Stone II

I wrote about stones before (May 8, 2011) in regards to the stone houses of Moffat. This time I want to talk about the stones of the University of Saskatchewan.  I’m biased, of course, having attended that university, as did my son, but I think it’s one of the prettiest campuses in the country.  It’s got lots of green space, is near a river and the buildings are unified by the use of a particular kind of stone known as fieldstone and grey stone  (the Greystone Singers are named after it).

Recently I started taking a class again on campus, after not having been there for a while.  I noticed some of the new construction had moved well along (there has been a lot of building going on, probably partly a function of the boom we’re experiencing here).  Best of all, though, they have continued to use the signature stones that are part of the collegiate gothic look.  Some buildings have a greater or lesser ratio of this stone to other building materials.

The stone has come from a variety of locations and is actually dolomitized limestone.  Dolomitization is a process where limestone comes in contact with magnesium rich water and the calcite is replace by dolomite, calcium and magnesium.  When the university first began constructing its buildings, Indiana limestone was used, and field stone was also available north of Saskatoon around Aberdeen, but that quarry eventually became depleted.  Currently, some of the buildings have used stone from Deschambault Lake near La Ronge.  Tynall stone (which is somewhat similar and used on some buildings) is available from a quarry in Manitoba.  It formed under water some millions of years ago, thus may contain fossils of corals, brachiopods and other marine life.  Rumours have it, though, that there is a huge supply of fieldstone near Saskatoon.  The stone can come in boulders that weigh as much as 2,500 pounds.  I’m not quite clear on why, but apparently fieldstone is much more expensive than Tyndall stone – perhaps it’s because the former has to be found scattered in fields while the latter is available in a quarry?  Fieldstone on the buildings also has a rougher finish, while Tyndall stone has a sawn surface.

Other buildings across Canada use Tyndall stone, including the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa and the Empress Hotel in Victoria. 

I think the best use of this stone with the most visible and attractive buildings is here in Saskatoon.