I went to Emily Carr Elementary and the youngest grades are housed in an old 1920s three-storey school house while the older grades are in a typical one-storey post-war school. The old school house was once the Vancouver School for the Blind. It is a beautiful old building, yet very simple and unadorned. I know I would have a lump in my throat if it were ever lost to fire. They repainted the school "Battleship Grey" some time ago. When I went there in the early 90s it was all peach and beige and there was a giant mural on the side of the old school house of people holding hands around the world. There is also an old 1920s fire truck bolted to the ground as part of the playground. Over time they stripped it down and welded shut every opening to make it safer. Back when we were kids you could climb all over and under it and sit on an axel in the empty front engine compartment. To the best of my recollection nobody every scraped themselves on the many sharp rusty edges. The tire swing was more dangerous.
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(Incidentally, how cool is it that my old elementary school has a wikipedia entry?)
Funny how this article got me reminiscing. Vancouver is very luck to still have so many of its old schools. I think the Vancouver School Board should be commended for maintaining and upgrading so many pieces of our heritage when over the years they could so easily have knocked them down and put up forgettable cinder block boxes.