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Toronto Normal School
The Toronto Normal School was a teachers college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1847, the normal school was located at Church and Gould streets in central Toronto (after 1852), and was a predecessor to the current Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. The Royal Ontario Museum, the Ontario College of Art & Design and the Ontario Agricultural College all originated at the Normal School's campus and the provincial Department of Education was also located there. Officially named St. James Square (and located with the old Toronto St. James Ward), the school became known as "the cradle of Ontario's education system". The school's landmark Gothic-Romanesque building was designed by architects Thomas Ridout and Frederick William Cumberland in 1852. The landmark building was demolished in 1963, but architectural elements of the structure remain on the campus of Toronto Metropolitan University.
In the 1830s, the authorities in Upper Canada first recognized the need to establish a normal school in the colony to train teachers. It was not until 1846, however, that Egerton Ryerson issued his landmark report entitled "Report on a System of Public Elementary Education for Upper Canada". In that year, the United Province of Canada passed its School Act of 1846, which provided for initial grant of $6,000 for the construction of a building and for an annual subsidy of $6,000 for maintenance of the school.
On November 1, 1847, the Provincial Normal School, as it was first known, opened in the former Government House of Upper Canada. An accompanying Provincial Model School was opened in 1848, in the renovated Government House stables, was created to provide practical training scenarios.
In 1849, the Parliament Buildings in Montreal were burned down in a riot, and the capital of the Province of Canada was relocated to Toronto. The colonial administration required the use of the old Government House, and the Normal School was temporarily displaced to the former Temperance Hall on Temperance Street.
On July 2, 1851, the cornerstone for a new building was laid by Governor General Lord Elgin, and the Normal (and Model) School building opened in May 1852. The new building was designed to accommodate two hundred teachers-in-training and six hundred pupils. It was situated on a 3.2 hectare (8 acres) site, bounded by Gerrard, Church, Gould and Victoria streets, which Ryerson had acquired for the Normal School at a cost of 4500 pounds. The site was described in 1858 as follows: "The situation is a very beautiful one, being considerably elevated above the business parts of the city, and commanding a fine view of the bay, peninsula and lake."
The property became known as St. James Square, and was soon used for more than teacher training purposes. A 2-acre (8,100 m2) plot was set aside for a botanical garden, with another 3 acres (12,000 m2) reserved for agricultural experiments. The agricultural work on the site prompted the founding of the Ontario Agricultural College in 1874, which later became the University of Guelph.
Ryerson wanted the Normal School to be a focal point of the development of arts and education in Upper Canada. In 1857, Canada's first publicly funded museum, the Museum of Natural History and Fine Arts, was established within the Normal School building, with its initial collection based largely on Egerton Ryerson's own artwork, statuary and scientific apparatus acquired during his trips to Europe. In 1896, the archaeological and ethnographic collections of the Canadian Institute Museum of Toronto, headed by David Boyle, were transferred to the Normal School as the Ontario Provincial Museum (or also as Provincial Museum of Ontario). Boyle was also involved with the archaeological collections of the Ministry of Education (Ontario Archaeological Museum) and remained Ontario Provincial Museum's curator and later its superintendent until his death in 1911. The museum later evolved into the Royal Ontario Museum.
The Ontario Society of Artists, founded in 1872, used the Normal School as its headquarters. The Society operated an art school on the St. James Square site, which eventually became the Ontario College of Art & Design.
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Toronto Normal School
The Toronto Normal School was a teachers college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1847, the normal school was located at Church and Gould streets in central Toronto (after 1852), and was a predecessor to the current Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. The Royal Ontario Museum, the Ontario College of Art & Design and the Ontario Agricultural College all originated at the Normal School's campus and the provincial Department of Education was also located there. Officially named St. James Square (and located with the old Toronto St. James Ward), the school became known as "the cradle of Ontario's education system". The school's landmark Gothic-Romanesque building was designed by architects Thomas Ridout and Frederick William Cumberland in 1852. The landmark building was demolished in 1963, but architectural elements of the structure remain on the campus of Toronto Metropolitan University.
In the 1830s, the authorities in Upper Canada first recognized the need to establish a normal school in the colony to train teachers. It was not until 1846, however, that Egerton Ryerson issued his landmark report entitled "Report on a System of Public Elementary Education for Upper Canada". In that year, the United Province of Canada passed its School Act of 1846, which provided for initial grant of $6,000 for the construction of a building and for an annual subsidy of $6,000 for maintenance of the school.
On November 1, 1847, the Provincial Normal School, as it was first known, opened in the former Government House of Upper Canada. An accompanying Provincial Model School was opened in 1848, in the renovated Government House stables, was created to provide practical training scenarios.
In 1849, the Parliament Buildings in Montreal were burned down in a riot, and the capital of the Province of Canada was relocated to Toronto. The colonial administration required the use of the old Government House, and the Normal School was temporarily displaced to the former Temperance Hall on Temperance Street.
On July 2, 1851, the cornerstone for a new building was laid by Governor General Lord Elgin, and the Normal (and Model) School building opened in May 1852. The new building was designed to accommodate two hundred teachers-in-training and six hundred pupils. It was situated on a 3.2 hectare (8 acres) site, bounded by Gerrard, Church, Gould and Victoria streets, which Ryerson had acquired for the Normal School at a cost of 4500 pounds. The site was described in 1858 as follows: "The situation is a very beautiful one, being considerably elevated above the business parts of the city, and commanding a fine view of the bay, peninsula and lake."
The property became known as St. James Square, and was soon used for more than teacher training purposes. A 2-acre (8,100 m2) plot was set aside for a botanical garden, with another 3 acres (12,000 m2) reserved for agricultural experiments. The agricultural work on the site prompted the founding of the Ontario Agricultural College in 1874, which later became the University of Guelph.
Ryerson wanted the Normal School to be a focal point of the development of arts and education in Upper Canada. In 1857, Canada's first publicly funded museum, the Museum of Natural History and Fine Arts, was established within the Normal School building, with its initial collection based largely on Egerton Ryerson's own artwork, statuary and scientific apparatus acquired during his trips to Europe. In 1896, the archaeological and ethnographic collections of the Canadian Institute Museum of Toronto, headed by David Boyle, were transferred to the Normal School as the Ontario Provincial Museum (or also as Provincial Museum of Ontario). Boyle was also involved with the archaeological collections of the Ministry of Education (Ontario Archaeological Museum) and remained Ontario Provincial Museum's curator and later its superintendent until his death in 1911. The museum later evolved into the Royal Ontario Museum.
The Ontario Society of Artists, founded in 1872, used the Normal School as its headquarters. The Society operated an art school on the St. James Square site, which eventually became the Ontario College of Art & Design.