Greenway School - A Construction History
In the Annual Report of the Trustees of the School District of Winnipeg No. 1 for the year 1909 the Management Committee reported that an additional school was required in the western part of the city and that a site had been purchased between Burnell and Banning Streets. The building was to be the Greenway School, named after a former Premier of Manitoba. The architect responsible for designing Greenway School was J.B. Mitchell. The construction contract for the school was awarded to the J.H. Tremblay Co. with heating and ventilation work by Thompson & Homer Co. Total cost of construction was $91,454. Upon completion, Greenway was the largest school building in Winnipeg. While only two stories high (40 feet) it was 161 feet long.
The building was of solid stone and brick construction, with fireproof stairways and fully modern in all respects. The school was installed with a Rotrex Vacuum System at an additional cost of $1,338 and was in accordance with the latest ideas in school architecture. The school was ready on September 28, 1909. The school did not include a gymnasium because "the gymnasium is the only feature which appears to have been tried in many of the elementary schools in Canada, the United States and Europe and if may be judged from the expressions of opinion given by school men engaged in the work the idea is growing that a gymnasium does not assist the work of a school". A gymnasium was finally added in 1960-61.
In 1919 due to the rapid development of the western part of the city after World War I it became necessary to build another school on the Greenway School site. The Greenway No. 2 School bungalow was designed by J.B. Mitchell and built by Sutherland Construction at the cost of $59,632.
In June 1994, the Minister of Education announced that a new Greenway School was to be constructed. Stechesen Katz Architects were awarded the task of designing the new school. In October 1995, the Public Schools Finance Board approved the drawings of the new 59,550 square foot Greenway School. On December 19, 1995 the Board of Trustees of The Winnipeg School Division No. 1 recommended that Regent Construction Company Ltd. be contracted to perform all work in connection with the new school construction and associated site work for the total amount of $5 million. Construction began in January 1996. The students and staff moved to their new educational environment in February 1997, to continue the great tradition of learning, leadership and citizenship in the most beautiful and contemporary school in Manitoba.
