Description of Historic Place

Elizabeth Ziegler Public School, located at 90 Moore Avenue South, is situated on the eastern corner of Moore Avenue South and Allen Street in the City of Waterloo. The three-storey red and grey stone building was constructed in 1931 and designed in the Gothic Revival style.

The property was designated for its heritage value by the City of Waterloo under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act (By-law 85-229).

Heritage Value

Elizabeth Ziegler Public School is associated with Ontario's first Minister of Education, Mr. Egerton Ryerson. Mr. Ryerson signed the teaching certificate for Miss Elizabeth Ziegler, a Waterloo teacher who had completed fifty-five years of service, and in whose honour the school is named. The school was the third elementary school built in Waterloo. As the construction took place during the Great Depression, a time of considerable financial strain, a monetary donation from Mrs. S.C. Tweed, a prominent local citizen, made the completion of the school possible. Elizabeth Ziegler Public School also stands as a testament to past customs as evident in the separate entryways into the school; one for boys and one for girls.

Elizabeth Ziegler Public School is an example of the Gothic Revival Style for collegiate buildings, which is rare in elementary school design. The school has a stunning aesthetic value and a high calibre of architectural mastery as exemplified by its elements, such as, the stone entrance, the stone turrets and the copper topped domes. The design and materials used in the construction of the school are superb for a building constructed during the Great Depression.

The interior architecture of the school is equally as impressive as the exterior, with many elaborate features such as a circular granite fountain, a fireplace with an oak mantel, bay windows and a beamed ceiling in the library.

Sources: City of Waterloo By-law 85-229, City of Waterloo, Designated Heritage Properties; Waterloo Chronicle article, Historic Waterloo: School named after teacher, Marg Rowell, May 22, 1985.
Waterloo Chronicle article, Historic Waterloo: School named after teacher, Marg Rowell, May 22, 1985.

Character-Defining Elements

The character defining elements that contribute to the heritage value of the Elizabeth Ziegler Public School include the:
- entryway marked 'Boys'
- entryway marked 'Girls'
- pair of brick and stone turrets on the west façade each topped with a copper dome
- set of ornate sculptured stone finials between the copper tops of the stone turrets and two more sets of stone finials on either side of the building
- stone Gothic arch entrance and entrance frame
- Gothic style engravings
- parapet
- windows and the carved stone bay window on the south elevation
- bay window in the south wall of the library
- nearly circular granite fountain with statue in the library
- fireplace with oak mantel carved in grapes and ivy leaves in the library
- coloured and floral ceramic tiles on the hearth in the library
- bench with carved nursery rhyme figures in the library
- beamed ceilings in the library