A collection of school climbs…

This page is dedicated to an ongoing collection of school climbs mostly in and around Toronto’s west end. Aside from the sheer joy one gets from solving these active puzzles, these buildings are fascinating to explore because of their architectural qualities. Unfortunately, this wasn’t of particular interest during my early years and so I’ve missed the opportunity to shoot many cool locations.

A majority of the schools in Toronto were built during three distinct eras and each left their mark on a building’s design: the late nineteenth century, postwar twenties, and the boom of the 1960s and 1970s. Neo-colonial, collegiate gothic, modern-industrial, and post-war functionalist architecture were all popular in their respective times, but due to the continued growth and densification in Toronto’s population they often blend together. Swansea PS is a particularly fascinating case study of this phenomenon. It’s schoolhouse dates back to 1891, but the increasingly modern additions can be easily recognized if you were to climb across its roof or observe it using satellite images. Central Tech is even more obvious, with some of its additions being entirely separate buildings on the property. In the future, I would like to revisit many of these schools with the goal of illustrating the architectural transitions that these familiar institutions have undertaken.

Swansea Public School

This is where it all began. It was the night of grade seven grad. We were goofing around the neighbourhood when one of the older guys asked if we wanted to climb to the roof. “The roof?”, I asked, visibly confused. Never had it occurred to me that such a thing could be accessed. But alas, on that fine June evening my life quite literally changed. It unlocked an obsession that has yet to go away. Over the next eight years I’d visit this roof hundreds of times, though always with the same sense of excitement. This set begins with some of my first ever pics on a DSLR back in 2015 and ends with shots as recent as 2018.

Runnymede Public School

Humberside Collegiate Institute

Western Technical-Commercial School

Western Tech, Ursula Franklin Academy and the Student School all reside in the same building and sit under one of the coolest roofs in the city. It has tons of separate levels, has a mix of collegiate gothic and functionalist design, a greenhouse, a chimney, and a gorgeous view over the surrounding valley. I’ve set off alarms, watched fireworks alongside friends, froze in terror halfway up the chimney, and gotten electrocuted by a damn pigeon wire. This place has it all…

Runnymede Collegiate Institute

Of all on this list, Runnymede CI is probably that which with I’m least familiar. At its core is a neogothic building with post-war modern additions flanking it to the north and south. For some rad foggy photos, see my friend’s Instagram here.

Etobicoke School of the Arts

Nestled alongside Mimico Creek, ESA (and Bishop Allen) are in one of the most beautiful pockets of the city. Once the Royal York Collegiate Institute, it became the first free-standing, arts-focused high school in Canada.

Bishop Allen Academy

Known by many as “BA”, the building in which the 1600 students of Bishop Allen now occupy was originally constructed in 1961-1963 by the Etobicoke Board of Education as Kingsmill Vocational School. The creative use of structuralism architecture makes the roof rather unique to explore given the ladders, jumpable gaps, and pipes to clamber over.