Standing inside the Gray Academy of Jewish Education, it really is tough to believe that there was once a hospital reception desk that sat right in the middle of the hallway. Or when walking further down the hallways, that a lot of the classrooms housed hospital beds.
But that was the case nearly 100 years ago as the school and the entire piece of land was once known as the Tuxedo Military Hospital that hosted soldiers returning from the war and allowed them to recuperate and also train at the same time.
Gray Academy is just a part of the 250,000 foot Asper Jewish Community Campus that sits on 123 Doncaster Avenue. The campus opened in 1997 and serves as the centerpiece of the Jewish Community of Winnipeg.
The campus is home to the school which has 600 students from kindergarten through grade 12. The campus also features the Rose and Max Rady Jewish Community Centre which features a double gymnasium, aquatic centre, and cardiovascular area. Other parts of the campus include the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre, the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, and the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada.
“It’s gone through an evolution,” said Louise Kollinger, executive director of the campus.
The history of the buildings date all the way back to 1906, when it was originally known as the Manitoba Agricultural College. That lasted until 1913, when the college moved to a new location in Fort Garry, which later became the University of Manitoba. The building then served as the Manitoba School of Deaf for three years and then became the Tuxedo Military Hospital in 1917, near the end of the First World War. The whole area of land was soon renamed the Fort Osborne Barracks and remained until 1968.
The main hallways at the school still have some resemblance of a building from the early 1900s.
“And because it’s a heritage building, a lot of these types of things stayed,” said Kollinger, referring to the facades and the rotundas that are visible around the halls.
Walking through the main atrium of the campus, there’s a stairway leading to the doors of Gray Academy that she says brings many visitors.
“It’s on e of the more spectacular pictures in the interior,” said Kollinger. “A lot of places come and they have their professional board pictures taken here.”
After the Barracks moved to a location further south in the city in 1968, the province bought some of the property and converted a number of buildings to house government departments.
One of these buildings is located right across from the campus and is considered a part of 139 Tuxedo Avenue, known as Building 3. During the war, it was known as Roblin Hall, and the two-story building housed 270 men.
Now it’s a Department of Family Services and Consumer Affairs building which hosts programs like children’s special services, supported living, and residential care licensing.
“It’s all resource co-ordinators who work here,” said Collette Bridgeforde, who works in administrative support. “They provide support to families with adults or children with disabilities.”
Unlike the Asper Campus, which has plaques and other displays commemorating the First World War, Bridgeforde says “I haven’t seen anything” in the building that makes mention of the building’s use during the war.
But the Asper Campus does just that and the designer of the building, John Peterson, is a huge reason why the building has been such a success.
“He did an outstanding job of bringing the old with the new,” said Kollinger.
“And also bringing the culture to light, and just making this place what it is, and it is absolutely stunning.”
No comments:
Post a Comment