Canadian Architecture - History - Victorian Architecture

Victorian Architecture

Victorian styles of architecture dominated in Canada from the mid-nineteenth century up to the First World War. Unlike during the previous centuries there was now easy communication between Canada and the architectural centres of the United States and Britain. It was common for Canadian architects to travel, study, and work in these other areas, and it was also increasingly common to hire foreign architects. This meant that ideas and styles developed elsewhere were quickly adopted in Canada. These were diverse styles, but one common element were attempts to revive ideas of the past. The first such style to come to prominence was the Gothic Revival style, which first came to Canada in the 1830s. This became the dominant architectural style for churches, especially Anglican and Roman Catholic ones, which both embraced Gothic Revival as evidence of their conservatism. It also was used for scholastic structures, such as universities and some houses. Some of the most prominent Gothic Revival structures are the original Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, by noted architect Thomas Fuller (architect) who in 1881 was appointed Chief Dominion Architect. The Chief Dominion Architect(s) designed a number of prominent public buildings in Canada including post offices, armouries and drill halls: Thomas Seaton Scott (1871-1881); Thomas Fuller (architect) (1880-1897); David Ewart (1897-1914); Edgar L Worwood (1914-1918); Richard Cotsman Wright (1918-1927); Thomas W. Fuller (1927-1936), Charles D. Sutherland (1936-1947); and Joseph Charles Gustave Brault (1947-1952)

Other revived styles also became prominent. Romanesque Revival buildings such as the British Columbia Legislature, Old Toronto City Hall, and Langevin Block were erected in this period. Several landmark Second Empire Style structures erected include the National Assembly of Quebec, Montreal City Hall, and the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick. In the 1890s Queen Anne Style architecture became the dominant one for upper and middle class houses across Canada. Early in the twentieth style the Tudor Style became quite popular, especially on the West Coast. Neoclassicism and Beaux-Arts architecture became the dominant style for banks and government buildings, with the latter style being frequently used from the turn of the twentieth century to the 1930s for monumental public buildings such as Toronto's Union Station by John M. Lyle and structures like the massive Princes' Gates at Exhibition Place in Toronto.