Varsity View

Neighbourhood of higher learning

Peter Wilson, The StarPhoenix

Published: Thursday, September 07, 2006

A caller had said "you should take a photograph of Varsity View in springtime, when the blossoms turn the neighbourhood into a sea of glorious colours."

Sure enough, the colors were sensational on Main Street and other areas of the community this spring, creating a beautiful seasonal backdrop for residents anticipating a warm summer.

But it wasn't just the pretty urban setting that brought Roy Dobson to Varsity View in 1994. Dobson and his wife, Joanne, moved to Saskatoon from New Brunswick with their two children in 1994 to be closer to family.

They selected Varsity View because Dobson wanted to be in an area close to the university, where he was a graduate student. Now, as an associate professor in the college of pharmacy and nutrition at the University of Saskatchewan, Dobson's neighbourhood continues to be the perfect location for his family.

"The neighbourhood is in easy walking distance of Broadway, downtown and the University of Saskatchewan. As well, many of our residents are able to take advantage of our location to use the trails along the South Saskatchewan River," Dobson says.

The couple's impressions of Varsity View reflect the reasons many of the neighbourhood's population has settled here.

The neighbourhood has College Drive for its northern boundary, Cumberland Avenue for its eastern edge, Clarence Avenue for its western side and Eighth Street forming its southern border.

While some of its streets carry names that go back to the very beginnings of Saskatoon's settlement, such as Colony and Temperance, the neighbourhood's moniker indicates the great influence the university must have had on the area's development. The community's largest park, President Murray Park, was named for the first president of the University of Saskatchewan, Walter Charles Murray, who served from 1908 to 1937.

As far as Barb Giles and her neighbours are concerned, the neighbourhood could be called Park View, thanks to the wonderful open vantage points they have of President Murray Park.

Giles, a member of the community association board, has lived in Varsity View for the past 25 years. When it came time a few years ago to decide whether to move into a larger home in another neighbourhood, Giles and her husband decided to add an almost 600-square-foot addition to their existing home.

"We just couldn't leave this place. It's not only the lovely view of the park that we have, it's just such a convenient place to live. We're so close to everything,'' she says.

The neighbourhood's proximity to the University of Saskatchewan is one of the defining features of the community, says Dobson. As a major centre for education and research, it draws peoples from around the world. Many of these people bring their families with them and settle in Varsity View and Grosvenor Park, he says.

"The result is one of the more ethnically diverse neighbourhoods in the city," he says.

Raoul Wallenberg Park, a small park in the neighbourhood, recognizes just how small a world we live in. Named after the Swedish diplomat who helped save the lives of thousands of Hungarian Jews in the mid-1940s, the park was created by B'nai Brith and is maintained by the city.

Luther Tower, a major senior development in the neighbourhood, has added new depth to the wide demographic profile enjoyed by the community.

Varsity View's urban landscape has changed dramatically since the first optimistic home owner moved here shortly after Saskatoon achieved its coveted city status.

According to the city's local history archives, Richard Bottomley was the first home owner of what was to become the Varsity View neighbourhood. An English investor who was said to have invested $500,000 in the real estate boom in 1912, Bottomley built his house at 1118 College Dr. Despite this residential commitment to the neighbourhood, College Drive and Elliott Street were not substantially developed until the late 1920s, while neighbouring Osler Street had to wait for residential construction until the early 1950s.

In 1911, the school board purchased the block in which the Albert School would be constructed, and the impressive educational facility opened in 1912 at 610 Clarence Ave. S.

One of nine schools built between 1907 and 1914, Albert School survived the demolition that overtook schools such as King Edward, which was torn down in 1979. When Albert School was no longer required as a neighbourhood school, it eventually became home to the Saskatoon French School. These days, the edifice has reinvented itself once again to become the Albert Community Centre and continues to provide an important role in the neighbourhood's social fabric.

Under the Saskatoon Catholic school board umbrella, Bishop Murray opened as an elementary school in the mid-1950s and operated in that capacity until the mid-1980s. Changing demographics in the neighbourhood, however, caused enrolments to fall to a level where school division officials looked for new ways to use the Bishop Murray facility. It has since housed many alternative programs for high-school aged youth, including a program for young mothers.

Bishop Murray offers classes for Grades 9 to 12 and has around 150 students. It offers a different environment for students who aren't achieving success in mainstream high schools. Part of its success is a result of the school offering a small-school atmosphere, which allows teachers to develop closer relationships with students.

Another addition to the educational landscape came in 1951, when Brunskill School opened at 101 Wiggins Ave. Built for $247,430, the school was named after William 'Cy' Brunskill, who was a member of the Saskatoon public school board for 28 years.

The school's website indicates Brunskill is a school with significant "firsts." It was the first single-storey school to be built with a specially designed kindergarten room and main floor playrooms. The school auditorium was designed to accommodate sports activities and a close partnership was nurtured between the school and the University of Saskatchewan's college of education.

Brunskill School was the first Saskatoon elementary school to have a centralized library, named after Sylvia Birnie.

The Kinsmen Children's Centre, which adjoins Brunskill School, opened in 1985. With its goals set on enhancing children's mental, physical, emotional and social development, the complex brings together several agencies, including Alvin Buckwold Child Development Program, Autism Early Childhood Therapy Program, Family Resource Room, Alvin Buckwold and Prairie Hills Early Childhood Intervention Program, Saskatchewan Prevention Institute and Brunskill School/Kinsmen Children's Centre Therapeutic Preschool. It's a place where staff, students and volunteers work together with families and communities to help children achieve their full potential.

In 1999, a major renovation was approved for Brunskill School/Kinsmen Childrens' Centre and, during the 1999-2000 school year, students were housed at Brevoort Park and Roland Michener schools. Students returned in the fall of 2000 to an almost "new" school and a totally landscaped site.

"The effort of the community to get Brunskill School renovated in the late 1990s was a great source of pride for neighbourhood residents," says Dobson.

Some of the issues specific to Varsity View include the ongoing parking problems, particularly during the school year, says Dobson. Others in the community would like to see more green spaces in the neighbourhood and there is concern the local elementary school is "bursting" with students, he says.