Edmonton Public Schools Archives and Museum in Edmonton, Edmonton Capital Region, Canada | Museum

Edmonton Public Schools Archives and Museum is located in historic McKay Avenue School.

The building's cornerstone was laid in 1904 by the Governor General of Canada, Lord Minto.  The year 1904 marked the beginning of an important new era of growth and prosperity in Alberta, and the building which now houses Edmonton Public Schools Archives and Museum,  was designed to reflect this importance and inspire awe and grandeur. The Romanesque-style design included unique features such as the Ionic Romanesque pillared entranceways.

McKay Avenue School served as the site of the first two sessions of the Alberta Legislature (1906 and 1907). It was in the third floor Assembly Hall that the important decision was made to make Edmonton the capital of Alberta in Canada.

McKay Avenue School was designated a Provincial Historic Resource in 1976. The venerable brick building had played an important role in the educational, social and political development of Edmonton and Alberta, but when in 1983 the enrolment fell to a low of 59 students the school was closed.  At that time, in recognition of its importance in the early history of Edmonton and of Alberta, a history-conscious school board made a momentous decision,  McKay Avenue School would be preserved as Edmonton Public Schools Archives and Museum,  to reflect the school district's past and to pass its history on to future generations.