Aerial view of the exterior of the College of Education building and Diefenbaker Centre.

Looking north at University Hospital and Medical Building. College Drive in the foreground.

Aerial view of foundations of Thorvaldson Addition being laid.

Bio/Historical Note: The Chemistry Building was enlarged with an addition and was renamed in honour of Dr. Thorbergur Thorvaldson, professor and dean of Chemistry from 1919-1959. The Thorvaldson Building opened on 6 June 1966. Architect John B. Parkin’s modern design continued with exterior stone cladding. The near windowless, stone three-storey addition provided classrooms, undergraduate and research laboratories, offices, a library and service facilities.

New addition to the Thorvaldson (Chemistry) Building.

Bio/Historical Note: The Chemistry Building was enlarged with an addition and was renamed in honour of Dr. Thorbergur Thorvaldson, professor and dean of Chemistry from 1919-1959. The Thorvaldson Building opened on 6 June 1966. Architect John B. Parkin’s modern design continued with exterior stone cladding. The near windowless, stone three-storey addition provided classrooms, undergraduate and research laboratories, offices, a library and service facilities.

Aerial view showing construction of the Physics addition, with a partial view of the Bowl and Administration Building.

Aerial view looking northeast of the Observatory in winter. Construction of the Memorial Union Building at centre; Emmanuel College at right.

Bio/Historical Note: The Observatory was designed by Gentil J.K. Verbeke and constructed in two phases using local limestone from 1928-1930 for about $23,000. The R. J. Arrand Contracting Co. was contracted to build the Observatory Tower in 1928 for a cost of $6625. The firm completed the tower $353 under budget on 14 April 1929, for $6,272. On 20 June 1929 R. J. Arrand was again awarded a contract by the University, this time to build the small classroom wing of the Observatory for $15,640. Work on the classroom wing was completed on 23 January 1930 for $15,034.50. University funding for the construction of the building was supplemented by private donations. Along with the Field Husbandry Building, the Observatory would be among the last free-standing buildings constructed on campus until after World War II. A plaque with the names of many donors still hangs inside the dome of the observatory. Saskatoon residents will find many of the names highly recognizable even today. A sundial was added to the exterior of the Observatory during the 1940s. It reads:
I am a Shadow
So art thou
The observatory facilities are available for use by both university students and visitors to the campus. The telescopes and other scientific equipment are used by students during the laboratory component of their courses. University personnel regularly offer tours of the observatory to elementary and high school classes, youth groups and other community associations. The Observatory is staffed year-round on Saturday nights so that any visitor may view celestial objects through the telescope.

Aerial view of the Medical College under construction; St. Andrew's College and Observatory in background.

Bio/Historical Note: A medical college was part of President Walter Murray’s design for the new University of Saskatchewan, and was consistent with his view that the university should serve the needs of the province. In 1926 a School of Medical Sciences was established, which provided the first two years of medical training. Between 1928 and 1954, 605 students completed the course and then went elsewhere in Canada for the clinical years. In 1944, a survey of the health needs of the province (Sigerist Report) recommended that the School be expanded to a “complete Grade A Medical School” and that a University Hospital of 500 beds be constructed for scientific teaching, clinical instruction, and research. A medical building was completed in 1950, a four-year degree-granting College was inaugurated in 1953, and University Hospital opened in 1955. The College admits sixty medical students per year, supervises the training of 200 residents, and provides basic science training to 330 students in Arts/Science. The aim of the program is to produce a “basic” or undifferentiated doctor capable, with further training, of becoming a family practitioner, specialist or research scientist. Between 1953 and 2003, the College of Medicine has graduated 2,134 MDs, of whom 30.5% were women.

Aerial view looking northwest of Law Building; Robin Hood Mills elevator in background.

Bio/Historical Note: The Law and Commerce Buildings were designed and constructed as part of a single project between 1965 and 1967. The architect was John Holliday-Scott of the Saskatoon firm Holliday-Scott & Associates.

Elevated view looking northeast at construction of the Heating Plant addition; taken from roof of Thorvaldson Building.

Aerial view of flooding around campus buildings; Field Husbandry barn at right and greenhouses at left.