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035
Williams Building
University of Saskatchewan Heritage Register
November ■ 2014
035
Williams Building
Alternate Names
School for the Deaf
R.J.D. Williams Provincial School for the Deaf
Architect(s)
Harold Dawson, Provincial Architect, Government of the
Province of Saskatchewan Department of Public Works,
Regina
Figure 1. Red brick, artificial
limestone and copper grille.
Builders
R.J. Arrand Contracting Co.
Construction Dates
January 1930-1931
Recognition
University of Saskatchewan ‘B’ Listed
1. Statement of Significance
Figure 2. Tyndall stone.
Figure 3. Slate tile roofing.
University of Saskatchewan Heritage Register ■ 7-186
The Williams Building is a handsome brick structure, designed in
a simplified Collegiate Gothic style by the office of the Provincial
Architect, Harold Dawson, and constructed in 1931. It was
originally built as a School for the Deaf, commissioned by the
provincial Department of Education. It was a residential school,
with an enrolment of 114 students between the ages of 6 and 18.
The school was used for education in vocational work as well
as drama productions and sports. In 1990, deaf children were
integrated into the public school system, and the building was
sold to the University of Saskatchewan. The Williams Building
has significant commemorative integrity in its exterior style and
materials. The interior has lost most of its heritage value, as the
commemorative integrity of its interior layout, stylistic elements
and materials has been compromised by renovations.
Note: The Williams Building is configured with floors numbered
Basement, First Floor, Second Floor and Third Floor. This report
follows the same convention.
Figure 5. Oak door.
Figure 4. The Williams Building, October 1945. Photo A-1865,
retrieved from http://spldatabase.saskatoonlibrary.ca/internet/
LHR_RADQuery.htm
2. Character - Defining Elements
Figure 6. Stained glass.
2.1 Materials
The exterior of the Williams Building is composed of a red-brown
facing brick made at Claybank, Saskatchewan and a structural
brick made at Estevan. The brick is accented with Tyndall stone
and a precast concrete product made to resemble cut limestone.
The brick and artificial stone are shown in Figure 1 and the
Tyndall stone in Figure 2. The artificial stone around the windows
as well as the partition blocks were made in Saskatoon. The
Tyndall stone surrounding the doorways came from Manitoba.
Exterior hardware such as down spouts and ventilation grilles are
made of copper (Figure 1). Copper, Tyndall stone and limestone
are all materials common to the main campus at the University
of Saskatchewan, and are character-defining materials of the
Williams Building. Slate tile roofing is also commonly found on
campus. The Williams Building roof was originally slate, but has
been replaced with asphalt shingles. Two newer additions have
been built with slate tile (Figure 3). For further information on
building stones used at the U of S, refer to ‘Appendix: Stone’.
Oak (Figure 5) was used for doors and frames. All of the
original oak material has been replaced except for the transoms
and lites around the two northernmost entrances. The quartersawn oak around these doors and their stained-glass transoms
are character-defining elements (Figure 6).
Figure 7. Red clay terra cotta tile located
inside the principal entry.
Figure 8. Brick wainscoting.
Williams Building ■ 7-187
Figure 9. The original west or front elevation of the Williams Building. Retrieved from Facilities Managment Division
Asset Record System, File WILL-10-T.
The interior of the Williams Building holds very little heritage
value in its materials, as almost all of its original materials have
been replaced. The red terracotta floor tiles in the main entrance
hall are original. Shown in Figure 7, this tile is in excellent
commemorative condition.
Figure 10. The form of the Williams
building in 1943 before the renovations.
The high chimney pictured here was
removed.
Retrieved from http://
spldatabase.saskatoonlibrary.ca/internet/
LHR_RADQuery.htm
Some brick wainscoting is still found in the anterooms to the
gymnasium (Figure 8). The walls of the gymnasium have been
covered with carpet. The original brick wainscoting may exist
beneath the carpet. Building plans show that brick wainscoting
with plaster walls and ceiling were a common material throughout
the entire building. Existing brick wainscoting is a characterdefining element of heritage value. The rest of the materials of
the auditorium have been compromised; the wooden floor has
been replaced with a vinyl composite tile, and the original ceiling
has been concealed by a dropped ceiling.
Many materials specified in the plans no longer exist in the
building. The original floor plan show terrazzo and maple
flooring. Concrete floors were used originally for the playrooms.
Brick wainscoting with plaster walls and ceiling were common
materials throughout the entire building. A proprietary material
called ‘J.M. Flooring Tile’ was specified for the buildings
corridors, but has since been removed. None of the original
blackboards remain in the building.
Figure 11. The Williams Building in its
surrounding context in the early 1970’s.
Retrieved from The First Fifty Years: R.J.D.
Williams Provincial School For the Deaf.
University of Saskatchewan Heritage Register ■ 7-188
2.2 Form
The Williams Building takes the form of a modified ‘F’ in plan,
with double-loaded corridors serving the central volume of
the building. As shown in Figure 9, the Williams Building is
asymmetrical, with two principle entries. The Williams Building
sits at a scale of three storeys above ground with a half-exposed
basement level. The building is 28 metres in length. The
height and length of the façade lend the building an imposing
presence. The scale of the building has not changed, and as such
is a character-defining element. Figure 10 shows the form of the
building before renovations. Figure 11 shows the form of the
building after the 1970’s additions were carried out.
Figure 12. Gothic arch and transom.
None of the original form of the building has been demolished
but several additions have been made. The most notable addition
has been to the massing of the auditorium. When the space was
renovated to become a gym, its area and volume became larger.
Despite this change, the exterior form of the Williams Building
retains good commemorative integrity, and its front elevation
has changed very little.
2.3 Style
The Williams Building is Collegiate Gothic in its architectural
style. Character-defining elements include the carved stone
entries and their accompanying gothic arch transoms (Figure
12). String courses and quoining around the windows are
also character-defining elements of the gothic style in good
commemorative condition
(Figures 12 & 13). The cut
stone above the principal
entry features trefoil and
quatrefoil arches (Figure
15. The foliated cut stone
ornamentation around the
doors is also a characterdefining element (Figure
Figure 16. Foliated cut stone 16). The cut stone detailing
ornamentation.
serves to enhance the
verticality of the building.
Figure 17. Crenellated parapet.
Figure 13. Tyndall stone string course.
Figure 14. Stone quoins around windows, an
archer slot window.
Figure 15. Gothic trefoil arches and the
Sasaktchewan crest carved into the vertical
stone elements surrounding the principal
entry.
Williams Building ■ 7-189
Figure 18. Dormer windows.
Figure 19. Arched windows.
The roofline features a crenellated brick and stone parapet
(Figure 17) on tower elements marking the two front entrances,
gables and a pitched roof punctuated by dormer windows.
The dormer windows have been maintained in their style but
their materials have largely been replaced (Figure 18). The
building also features narrow archer style windows surrounded
by cut stone (Figure 14). The auditorium or gym still features
double-height arched window openings, although the windows
themselves have been replaced and covered with bars on the
interior and the lower portion of the windows has been covered
with brick, as shown in Figure 19. The arched windows lend
character to both the interior and the exterior of the building.
Figure 20 illustrates many of the character-defining elements of
the building’s exterior.
In the interior of the building, few gothic stylistic elements
remain. The stained glass transoms above the entrances are visible
from the interior of the building. Several other gothic characterdefining elements have been lost to renovations. The auditorium
used to have another set of arched windows that have been
demolished. The building plans specified arched entries to the
dormitory rooms located in the tower. With the reconfiguration
of the tower these arched openings were removed.
Figure 20. Gable and tower details including gothic arch entry, trefoil spandrels, crenelletad parapet, cut stone quoins,
tower and statuary niche references. Retrieved from Facilities Managment Division Asset Record System, File WILL-12-T.
University of Saskatchewan Heritage Register ■ 7-190
CO
D
A
M
P
U
S
D
R O A D
1 0 8 t h
P U S
The location of the School for the Deaf, on Cumberland Avenue
Poultry
Farm
Centre
Agriculture
ResidencesR.J.D.
in Saskatoon, was
a strategic choice (Figure 22). Dean
Thorvaldson
Williams advised
that the school not be in the capital (Regina),
Kirk Hall
Biology
but in Saskatoon where it could
govern
itself with greater
Engineering
Arts
Curling
Rink
John
independence.
Williams
also
related
that
he
Poultrywould like to see
Geology
Mitchell
Science
Archaeolog
y
the school built near another school,Rutherford
to provide its students the
Physics
Rink
University Farm
opportunity
for
athletic
competition.
Williams recommended
Murray
to J.G. Gardiner, then Premier
Marquis
NRC - Plantof Saskatchewan, “that the
Livestock
Place Hall Qu'Appelle
Biotechnology
Research
Riel
School for the
Hall
Institute Saskatchewan
College
Qu'Appelle
servatory
Saskatchewan
Stone
Administration
Hall Addition
Deaf
Animalbe established in close
Hall
Barn
Science
Dairy
Kinesiology
Barn
proximity
to the University
ean Hall
Athabasca
Memorial
Physical Activity
Hall
Union
Complex
(PAC)
manuel
of Saskatchewan. I cannot
Faculty
. Chad/ St. Thomas
Club
pel
More
help but see a great future
Rugby
College
Chapel
for the deaf if this plan is
carried out.”
I V
E
VE
T E R I N A RY
C
C
OU
E
A
M
D
R
I
IEN
CE
PL
V
E
RT
SC
AC
E
Animal Science Fields
A
R
M
R
M
L
A
N
E
BO T TOM
LE
C O L L E G E
D R I V E
C A M P U S
D R I V E
Stadium
Parkade
HWY 5
D R I V E
Patterson
Garden
Louis’ Beach
Volleyball
Another
reason
cited
forn this location was its
Concessio
Ball Fields
4
Saskatoon
3
proximity
to the university
Ball
Field House
Field
farm. The education of
East
West
1
Stands
Stands
Griffiths
deaf children at that time
Stadium
was often in vocational
Visitors
Ball Fields
Clubhouse
5
6
work, such as farming, so
it was recommended that
Ball Fields
Williams
7
8
proximity to good farming
Student
Residence Project
methods, herds and flocks
Figure 22. The location of the would be of value to the
school.
Assiniboin eis indicated in
Williams
Buliding
Hall
Wollaston
Crop Science
green onHalla Seager
contemporary campus
Test Plots
Wheeler
Hall
plan.
C R E S C E N T
H O U S E
Saskatoon Field House
Parking Lot
R O A D
M
U
S T A D I
Graham
PotashCorp Huskie
Clubhouse
Park
A V E N U E
F I E L D
Ball Field
2
Figure 21. Gothic arch transom.
McEown Park
Souris
Hall
P L A C E
M c E O W N
2.5 Spatial Configuration
Student Residences
At the end of the 1960’s a total renovation of the school was
announced and in the early 1970’s architects Holliday-Scott,
Paine and Associates undertook this work. An elevator and
stairwell were added to the south end of the building, which
has affected the layout on all levels. To the north side of the
building, a small addition featuring a ground floor loading dock
was added. Figure 23 shows the building’s exterior before the
renovations. The high chimney protruding from the basement
boiler room was removed. The south facing windows were all
covered by additions.
1 4 t h
A V E N U E
C U M B E R L A N D
Saskatoon Field House
Parking Lot
Crop Science
Test Plots
P R E S T O N
T
Y
ADMIN PL
A
P R E S T O N
F
P L
A C
E
CR
BOTTOMLEY AVE
A V E N U E
R
A
F
M
A
C
U M
S I
G Y M N A
Voyageur
Place
O YA G
L
D
L
E UR
hrs (966-5555)
ation Desk
W
C O L L E G E
and university
6988
O
Nobel
Plaza
Palliser
Garden
V
B
S
(Library)
E
U
H
P
T
N
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V
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(W.P. Thompson)
S T R E E
AY
Toxicology
Centre
R
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W
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2.4 Location
P L A C
s School
siness
Research
Annex
E
N
A
N
Heating
Plant
A
ON
P
R
TA S H
Agriculture and
Agri-Food Canada
A
E
W AY
V
M
I
N
O
T
D
S
E
R
R
T
O
H
E D U
R
R
S C I E N C E
BAKER C
PO
E
Western
College of
Veterinary
Medicine
Horticultur e Science
Field Facility
S T R E E T
The basement originally had large open areas for the boys play
room and carpentry shop. These have been enclosed and the
basement is now substantially reconfigured. A daycare is now
located in the south-west corner of the basement. Figure 24
shows the original configuration of the basement.
Figure 23. A 1949 photo of the building
shows its exterior before the 1970’s
renovations.
Retrieved from The First
Fifty Years: R.J.D. Williams Provincial
School For the Deaf.
Williams Building ■ 7-191
Figure 24. The original basement configuration of the Williams Building. Retrieved from Facilities Managment Division
Asset Record System, File WILL-4-T.
The most notable change to the spatial configuration of the
building has been the expansion of the auditorium on the main
floor to become a gymnasium. The expansion saw the removal
of several south-facing arched windows. The windows still
existing in the space have had had their bottom portions filled in
with brick. The stage and the open gallery overlooking this space
from the second floor have also been removed. A staircase at the
west end of the gymnasium has been added. Figure 25 shows an
interior view of how the auditorium was originally configured
with a stage.
Figure 25. A photo, ca. 1945, shows how
the auditorium was originally configured.
Retrieved from The First Fifty Years: R.J.D.
Williams Provincial School For the Deaf.
Figure 26 shows the original main floor plan including the
layout of the auditorium. Figure 27 shows the expansion
and reconfiguration that converted the auditorium into a
gymnasium. Outside the auditorium, the first floor has retained
its configuration, arranged around a double-loaded corridor.
Some rooms have been expanded through the deletion of
partition walls. The northeast portion of the main floor has seen
significant reconfiguration with its conversion from a dining
area to a series of research gymnasiums and offices.
The second and third floors of the Williams Building have
retained their configuration as a series of rooms arrayed along a
central double-loaded corridor (Figure 28).
University of Saskatchewan Heritage Register ■ 7-192
Figure 26. The original first floor plan of the Williams Building. Retrieved from Facilities Managment Division Asset Record
System, File WILL-5-T.
Figure 27. The expansion of the auditorium, L to R: the basement plan, the first floor plan. Retrieved from Facilities
Managment Division Asset Record System, File WILL-147-T.
Williams Building ■ 7-193
Figure 28. The original third floor plan of the Williams Building. Retrieved from Facilities Managment Division Asset
Record System, File WILL-7-T.
2.6 Systems
The structure of the Williams Building appears from the
original drawings to be a cast-in-place concrete frame. Floors
are composed of cast-in-place concrete on a ribbed metal lath
overlaid with steel tile and concrete. The foundation walls and
footings are in cast-in-place concrete, and roofs are framed in
a combination of steel and wood. Figure 29 shows a typical
exterior wall section.
2.7 Use(s)
Figure 29. Typical exterior wall
section. Retrieved from Facilities
Managment Division Asset Record
System, File WILL-37-T.
University of Saskatchewan Heritage Register ■ 7-194
Owing to the specific training required for deaf children,
the School for the Deaf originally accommodated a wide
assortment of uses. The curriculum was based on vocational
training, including a broad range of activities such as carpentry,
leatherwork, book binding, etching, printing, drafting, painting,
sewing and millinery. These activities were all housed in the
basement and had their own dedicated shops or labs. To support
them, the basement also held a fitting room, a repair department,
as well as a boiler and fuel room. Large play rooms were also
contained within the basement. Many other types of vocational
training were undertaken there including hairdressing, cooking,
bee keeping, gardening, welding and meat cutting (School for
the Deaf Book Committee, 1983). Figure 30 shows students
working in a metal shop in the basement of the Williams Building.
No physical evidence of the former uses or their configurations
remains in the building.
The first floor of the building housed more common uses.
The auditorium held social functions such as performances,
graduations and awards ceremonies. Figure 31 shows the
auditorium being used for a drama production. The first floor
also held classrooms, and a general office with a vault. Figure
32 shows a classroom in use. The first floor is still used for office
space and classrooms; the vault is still in place. The northeast
portion of the first floor was originally used as a kitchen, servery
and dining room. A hall and museum were also located here.
The kitchen, hall and museum have been replaced by research
gymnasia. Figure 33 shows the northeast portion of the first
floor being used as a dining room.
The second and third floors of the building were both used
as dormitories (Figure
34). This use has been
discontinued and these
floors
now
contain
classrooms and offices.
Although the specific uses
of this building associated
with its history as a school
Figure 33. The dining room in for the deaf have ended,
1940. Retrieved from The First Fifty it continues to be used
Years: R.J.D. Williams Provincial for similar educational
purposes.
School For the Deaf.
Figure 34. The girls dormitory.
Retrieved from The First Fifty
Years: R.J.D. Williams Provincial
School For the Deaf.
Figure 30. The basement metal shop,
1960. Retrieved from The First Fifty Years:
R.J.D. Williams Provincial School For the
Deaf.
Figure 31. A 1939 performance of “Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs” in the
auditorium. Retrieved from The First Fifty
Years: R.J.D. Williams Provincial School
For the Deaf.
Figure 32. A 1945 class. Retrieved
from The First Fifty Years: R.J.D. Williams
Provincial School For the Deaf.
Williams Building ■ 7-195
2.8 Cultural & Chronological Associations
Figure 35. The original sign.
The Williams Building is associated most notably with its
namesake, Rupert J.D. Williams. Williams was the dean of
the school from its opening in 1931 until 1963. Williams was
rendered deaf in his childhood by spinal meningitis and attended
Manitoba’s school for the deaf. He moved to Saskatoon in 1927
and undertook a review of the education of deaf children in
Saskatchewan. Williams died in 1973. In 1982, on the occasion
of the 50th anniversary of the school, the building was renamed
in his honor.
The original function of the Williams Building associates it
with education of the deaf in Saskatchewan. The sign above the
door of the school is a character-defining element marking this
cultural association (Figure 35).
James Thomas Milton Anderson was the Premier of Saskatchewan
at the time of the construction of the Williams Building. On
September 27, 1930 Anderson laid the building’s cornerstone
(Figure 36). A granite monument to honor Premier Anderson
was erected in front of the building (Figure 37).
Figure 36. The cornerstone.
Figure 37. Monument honoring former
Premier J.T.M. Anderson.
University of Saskatchewan Heritage Register ■ 7-196
3. Associated Objects
Behind the cornerstone is a cavity containing a time capsule
(School for the Deaf Book Committee, 1983). The cornerstone
and the contents of the time capsule are heritage objects
associated with the building (Figure 36).
4. Supporting Documents
Saskatchewan Archives Board. Ed. Departmenof Education (15)
General Correspondence (1922-1940).
Facilities Management Division (2011). Asset Resource Database
[Data File]. Retrieved from \\usask\fmddfs\files\iis\IIS_
Public\ARS.
School for the Deaf Book Committee. The First Fifty Years,
1932-1982: R.J.D. Williams Provincial School for the
Deaf. Saskatoon: Prairie Graphics Ind. Ltd.
University of Saskatchewan Archives. (Retrieved 2012).
Campus Buildings: Williams Building. Retrieved from
http://scaa.sk.ca/gallery/uofs_buildings/
Williams Building ■ 7-197
5. Summary of Character - Defining
Elements
Materials
■ brick walls
■ tyndall stone decoration and trim
■ oak doors & millwork
■ stained glass windows
Form■ scale
Style■ gothic arch entries
■ cut stone arches
■ arched windows
■ crenellation
■ parapets (battlements)
■ archer style windows
Location ■ near University of Saskatchewan
Spatial Configuration
■ double height auditorium
■ north-east tower
■ double-loaded corridor
■ sloped roofs
Uses ■ school for the deaf
■ classrooms
■ dormitories
■ kitchen, dining room, servery
■ vocational training
■ play rooms
■ sick wards
■ auditorium/gymnasium
Cultural &
Chronological
Associations ■ J.T.M. Anderson
■ R.J.D Williams
■ sign reading ‘School for the
Deaf’
■ cornerstone & time capsule
University of Saskatchewan Heritage Register ■ 7-198