Queen Mary School

Queen Mary School is important as an indication of the social and economic conditions in North Vancouver, which resulted in rapid population growth. The establishment of the North Vancouver Ferry and Power Company in 1903, a building boom in North Vancouver, and the opening of the Wallace Shipyards, all brought substantial migration to the North Shore of Burrard Inlet. By 1906, the North Vancouver Land and Improvement Company was clearing land for substantial new residential developments. The population increase was substantial enough that construction of this school proceeded despite the outbreak of the First World War, indicating the value of education to the local community.

Symbolic of the importance of the school to the community, the architecture is imposing, conveying a sense of permanence and order. There is an eclectic mix of classical references, reflective of the Edwardian Baroque movement popular in England at the time, including Greek pediments, Baroque broken pediments, quoining and a variety of decorative windows. The ribbons of sash windows are characteristic of the requirements of the provincial authorities, allowing abundant natural light into the classrooms.

Queen Mary School is valued as a significant example of the work of English-born and trained architect William Charles Frederick Gillam (1867-1962), an expert in school planning and also the architect of Ridgeway School in North Vancouver and the Provincial Normal School in Victoria.