Image of the College Building during construction.

Bio/Historical Note: Designated as a provincial heritage property in 1982 and as a National Historic Site in 2001, the University of Saskatchewan's first building has long served as the architectural, intellectual and emotional cornerstone of the campus. Designed by Brown and Vallance, the College Building was originally intended ultimately to house the College of Agriculture; but from the start, served numerous purposes. As early as April 1910, the floor plan included space for milk testing, butter making, cheese making, grain work; a gymnasium; several classrooms; offices for the registrar, dean of Agriculture, director of Extension, and president; the original "faculty club"; laboratories; the library; and quarters for the janitor. After a sod-turning ceremony on 4 May 1910, the cornerstone was laid by Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier on 29 July 1910. It was constructed between 1910-1912 by Smith Bros. and Wilson general contractors. The building was officially opened by Walter Scott, Premier of Saskatchewan, on 1 May 1913. The College Building serves as a memorial to much of the university's history: numerous plaques to individuals and organizations can be found in its interior, including memorial ribbons honouring members of the university community who served in the First World War. In 1997 the university created "Nobel Plaza" in front of the College Building, honouring two Nobel Laureates associated with the University: Gerhard Herzberg and Henry Taube. As the university grew, the College Building gradually became the administrative centre for the university. By the 1950s most of the original teaching facilities were taken over by new or expanded offices including those of the registrar, controller, alumni and news services, and presidential staff. The building became known as the Administration Building at this point, and later the "old Administration Building" to distinguish it from the new wing. This expansion continued through the 1960s and 1970s, particularly with the appointment of a university secretary and vice-presidents. While Convocation Hall became too small for regular Convocation ceremonies by 1930, it maintained its original, broader function as a venue for concerts, meetings, lectures, and other events. Parts of the building were declared to be unsafe in 1979, which led to the construction of the new wing of the Administration Building, opened in 1987. Most of the original building was closed, but Convocation Hall remained in use until 1997. The building was reopened and officially rededicated as the College Building in September 2005 after a major rehabilitation project. The rehabilitation was reported to be "one of the largest heritage conservation projects in Canada - second only to the work being done on Parliament Hill." In addition to senior administrative offices and Convocation Hall, it became home to the Museum of Antiquities and new gallery space for the University Art Collection. Upon completion in 2012 the University Board of Governors renamed the Administration Building the Peter MacKinnon Building, in honour of Peter MacKinnon, retiring University President and a driving force behind the project.

Looking west at Main Barn at centre; Chemistry Building, Administration Building, and other campus buildings also visible. College Drive runs at bottom left.

Image of metal framework of Emmanuel College. Worker in foreground; crane in background.

Bio/Historical Note: Emmanuel College pre-dates the University of Saskatchewan by some thirty years. The College was founded at Prince Albert in 1879 by Rt. Rev. John McLean as a “training College for Native Helpers.” In 1883 by an Act of Parliament, Emmanuel College was incorporated as "The University of Saskatchewan.” When the provincial university was established in Saskatoon in 1909, the Synod decided to relinquish its title and opt for affiliation to the new university. Emmanuel sold its old site to the federal government, to be used for a penitentiary, and shipped all its belongings to Saskatoon in four boxcars. On unbroken prairie on the east side of the river, professors, students and carpenters began to construct a series of wooden buildings. This “College of Shacks” was moved between 1910 and 1912 to the campus. In 1913 Rugby Chapel, so named because it had been funded by the staff and students of Rugby School, England, was moved to the campus from Prince Albert. A stone clad, permanent college building was constructed between 1911 and 1912. Designed by Brown and Vallance, the building contained residential space for students and the principal, classrooms and a refectory in the basement. In 1916 the college was used as a military hospital for returned soldiers and in 1918, as a hospital during the outbreak of influenza. St. Chad College was established in Regina in 1907 for the training of divinity students. It amalgamated with Emmanuel College to form the College of Emmanuel & St. Chad, continuing as an affiliate college of the University of Saskatchewan. The Chapel of St. Chad was designed by Webster, Forrester and Scott of Saskatoon and constructed in 1965-1966. In 1962 the Emmanuel College Residence was built as an addition to Emmanuel College but a proposed walkway connecting the two was never completed. The Emmanuel and St. Chad buildings were vacated in 2005 when they joined the Saskatoon Theological Union, and the college moved into leased space in the Lutheran Seminary building. The college building and St. Chad chapel along with the neighboring Rugby Chapel were purchased by the university for $1.1 million in the fall of 2006 and Emmanuel and St. Chad space earmarked for the Graduate Students' Association (GSA). In 2012 its council announced the college would suspend operations the following year, while it would work to come up with a three-year restructuring plan. In 2013, however, the council said it would continue operating for the time being, by working with its partner schools in the Saskatoon Theological Union (STU) - St. Andrew’s College (United Church of Canada) and the Lutheran Theological Seminary. By this time the principal’s position had been eliminated, and the faculty was down to a single professor. Since 2014 it has been working on a plan to offer its licentiate of theology (LTh) mostly remotely, online, with the support of locally-based mentors and tutors—an offering intended as training for diaconal ministry or for locally-raised priests.

Looking northwest at the National Research Council building.

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.”

View of Qu'Appelle Hall (men's residence) looking southwest from the Bowl.

A man (student?) stoops over to look through a piece of surveying equipment. He is surrounded by trees.

Eleven men in white coats and aprons sit [in the Bowl]. Names on back of photo: Spicer. Clayton. Herb Purdy. Bill [Shevkenck?]. Alex Tyogoeff, Frankie Evans. Marshall. White. Len Purdy. Ed [McCarthy?]. Sol Sinclair.

Large group of summer school students posed behind a vegetable garden.

Elevated view of male students sitting around desks looking at geological samples. Second photo shows similar scene at a different angle.

John Bracken, Professor of Field Husbandry, standing at left, talking to the Nichol brothers of Sintaluta, Saskatchewan, in a field; one man sitting in a horse drawn cart. From back of photo: "John Bracken, left, of the U of S Extension Dept. talks to Nichol Brothers, Sintaluta, Sask. (about 1912)."

John Bracken, Premier of Manitoba, and James G. Gardiner, Premier of Saskatchewan, shaking hands. Caption reads: "Premier Bracken and Gardiner on the football grounds, Winnipeg." Title from article title.

Group of men picking carrots in a field. Buildings in background (l to r): Power House, Engineering Building, and Livestock Pavilion.

Bio/Historical Note: This field was where the Physical Education building was later located in the 1940s. During World War II and for some years after crops were grown on campus.

Back of photo "A portion of university gardens where large numbers of varieties of dahlia, peony, gladiolus, and iris and many different kids of other flowers are grown."

Large group of boys and men lined up about 7 rows deep. Houses and cars in background.

Group photo of club members sitting and standing on grass in front of tents. Some boys and men holding banner that reads "Farm Boys Club." Trees, power pole, and part of building in background; location unknown.