The Samuel May Room

About The Samuel May Room

The Academy of Spherical Arts was founded in 1991 with the opening of the Samuel May room. Samuel May was Canada's foremost manufacturer of billiard tables in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded as a school, the Academy fostered excellence in billiards through teaching and friendly competition. Originally, the Samuel May room housed seven billiard tables; composed of four full size English pocket billiard tables, two American pocket billiard tables, and one Carom billiard table. Samuel May's famous "Canadian Sporting Scenes and Outdoor Pastimes" table was the centerpiece in this room for many years.

A lot has changed over the years. While the original bar was made of cedar and twig art, our current bar, built in 1998, is fashioned from steel, copper and wood. This bar was custom designed by Rick using British Columbia fir shipped to Ontario in the 1920's. It was stored in a barn near Glen Williams, Ontario for some seventy years before being used to hold the vast array of Academy libations.

Four of the billiard tables you see in this room are original Samuel May and Co. tables; they range in age from 100 - 130 years old. They are fine examples of Samuel May's Manufacturing excellence and keep Canada's billiard heritage alive.

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