Description:

Ross School was a product of Moose Jaw’s initial boom period. The years beginning at the opening of the 20th century and ending with the start of the Great War saw considerable population expansion and construction in Moose Jaw.

Heritage Value:

Ross School’s heritage is noticeably marked by the variety of roles it played in the community. While it was initially conceived and constructed as an elementary school it repeatedly was used and adapted to provide space to meet other pressing public needs. Usually global events or changes in education policy caused these changes in roles, but Ross School was always returned to serve as an elementary school.

The Heritage Value of Ross School resides in the following character-defining elements:

• those elements which reflect the Classical school of architecture including Composite and Tuscan order stone columns, entablatures and pediments on the entrance ways as well as stone pilasters carved in the style of Classical orders;
• those decorative elements which speak to the optimism of the builders and its importance as a public building such as a large frontispiece with a hip roof tower, cornices, pediments, rustication, belt course, quoins, pendants, and a fan-shaped entrance staircase and handrail and the use of North Dakota Hebron brick, Tyndall limestone and granite for cladding materials;
• signage which indicates the date of construction, the name of the school, and that which designates entrances for students by gender;
• the present location of the building in the neighbourhood after which it was named, and adjacent the 1954 aircraft crash site.

Build Date: 1914 | Designation Date: June 14, 2010