion in background.

Laying the foundation of the first Engineering Building.

Bio/Historical Note: The original Engineering Building was designed to house the Agricultural Engineering Department, though it would eventually be home to the Department of Field Husbandry as well. The redbrick exterior was largely constructed during the summer of 1911 while the interior work was completed during the winter of 1911-12. The Engineering Building was designed by the original campus architects, David Brown and Hugh Vallance, and made allowances for the great variety of work within the field of agricultural engineering: the lower floor was designed for use in blacksmithing, cement work, engine construction and heavy farm machinery. The second floor contained a lecture room as well as room for woodwork, carpentry, pumps and farm-barn equipment. The third floor was devoted to a draughting room and light farm equipment. The main entrance to the building opened into the blacksmith’s forge. In 1913 a second wing was built with Brown and Vallance again serving as chief architects, as they would again in 1920. By December 1923 a final addition, designed by Saskatoon architect J. K. Verbeke, was completed by Bennett & White Construction for $8,800. At approximately 3 a.m. on the morning of Friday, 13 March 1925, a fire broke out in the north end of the building's Tractor Laboratory. In less than three hours everything but the Ceramic Lab had been completely destroyed. The fire came as a shock to many, as the entire building had been subjected to a rigorous fire inspection only a day prior to the blaze. Plans for a new Engineering Building to be constructed on the original foundation were promptly issued, and other building projects, including the long-anticipated Arts Building, were postponed.

View of Engineering Building under construction in foreground, with Power House construction in background. In immediate foreground is tunnel which ran laterally to the main line from Power House to College Building.

Image of participants in the Gasoline Traction Engine Course, standing in front of two tractors parked in front of the Engineering Building.

Bio/Historical Note: This was the first class ever conducted on campus; classes began in the new College Building that fall.

Group of men standing in front of Engineering Building before a formal photograph has been taken; first class ever held on the campus.

Group of participants of a Gasoline Engineering Short Course pose in front of the Engineering Building; first class ever held on campus.