Newfoundland Modern: Architecture in the Smallwood Years, 1949-1972 [1 ed.] 0773539026, 9780773539020

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McGill-Queen’s/Beaverbrook Canadian Foundation Studies in Art History Sandra Paikowsky and Martha Langford, series editors Recognizing the need for a better understanding of Canada’s artistic culture both at home and abroad, the Beaverbrook Canadian Foundation, through its generous support, makes possible the publication of innovative books that advance our understanding of Canadian art and Canada’s visual and material culture. This series supports and stimulates such scholarship through the publication of original and rigorous peer-reviewed books that make significant contributions to the subject. We welcome submissions from Canadian and international scholars for book-length projects on historical and contemporary Canadian art and visual and material culture, including Native and Inuit art, architecture, photography, craft, design, and museum studies. Studies by Canadian scholars on non-Canadian themes will also be considered. The Practice of Her Profession Florence Carlyle, Canadian Painter in the Age of Impressionism Susan Butlin Bringing Art to Life A Biography of Alan Jarvis Andrew Horrall Picturing the Land Narrating Territories in Canadian Landscape Art, 1500 to 1950 Marylin J. McKay The Cultural Work of Photography in Canada Edited by Carol Payne and Andrea Kunard Newfoundland Modern Architecture in the Smallwood Years, 1949–1972 Robert Mellin

Newfoundland Modern Architecture in the Smallwood Years, 1949–1972

Robert Mellin

McGill-Queen’s University Press Montreal & Kingston • London • Ithaca



© McGill-Queen’s University Press 2011

ISBN 978-0-7735-3902-0 Legal deposit fourth quarter 2011 Bibliothèque nationale du Québec Printed in Canada on acid-free paper that is 100% ancient forest free, processed chlorine free This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Aid to Scholarly Publications Programme, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. McGill-Queen’s University Press acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for our publishing activities. Frontispiece: Premier Joseph Roberts “Joey” Smallwood at his home on Roaches Line with his favourite things – his books, early 1960s; photo by Bob Brooks, Cummings and Campbell marketing brochure. Selected excerpts reprinted with the permission of the publishers of William R. Callahan’s Joseph Roberts Smallwood: Journalist, Premier, Newfoundland Patriot (St John’s: Flanker Press 2003); and Richard Gwyn’s Smallwood: The Unlikely Revolutionary (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart 1972). Excerpt in chapter 4 reprinted with the permission of the publisher of Josée Drouin-Brisebois’s Christopher Pratt: All My Own Work (with an Introduction by Jeffrey Spalding) (Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre 2005).

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Mellin, Robert, 1950– Newfoundland modern : architecture in the Smallwood years, 1949–1972 / Robert Mellin. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7735-3902-0 1. Architecture – Newfoundland and Labrador – History – 20th century.  I. Title. NA746.N48M45 2011    720’.971809045    C2011-904139-1 Designed and typeset by Glenn Goluska in 10.5/14 Slate Pro.

In honour and memory of Robert, Hetti, David, and Marcia

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Contents

Acknowledgments   ix List of Illustrations   xv

  1 Introduction   3 Part One: Modernism Takes Hold   19   2 Early Modernism   23   3 The Formative Years of the NAA   43   4   5   6   7   8   9 10

Part Two: Modern Architecture in Canada’s Happy Province   55 Public Health   61 Housing and Accommodation   67 Places of Worship   88 Education and Recreation   96 Industry and Commerce   128 Federal Public Works   142 Provincial and Municipal Public Works   147

Part Three: Two Newfoundland Architects   165 11 Frederick A. Colbourne   169 12 Angus J. Campbell   200 13 Conclusion   251

Appendix: History of the Founding of the NAA, 1958   260



Notes   261 Bibliography   275 Index   277

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Acknowledgments I would like to thank the following organizations and individuals for their financial support of the publication of this book: the Visual Arts Section of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Beaverbrook Canadian Foundation, the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (hfnl), the Newfoundland Historic Trust, the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Architects, Derrick and Linda Rowe, and David and Karen Hood. Several members of the Newfoundland Association of Architects, now called the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Architects (nlaa), were extremely generous with their time, sharing their knowledge of architectural practice in Newfoundland in the early days of the association. Frank Noseworthy was particularly helpful, and his memory of buildings, people, and events is remarkable. The poignant insights he shared about the position of local architects in Newfoundland society, business, and politics close to the time of Newfoundland’s union with Canada added much to my understanding of that period. Frank also permitted me to scan many original drawings in his collection. William MacCallum provided important information on construction details, especially on issues with locally fabricated bricks, and he supplied numerous suggestions for prospective contacts who were familiar with Newfoundland’s modern architecture in the 1950s and 1960s. Brendan Murphy generously shared his experiences working on Fort Pepperrell in St John’s in the 1940s and 1950s. Sir Christopher Barlow provided information on projects he was involved with in the 1960s. I would like to thank Memorial University of Newfoundland (mun) professors Chris Sharpe and Jo Shawyer for permitting me to participate in their interviews with architect Paul Meschino when he returned to St John’s after many years and for sharing information from their excellent research on the development of Churchill Park and on the Second War era in St John’s. Sincere thanks also to Memorial University Professor James Hiller in this regard. Nova Scotia architect Keith L. Graham provided helpful and detailed information on his involvement with his projects for the Anglican Church of St Mary the Virgin and Queen’s College on the mun campus. Architect Robert F. Horwood met with me when he was living in Ottawa, and he provided documentation on many of his projects over the years. I am grateful to architects Blanche Lemco van Ginkel and Sandy van Ginkel for sharing information on their project for Bowring Park in St John’s and other Newfoundland projects, and for meeting with me in Toronto even though Sandy was unwell. I am indebted to architect Charles H. Cullum, past-president of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (raic), not only for sharing his memories of architectural practice in

Newfoundland and elsewhere in Canada but also for hiring me in 1974 to work in his office in St John’s. Sincere thanks to George Chalker, executive director of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, and to David Hood and Kim Blanchard of the Newfoundland Historic Trust for promoting the preservation of Newfoundland’s modern architecture. Thanks also to Ken O’Brien, supervisor of planning and information for the city of St John’s, and Shannie Duff, the city’s deputy mayor, for their interest in my research on Newfoundland’s modern architecture. I greatly appreciate the efforts of Professor Steven Mannell at the Dalhousie University Faculty of Architecture and Planning in curating the exhibition and editing the excellent catalogue for Atlantic Modern: The Architecture of the Atlantic Provinces 1950 –2000, and for his recent initiative to found the Atlantic Region Docomomo chapter. The staff at City of St John’s Archives, The Rooms Provincial Archives, and the Memorial University Archives and Special Collections Division was extremely helpful in providing guidance and assistance. Deserving of special mention are St John’s city archivist, Helen Miller, and mun archivists Bert Riggs and Linda White. For my chapter on the Newfoundland Association of Architects, I am indebted to the Executive Council and to Lynda Hayward for permitting access to the nlaa archives. The Honourable Edward Roberts, who in 1964 was appointed the first executive assistant to Premier Smallwood and was later his parliamentary assistant (1966), minister of public welfare (1968), and minister of health (1969), shared his poignant insights on Smallwood’s personality and proclivities as well as on politics during the Smallwood years, and he made many helpful suggestions for further research. Memorial University Professor Shane O’Dea offered numerous suggestions and insights. I would like to sincerely thank Richard Gwyn for reading my manuscript prior to publication and for sharing his opinion about my treatment of Smallwood. Anne Hart, former head of the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, suggested many fruitful research possibilities. For my chapter on Frederick A. Colbourne, I am indebted to his daughters, Wendy, Diane, Karen, and Roma, for sharing their personal memories of Colbourne family life and the work of their father, and for permitting me to feature some of their father’s paintings and drawings in my book. Nicholas Herder, Colbourne’s grandson, assisted with the field documentation of his grandfather’s designs for the Clouston Residence and the Model Home for the Kinsmen. His grandfather would be proud to hear that x  ac k n o w l e d g m e n t s

Nicholas has followed in his footsteps and is pursuing a career in architecture. I sincerely appreciate the access for fieldwork and documentation provided by the owners of the MacDonald Residence on Forest Avenue, the owners of the Colbourne Residence on Rostellan Street, and Mike and Regina Noftall, the owners of the Model Home for the Kinsmen on Elizabeth Avenue. Vaughn MacDonald, Elwood MacDonald’s son, provided useful background information on the MacDonald Residence and shared photographs of the house from his family album. The staff of St Michael’s and All Angels was particularly helpful in permitting me to scan Colbourne’s working drawings for this church, and special thanks must go to Cathy Mathias, archaeological conservator at Memorial University, for all her help and for her interest in the church’s heritage conservation. I was fortunate to meet architect Angus J. Campbell not long before he passed away, and I am indebted to him for providing information not only on his own work but also on that of other architects practising around the time of Confederation, particularly William J. Ryan. His collection of photographs on the work of these architects was very helpful in my research. Campbell’s family enthusiastically assisted me with my research over the past ten years and permitted me to access materials in Campbell’s archives, including original drawings and paintings. Campbell’s wife, Maureen, generously shared her memories of family life. Rob Campbell, Angus’s son, patiently responded to my numerous requests for information, drawings, photographs, and stories. Neville Mills told me about his work with Campbell and other architects in the 1960s, and I sincerely thank him for permitting me to scan several of his outstanding renderings of projects from this era. Architect Beaton Sheppard permitted me to copy drawings in his collection, and he helpfully related his impressions of the significance of Angus Campbell’s work, particularly Carnell’s Funeral Home. I am grateful to Joyce McCain for permitting me to photograph the George Cummings Residence on Elizabeth Avenue, a house that retains many of Campbell’s original details and materials. George Cummings’s brother Henry and Henry’s son Jeff provided important information on the Cummings Residence and also on Beth El Synagogue. John McNicholas told me about the early history of the use of the courtyard for Campbell’s design of mun’s Chemistry / Physics Building. Premier Smallwood’s grandson, Joseph Smallwood, Sr, kindly permitted me to visit his grandfather’s Newfoundland House on Roaches Line during renovation work in 2008, and he provided helpful information on the history of the house. I must xi   A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s

also thank Dale Russell FitzPatrick for providing vital background information on the history of the farm at Roaches Line, for permission to use Reginald Shepherd’s painting of Newfoundland House, and for her photographs of this house. I would especially like to thank the builder of Premier Smallwood’s house, Howard Roberts, for permitting me to interview him at his home in Mount Pearl and for sharing his collection of photographs. Towards the end of my research, Jim Wells provided key information on the influence of Ayn Rand on his close friend Angus J. Campbell. I am grateful to my friend John Doyle for agreeing to read an early version of the manuscript for this book. Albert Hickman shared his collection of photographs of Hickman Motors on Water Street West, and provided helpful background information on this company. Brendan Sullivan offered many insights into the history and construction of the Spencer Residence, designed by architect Ernest Steinbrink. Mary Devine shared original drawings in her possession as well as her insights on development of “the housing,” Churchill Park, in the 1940s in St John’s. In the mid-1990s, Joe and Louise Doyle spoke with me at length about the development of Churchill Park. Derrick and Linda Rowe graciously provided information on the Goldstone Residence on Rostellan Street, which they have been carefully restoring for several years. For this restoration project they received a Southcott Award, the first such award for an early modern building in Newfoundland. Vicki O’Dea provided helpful background on the history of the Ewing Residence on Circular Road West in St John’s. Richard Symonds shared his research on the history of Corner Brook and also on the history of the modern residences on Marcelle Avenue in Corner Brook. Thanks are owing to Randell Pope for sending me information on a modern house he constructed in Grand Bank using mail-order plans in the mid-1960s. James Candow called my attention to Rennie and Horwood’s rendering of their 1947 project for a lookout on Signal Hill in St John’s. Paul Chafe gave me information on the condition of the Superior Rubber Company plant in Holyrood and permitted me to use his photographs. I would like to thank Allan Byrne for his timely work preparing a detailed Commemorative Integrity Statement for Confederation Building. Chris O’Dea kindly told me about Paul Daly’s photographs of the Noseworthy Residence in St John’s designed by architect William Brown, and I would like to thank Daly for permitting me to use his colourful photos. Larry Dohey, archivist for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St John’s, provided information on the construction of the Total Abstinence Society Building in St John’s and on the Cathedral of the Holy Redeemer in Corner Brook. xii  ac k n o w l e d g m e n t s

Martin Balodis provided invaluable information on the context of planning in the Smallwood years, and his mother, Zenta Balodis, kindly shared documents in her collection from the 1965 dedication of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. Professor Derek Drummond kindly shared the story of his chance meeting with Premier Smallwood on his first trip to Newfoundland in 1963. Professors Annmarie Adams and Ricardo Castro, my office-mates and colleagues at the School of Architecture at McGill University, were a great source of encouragement and advice. Professor Adams put me in contact with Blanche Lemco van Ginkel, and has enriched my understanding of cultural landscapes and modern architecture through her own research in the field. Professor Castro’s books on the work of Colombian architect Rogelio Salmona were an inspiration. Particularly useful were his imaginative insights and his syndetic analysis of the intersecting local, national, and inter­ national trajectories and manifestations of modernism. I am indebted to my gifted editors, Helen Dyer and Clare Jacobson. Helen, now living in England, owns a house in Tilting, and Clare, now living in China, was the editor of my book on Tilting for Princeton Architectural Press. I would also like to thank Curtis Fahey for his superb copy editing. Mark Abley of McGill Queen’s University Press deftly guided my manuscript through many logistical hurdles and helped me to sharpen my focus. Thanks also to Philip Cercone and Joan McGilvray of mqup for taking an interest in my book and to the late Glenn Goluska, who died in the last stages of the book’s preparation, for his elegant and sympathetic design. Finally, special thanks to Heidi, Julia, and Hannah for having the patience to wait for me on our travels together while I took just one more photograph of a modern building.

xiii   A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s

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L i s t o f I l l u s t ra t i o n s mun PA naa

0.1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8

2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 3.1

Abbreviations Used in Captions Archives and Special Collections Division, Queen Elizabeth II Library, Memorial University, St John’s The Rooms Provincial Archives Division Newfoundland Association of Architects Archives

Premier Joseph Roberts “Joey” Smallwood at his home on Roaches Line   ii Main entrance porch, Church of St Michael and All Angels St John’s, designed by Frederick A. Colbourne, 1956   3 Gower Street, St John’s   5 The Dwyer Premises in Tilting, Fogo Island   5 Premier Joey Smallwood, 1966   7 Le Corbusier in Paris, 1959   7 Corner Brook town site, 1924   12 West Fire Station, St John’s, designed by William D. McCarter, 1944   19 Churchill Square apartment block with ground-level shops, St John’s, designed by George Cummings   23 Drawing for the spire of the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, St John’s, designed by Angus J. Campbell, 1968   25 Apothecary Hall, St John’s, designed by John Hoskins, 1922   27 Duckworth Building, St John’s, designed by William J. Ryan, late 1940s   27 Total Abstinence Society Building, St John’s, designed by William J. Ryan, 1950   29 Building 311 at Fort Pepperrell, St John’s, designed by the U.S. military, early 1940s   29 American Aerated Water Company Building, St John’s, designed by McCarter and Colbourne, 1946 (left), and the Cornwall Theatre, St John’s, designed by McCarter and Colbourne, 1947 (right)   30 Cornwall Theatre in the foreground with the lantern from the American Aerated Water Company Building in the background   30 St Michael’s Anglican School, St John’s, designed by Frederick A. Colbourne, mid-1940s   30 Proposed Solarium, Signal Hill, June 1947, H.G. Rennie and R.F. Horwood   33 Plan for Churchill Park (marked Villages A–D) streets and services, developed by A.E. Searles, 1943   36 Typical floor plan for the Churchill Square apartments, July 1955   37 Elevations for a Type 3 –13 house in Churchill Park, 1945   39 Houses newly completed in Churchill Park, St John’s, designed by Paul Meschino, mid-1940s   39 Type 3–13 house on Maple Street in Churchill Park, 1945   40 Type 3–13 house plan in Churchill Park, 1945   40 Frederick A. Colbourne and Angus J. Campbell attending the 1961 annual general meeting of the NAA   43

3.2 3.3 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 5.1 5.2

Elizabeth Towers Apartments, St John’s, designed by T. Porteous Bolton, 1966   47 An advertisement for W.J. Ryan from the early 1950s in the Atlantic Guardian   51 Cover of Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province, 1966   55 Nurses’ residence, General Hospital, St John’s, 1964   61 Charles S. Curtis Memorial Hospital, St Anthony, designed by Bélanger and Roy, 1965   63 Grace General Hospital in the late 1960s, St John’s   63 Institution, Christopher Pratt, 1973   65 Doctors’ entrance, Grace General Hospital   65 Goldstone Residence, St John’s, designed by Paul Meschino, 1953   67 Livingston Street and Goodview Street housing, St John’s, designed by Rennie and Horwood, early 1950s   69 5.3 Buckmaster’s Circle housing, St John’s, designed by cmhc, mid-1960s   70 5.4 First-floor plan, Goldstone Residence   72 Living room, Goldstone Residence   73 5.5 5.6 Architect Paul Meschino visiting the Goldstone Residence in 2000   74 5.7 Elevations for the working drawings, Goldstone Residence   75 5.8 Ewing Residence, St John’s, designed by Graham Rennie, early 1950s; photo by Robert Mellin, 2006   76 Spencer Residence, St John’s, designed by Ernest Steinbrink, 1957 or 1958   77 5.9 5.10 Roof ridge at eastern wall, Spencer Residence   79 5.11 Chrome corner-column detail, Spencer Residence   79 5.12 Roberts Residence, Corner Brook, designed by W. George Smith, 1950   80 5.13 Smith Residence, Corner Brook, designed by W. George Smith, 1950   80 Pope Residence, Grand Bank, designed after plans from Chatelaine magazine’s 1963 home 5.14 feature, 1966   83 5.15 Noseworthy Residence, St John’s, designed by W.E. Brown, 1964   83 5.16a Smoking room exterior, Noseworthy Residence   84 5.16b Smoking room interior, Noseworthy Residence   84 5.17 Kenmount Hotel, St John’s, designed by Craig, Madill, Horwood, Abram, and Ingleson, 1958 or 1959   86 5.18 Holiday Inn, St John’s, designed by Boigon and Heinonen, mid-1960s   86 6.1 St Mary the Virgin Church   88 The third church in St Patrick’s Parish, Tilting, Fogo Island, architect unknown, 6.2 late 1960s   89 Salvation Army Citadel, St John’s, designed by George Cummings   90 6.3 6.4 St James United Church, St John’s, designed by Craig, Madill, Horwood, Abram, and Ingleson, 1959   90 Grand Bank United Church, designed by Eric Jerrett, 1965   91 6.5 6.6 Holy Redeemer Cathedral, Corner Brook, designed by McGinnis, Walsh, and Kennedy with M.J. Downey, 1956   91 6.7 Model, St Mary the Virgin Church, St John’s, designed by Keith L. Graham, 1962   92 6.8 Interior, St Mary the Virgin Church   93

xvi   l is t o f i l l u s t r a t i o ns

6.9 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 7.17 7.18 7.19 7.20 7.21 7.22 7.23 7.24 7.25 7.26 7.27 7.28 7.29

Rendering by Ernest Steinbrink of his 1963 design of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, St John’s   94 Science Building, Memorial University, designed by Durnford, Bolton, Chadwick, and Ellwood of Montreal in consultation with A.J.C. Paine, 1960   96 Opening ceremony for Memorial University, St John’s, October 1961   99 Elevation drawing, Science Building, Memorial University, designed by William J. Ryan, 1953   100 Plan, Arts Building, Memorial University, designed by William J. Ryan, 1953   102 Elevation drawing, Arts Building, Memorial University, designed by William J. Ryan, 1953   102 Aerial view of the early development of mun’s campus, 1960   105 Early scheme, Marine Sciences Research Laboratory, Logy Bay, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1964   107 Marine Sciences Building, designed by Dobush Stewart Bourke with project architect Peter Holtshousen, with the assistance of Sir Christopher Barlow, 1967   108 Second-floor plan, Marine Sciences Building, Logy Bay, 1967   108 Interior, St John’s College chapel on Memorial University’s campus, St John’s, designed by William Guihan, 1965   111 Rendering for the campus of Queen’s College, St John’s, designed by Keith L. Graham, 1966   112 Queen’s College, designed by Keith L. Graham, 1968   112 Site plan, St Bride’s College, designed by Bolton, Ellwood and Aimers, in association with Horwood and Guihan and A.T. Galt Durnford, 1965   114 Elevation drawing, St Bride’s College, 1965   114 Chapel and bell tower, St Bride’s College, 1967   115 Chapel floor plan, St Bride’s College, 1965   116 Library, St Bride’s College, 1967   116 Classrooms (left), administration (centre), and gymnasium (right), St Bride’s College, 1967   117 Holy Heart of Mary High School, St John’s, designed by John Hoskins, 1958   119 Design for a new stadium, St John’s, designed by Rennie and Horwood, 1950   119 Cover for the brochure “Plan for a Park” (Bowring Park, St John’s), by van Ginkel Associates with Ove Arup and Partners, 1959   121 Site plan, Bowring Park, designed by van Ginkel Associates with Ove Arup and Partners, 1959   121 Boating pond, Bowring Park, 1959   122 Formal gardens, Bowring Park, 1959   122 Bridges proposed for Bowring Park, 1959   122 Pedestrian bridge, Bowring Park, 1959   124 Formwork for the pedestrian bridge in Bowring Park, Ove Arup and Partners, 1959   124 Victoria Park swimming pool complex, St John’s, designed by A. Fasido, 1963   125 Plan, Victoria Park swimming pool   126

xvii  Lis t o f I l l u s t r a t i o ns

7.30 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 8.9 8.10 8.11 8.12 8.13 8.14 8.15 8.16 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 10.9

Signal Hill Visitor Centre, St John’s, designed by William B. Guihan of Horwood and Guihan, 1966   126 Avalon Mall, St John’s, architect unknown, 1967   128 Premier Smallwood, left, viewing a model of the Corner Brook premises of Bowater’s Newfoundland Pulp and Paper Mills, mid-1950s   130 Model made in 1951, Superior Rubber Company, Holyrood, Conception Bay   132 Interior, Superior Rubber Company plant   132 Booth of the Superior Rubber Company at a provincial government trade show, mid-1950s   133 Hickman Motors showroom, St John’s, architect unknown, 1947   135 Aerial photograph of Hickman Motors, 1958   135 R.J. O’Brien general store, Cape Broyle   136 Garage on the main road to Brigus, c. 1950   136 Bowring’s Department Store and Parking Garage, St John’s, designed by Cummings and Campbell, early 1960s   136 Ramp to Bowring’s Parking Garage   136 Millbrook Mall, Corner Brook, architect unknown, late 1960s   138 Ayre’s Supermarket, St John’s, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1959   138 Brookfield Ice Cream Factory, St John’s, architect unknown, 1947 renovation   139 Imperial Oil Building, St John’s, designed by Craig, Madill, Horwood, Abram, and Ingleson, 1959   140 Imperial Oil Building   140 Gander Airport International Departure Lounge, designed by Craig, Madill, Horwood, Abram, and Ingleson, 1959   142 Gander Airport   144 Gander Airport International Departure Lounge mural by Kenneth Lockhead, 1959   144 Sir Humphrey Gilbert Building, St John’s, designed by Lawson, Betts, and Cash with A.J.C. Paine, 1959   145 Water Street Post Office, St John’s, designer unknown, 1958   145 City Hall, St John’s, designed by John B. Parkin, 1970   147 Confederation Building, St John’s, designed by A.J.C. Paine in association with Lawson, Betts, and Cash, 1960   149 Office interior, Confederation Building   150 Interior of the lantern, Confederation Building   150 Vancouver City Hall, designed by Townley and Matheson, 1936   151 Partial view of the mural in the lobby of Confederation Building by Harold B. Goodridge, 1959   153 Model, St John’s Arts and Culture Centre, designed by Cummings and Campbell in association with arcop, 1967   155 Model, St John’s Arts and Culture Centre, 1967   155 Auditorium, St John’s Arts and Culture Centre, 1967   157

xviii   l is t o f i l l u s t r a t i o ns

10.10 10.11 10.12 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 11.8 11.9 11.10 11.11 11.12 11.13 11.14 11.15 11.16 11.17 11.18 11.19 11.20 11.21 11.22 11.23 11.24 11.25 11.26 11.27 11.28 11.29 11.30 11.31 11.32 11.33

Brick relief mural in the lobby of the St John’s Arts and Culture Centre, designed by Maurice Savoie, 1967   158 Southern Newfoundland Seaman’s Museum, Grand Bank, formerly the Yugoslavian Pavilion at Expo ’67, architects unknown   159 Arts and Culture Centre, Grand Falls, formerly the Czechoslovakian Pavilion at Expo ’67, designed by Miroslav Repa and Vladimir Pycha   161 Members of the naa attending the 1960 annual general meeting   165 Self-portrait by Frederick A. Colbourne, early 1930s   169 Newfoundland scene, pen-and-ink drawing by Frederick A. Colbourne, 1935   171 Newfoundland scene, pen-and-ink drawing by Frederick A. Colbourne, 1935   171 Winterton, Newfoundland scene, oil painting by Frederick A. Colbourne, 1974   172 La Manche, Newfoundland scene, oil painting by Frederick A. Colbourne, 1972   172 Drawing by Frederick A. Colbourne, United Church, Corner Brook, 1940   173 Elevation drawing of a fruit store designed by McCarter and Colbourne, 1948   174 Elevation drawing of a fruit store for M.J. O’Brien Ltd, 1948   174 Fruit store for M.J. O’Brien Ltd, 1948   174 MacDonald Residence, St John’s, designed by Frederick A. Colbourne, 1952   176 Plan, MacDonald Residence   176 Ellwood MacDonald   177 Main bedroom built-in closet, MacDonald Residence   177 Clouston Residence, St John’s, designed by Frederick A. Colbourne, 1953   180 Entrance detail, Clouston Residence   180 Main-floor plan, Clouston Residence, 1952   182 Fireplace detail, Clouston Residence; photo by Robert Mellin, 2006   182 Model Home for the Kinsmen, St John’s, designed by Frederick A. Colbourne, 1954   184 Front of the winning ticket for the Model Home for the Kinsmen, 1954   185 Back of the winning ticket for the Model Home for the Kinsmen, 1954   185 First-floor plan, Model Home for the Kinsmen, 1954   185 Dining room glass screen, Model Home for the Kinsmen   187 Fireplace and built-in bookshelves, Model Home for the Kinsmen   187 Church of St Michael and All Angels, St John’s, designed by Frederick A. Colbourne, 1956   188 Interior of the nave, Church of St Michael and All Angels   188 Plan, Church of St Michael and All Angels, 1954   189 Carillon tower and entrance porch, Church of St Michael and All Angels   191 Carillon tower cross, Church of St Michael and All Angels   191 Working drawing of sculptural relief on the carillon tower, Church of St Michael and All Angels   192 Bishop’s College, St John’s, designed by Frederick A. Colbourne, 1959   194 Holland Hall, St Bonaventure’s College, St John’s, designed by Frank Noseworthy, early 1960s   195 Silver Residence, St John’s, designed by Colbourne and Noseworthy, 1963   197

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11.34 11.35 11.36 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 12.8 12.9 12.10 12.11 12.12 12.13 12.14 12.15 12.16 12.17 12.18 12.19 12.20 12.21 12.22 12.23 12.24 12.25 12.26 12.27 12.28 12.29 12.30 12.31 12.32 12.33

First-floor plan, Silver Residence, 1963   197 Drawing for renovation, Morrow Residence, St John’s, designed by Colbourne and Noseworthy   199 Drawing for renovation, Morrow Residence   199 Angus J. Campbell in 1962   200 Painting by Angus J. Campbell, 1996   202 Rear Admiral Rose, with Angus J. Campbell (right) and Geoff Stirling   202 Cummings and Campbell’s sponsorship advertisement for Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province, drawing by Neville Mills, 1966   203 Cummings and Campbell office, St John’s, 1964, designed by Cummings and Campbell   204 Cummings and Campbell office, 1964   204 Beth El Synagogue, St John’s, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1960   206 Painting of Beth El Synagogue depicting the “Tree of Life” in the courtyard, by Hans Melis, 1958   207 Beth El Synagogue   207 Courtyard in winter, Beth El Synagogue   208 North wall window lattice, Beth El Synagogue   208 East-west section/elevation detail, Beth El Synagogue, 1957   211 Plan, Beth El Synagogue, 1957   211 North-south section, Beth El Synagogue, 1957   212 Beth El Synagogue   212 Painting of Newfoundland House by Reginald Shepherd, 1964   214 Smallwood Residence   214 Smallwood Residence today   215 Elevation drawings, Smallwood Residence, 1958   216 Basement floor plan, Smallwood Residence, 1958   216 Main-floor plan, Smallwood Residence, 1958   217 Section through chimney, Smallwood Residence, 1958   217 Main staircase to the basement, Smallwood Residence   219 Tiles above the living room fireplace, Smallwood Residence   219 Exterior details, Smallwood Residence   221 Corner window details, Smallwood Residence   221 Howard Roberts on the Smallwood Residence construction site, July 1958   223 Carpenters for the Smallwood Residence, July 1958   224 Plan for a dairy bar, 9 August 1963   225 Plan for a dairy bar, Roaches Line, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 3 August 1963   225 Elevation drawings for a dairy bar, 29 August 1963   226 Elevations for a gas bar, Roaches Line, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 16 October 1963   226 Plan for a pump house, Roaches Line, designed by Horwood, Campbell, Guihan, 19 August 1966   227

xx   l is t o f i l l u s t r a t i o ns

12.34 12.35 12.36 12.37 12.38 12.39 12.40 12.41 12.42 12.43 12.44 12.45 12.46 12.47 12.48 12.49 12.50 12.51 12.52 12.53 12.54 12.55 12.56 12.57 12.58 12.59 12.60 12.61 12.62 13.1 13.2 13.3

Medical Arts Building, St John’s, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1959   229 Westmount Avenue Public School, Corner Brook, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1962   229 Merit Insurance Company Building, St John’s, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1960   230 Plan, Merit Insurance Company Building, 1960   231 Lundrigans Office Building, Corner Brook, designed by Cummings and Campbell, early 1960s   231 College of Trades and Technology, St John’s, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1963   232 College of Trades and Technology   232 Salvation Army Officers’ Training College, St John’s, designed by Cummings and Campbell, mid-1960s   233 Burin District Vocational School, Burin, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1963   235 Plan, Burin District Vocational School   236 Courtyard, Burin District Vocational School   236 Conception Bay South Vocational School, Seal Cove, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1963   237 Clarenville District Vocational School, Clarenville, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1963   237 Crosbie Building, St John’s, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1963   238 Chimo Office Building, St John’s, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1964   239 Carnell’s Funeral Home, St John’s, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1964   240 Design for a church, Grand Falls, designed by Cummings and Campbell, early 1960s   240 Cummings Residence, St John’s, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1964   242 Bay window with louvres centred on the gable end wall, Cummings Residence   242 Chemistry/Physics Building at mun, St John’s, designed by Angus J. Campbell, 1965   243 Main-entrance facade, Chemistry/Physics Building at mun   243 Arts and Education Building at mun, St John’s, designed by Angus J. Campbell, 1965   244 Main-entrance facade, Arts and Education Building at mun   244 Sectional drawing of the lecture rooms, Arts and Education Building at mun   245 Carbonear Hospital, St John’s, designed by Horwood, Campbell, Guihan, rendering by N. Mills, 1967   247 Full-size mock-up of a semi-private patient’s room for Carbonear Hospital   248 Full-size mock-up for Carbonear Hospital   248 Typical room plans, Carbonear Hospital   248 Typical upper-floor plan, Carbonear Hospital   249 Premier Smallwood visiting an exhibit for the new World Trade Center in New York City, early 1960s   251 Holiday Inn, St John’s, designed by Boigon and Heinonen, mid-1960s   259 Renovation of Holiday Inn, St John’s, 2010   259

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Newfoundland modern

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Chapter one

Introduction

1.1 (previous page) Main entrance porch, Church of St Michael and All Angels St John’s, designed by Frederick A. Colbourne, 1956; St Michael archives.

I first visited St John’s in 1973 when I was in my last year of undergraduate study in architecture, and the city made a strong impression on me. Its historic and compact downtown represented the vibrant type of city that architecture students were obsessed with at the time, having come under the influence of Jane Jacobs’s book The Death and Life of Great American Cities.1 The architecture of old St John’s had a somewhat austere character, expressed through sombre colours and a remarkable consistency of detail and materials. At that time, the precious ornamentation on houses and bold colour schemes characteristic of sumptuously appointed Victorian era houses2 had not yet been introduced through gentrification and well-intentioned heritage conservation (Figure 1.2). The architecture of Newfoundland invokes the image of colourful old houses in St John’s, tightly clustered around the harbour, and also small, brightly painted houses and fishing stages in picturesque outports3 (Figure 1.3). But they are only half the story. This book is about a second treasure trove of buildings – the modern archi­­tecture that coincided with Premier Joseph (“Joey”) Roberts Smallwood’s administration, from 1949 to 1972. Part of my purpose in writing Newfoundland Modern4 is to challenge the impression that Newfoundland’s architecture is just about quaint, clapboarded historic houses by the sea or in heritage-conservation districts in St John’s. Not many people outside Newfoundland are aware of the numerous modern buildings that made their appearance during Premier Smallwood’s administration in the 1950s and 1960s, and those living in the province tend to take this architecture for granted, as if it has always been there or as if modernism was an inevitable consequence of “progress.”5 Joey Smallwood (1900–91) was the first premier of the province of Newfoundland and the politician who brought Newfoundland into Canada in 1949. Today there is healthy skepticism about him and the achievements of his administration. In the numerous books that reminisce about Smallwood, authors are sometimes critical, but this criticism is usually tempered with a sense of humour and irony. There is a general feeling that he was a charismatic, energetic, and unforgettable character, but enthusiasm for his work is now tempered by hindsight.6 Smallwood created the official narrative for himself and his government when he was in power, and even for his legacy after he left power in his Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador. As Richard Gwyn writes in his excellent book Smallwood: The Unlikely Revolutionary, “to Newfoundland eyes, he was at one and the same time a populist autocrat, with enough of the common touch left to push a grocery cart unaffectedly round St. John’s 4   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

1.2 Gower Street, St John’s; photo by Robert Mellin, 1993.

1.3 The Dwyer Premises in Tilting, Fogo Island; photo by Robert Mellin, 2008.

5   I n t r o d u c t i o n

supermarkets and take his place in line at the checkout counter, and a despot who struck fear in the citizenry, and threatened the livelihood of any Newfoundlander who dared oppose him publicly.”7 Smallwood frequently used examples of modern architecture to celebrate the progress made by his administration. As Peter Neary writes, “prestige projects were given high priority by the government and public demonstrations to celebrate the people’s progress became part of [Smallwood’s] standard political repertoire.”8 Smallwood’s interest in modern architecture extended to his personal life, and one of the most remarkable extant modern houses in Newfoundland is his own house on Roaches Line, “Newfoundland House,” designed by St John’s architect Angus J. Campbell. Richard Gwyn told me that Smallwood was obsessed with the need to modernize the province quickly or face population loss to mainland Canada.9 Former Newfoundland premier Brian Tobin has noted, “He and his government set a frantic pace in building the infrastructure of a sadly underdeveloped Newfoundland and Labrador. ‘Develop or perish’ became the cry, and mistakes were made, as Joey Smallwood himself would acknowledge. However, his mistakes were mistakes of the heart.”10 As may be expected, most of the examples of modern architecture can be found in Newfoundland’s capital city of St John’s, but there are also examples of modern buildings and houses in smaller towns. William Callahan dubbed Smallwood “Newfoundland’s greatest political, social and economic architect”: “Smallwood’s monuments are everywhere in the province – from the Trans Canada Highway and connecting roads that ended the ancient isolation of hundreds of communities, to Memorial University and scores of modern school and college buildings in every region, to the Health Sciences Centre and the Janeway Child Health Centre in St. John’s and many regional hospitals, to the Memorial University Medical School, and the dozens of libraries and Arts and Culture Centres and recreation facilities that underpin the cultural life of Newfoundland and Labrador.”11 In this book I address the influence of Smallwood’s paternalistic regime on Newfoundland’s architecture and cultural landscape, a perspective from the top down that takes the opposite approach of my book on the Newfoundland outport of Tilting on Fogo Island.12 Government initiatives in planning and architecture accelerated changes in both rural and urban life in Newfoundland, and the Newfoundland government’s resettlement and industrial plans and Smallwood’s attempts to promote progress and modernity were major factors in these changes. But by the 1960s interest in progress and modern living had caught on even in some of the most 6   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

1.4 Premier Joey Smallwood, 1966; mun. 1.5 Le Corbusier in Paris, 1959, photo by René Burri; Magnum Photos.

remote coastal settlements in the province, with or without the influence of Smallwood or his government. Premier Smallwood figures prominently in much of the planning and architecture investigated in this book. However, even though he wanted to create a new identity for the province based on progress and modernization, he was not solely responsible for bringing modern architecture to Newfoundland.13 As I will show, modern architecture was present in the province before Smallwood took office in 1949, and there were many post-Confederation modernist projects, like the remarkable Beth El Synagogue, in which he played no role. (Smallwood was, however, present for the opening ceremony of this building.) Newfoundland’s modern architecture often echoed the familiar influences of Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Alvar Aalto, Richard Neutra, and other architects with occasional local inflections of materials and architectural elements. There was an optimistic atmosphere in post-Confederation Newfoundland. In architecture and in planning theory and practice, it was an era characterized by what now seems like a naive belief in progress. Architects working in Newfoundland in the 1950s and 1960s, unlike in the present day, wholeheartedly and unequivocally embraced modernism. Like Le Corbusier, Joey Smallwood (Figure 1.4) was a visionary who made no small plans. If Le Corbusier (Figure 1.5) and Smallwood had been put together in the same room in the early 1950s, you might have found it difficult to tell them apart. Both had 7  in t r o d u c t i o n

thinning, swept-back hair and wore heavy, modern black spectacles and bow ties. They were both energetic, charismatic figures with a genius for popularizing their ideas and projects through the media. And both were responsible for large-scale planning proposals that questioned traditional settlement patterns: Le Corbusier with his plan for the Radiant City and other projects, and Smallwood with proposals for population resettlement and industrialization. Readers who are not from Newfoundland but who are familiar with the history of modern architecture will no doubt find similarities between icons of modern architecture elsewhere and the modern architecture of Newfoundland. What they can’t know, however, is the way modern buildings constructed in Newfoundland during this period were perceived locally. Many of these buildings have a story to tell, often involving local politics. Some even hint at public scandal, as in the case of the infamous Elizabeth Towers luxury apartment building on Elizabeth Avenue in St John’s. For a certain generation, this building will forever be associated with Smallwood’s pal Oliver L. (“Al”) Vardy, a public official in Smallwood’s government who was later disgraced, as well as with what Richard Gwyn describes as the premier’s later, hedonistic phase.14 As I write in chapter 12, even Smallwood’s own private residence, “Newfoundland House” on Roaches Line, Conception Bay, was controversial in its time. Newfoundland’s mid-twentieth-century cultural landscape was a territory of contrasts that overlapped in space, time, and memory. Its rural vernacular architecture represented a way of life that was largely in balance with a challenging environment and with available resources but was not without hardship. There were subtle variations in architectural form and settlement patterns between different regions of the province, yet buildings maintained typological consistencies. The houses and outbuildings of Newfoundland’s numerous coastal settlements had a temporary, fragile, and even nomadic character in form, construction, materials, and use, requiring frequent maintenance, rebuilding, and relocation. Many of these buildings appeared to perch tentatively on the land without changing it, leaving no traces when they were moved or abandoned. Space in outport Newfoundland was open and dispersed, and the focus of the inhabitants was outward, to the land and especially to the sea. In contrast to the vernacular architecture of the Newfoundland outport, the public architecture of the urban centres was of a learned design that aspired to permanence. This architecture represented the confidence and authority of institu8   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

tions and rein­­forced the long-standing local perception that the town was superior to the outport. In some urban building groupings, particularly in ecclesiastical complexes in St John’s and other towns, there was an inward focus on the closed space of well-defined courtyards or cloisters that often featured intensively manicured gardens. This inward focus created nearly the opposite spatial orientation of that found in outports at the edges of the inland wilderness. The appearance of modern architecture in Newfoundland coincided with the increasing influence of the automobile on the lifestyle and settlement form of both towns and outports. In urban areas, Newfoundland architects began to embellish their buildings with sweeping vehicular entrance canopies, ramps, carports, and underpasses. Architects who embraced modern architecture responded in ways we now take for granted, designing buildings that were no longer tied to the constraints of traditional urban form, either by location or by design. With modern architecture there was also a shift from formal spatial enclosure to informal spatial fluidity. Openfloor plans began to make their appearance in building interiors, and building exteriors were designed to catch the eye while viewed at the speed of a car. In this regard, mid-century Newfoundland architect Angus Campbell oriented his buildings at an angle to the road in the design of several of his projects. The impact of the automobile was subtler in rural Newfoundland architecture in the 1950s and 1960s. At that time, traditional ways of living still predominated in most outports, although some people adjusted with ease, replacing the Newfoundland ponies in their stables with cars. When I first visited St John’s in 1973, its downtown was a city of low-rise, connected townhouses and commercial and institutional buildings. Its skyline was only occasionally punctuated by the symbolic towers of churches and other buildings like the courthouse, the Masonic Temple, the Royal Trust Building, the Sir Humphrey Gilbert Building, and rather drastic urban renewal in the vicinity of the new St John’s City Hall building designed by Ontario architect John B. Parkin. Around St John’s, suburban residential growth accelerated just after the Second World War with the development of Churchill Park, at that time located just beyond the fringe of the old town. In a 1948 article in the Atlantic Guardian titled “St. John’s Gets a ‘New Look,’” Eric A. Seymour writes about modernization: During the last decade, and particularly since the end of the war, St. John’s has under­gone a face-lifting which has brought touches of modernity to the ancient capital. The 9   I n t r o d u c t i o n

many new buildings which have gone up in various parts of the city stand out against a background of charming old mansions, durable waterfront department stores, and close-packed wooden buildings, which have characterized St. John’s for hundreds of years. In the process of modernization the capital city of Newfoundland has lost none of the old-world charm for which it is noted, but the city as it is today is better for its new-world architecture.15

As Jo Shawyer and Christopher Sharpe point out in their chapter “Building a Wartime Landscape” in Occupied St John’s: A Social History of a City at War, 1939–1945,16 the development of some suburban and social housing areas in St John’s was made possi­ble in large part by the government’s requisition of land during the war. Shawyer and Sharpe write about the impact that the construction of military bases during the war had on modernization in Newfoundland. Several of these military bases were outside St John’s, and a good example is the U.S. military base in Argentia and Marquise in Placentia Bay on the Avalon Peninsula. During the war, local residents were forcibly resettled and the American flag was raised over land that temporarily became the territory of the United States. There was a glamorous aspect to the sudden influx of thousands of soldiers in crisp uniforms and the construction of many modern buildings and extensive infrastructure. But there was also a downside, as locals sometimes experienced discrimination and condescension. Many Newfoundlanders worked on the Argentia base over the years, which brought significant cultural and economic changes to the region. Assuming office soon after the war ended, Smallwood and his ministers were interested in innovative planning as well as innovative architecture. However, innovative planning did not begin with the Smallwood administration, since there were important pre-Confederation precedents in the form of new towns for paper mills and mining companies. The artistic qualities evident in the plan for the papermill town of Corner Brook are particularly of interest. As Richard Symonds wrote in his informative report for the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, the history of this town dates from 1925. Its urban form and architecture was guided by Thomas Adams, a town planner from Scotland who worked in England and who later worked on several prominent town-planning projects in Canada, and Andrew Randall Cobb, an architect from Halifax. Influenced by the English Garden City movement, Adams considered city planning to be an art.17 The influence of Garden City planning principles on the town site of Corner Brook 10   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

is evident in the zoning of separate areas for housing, commerce, and industry, and in the careful consideration of open space and topography (Figure 1.6). According to Symonds, housing was separated into two neighbourhoods, one to the north for tradesmen and lower management in a protected valley, and the other for upper management to the south with occasional views of the brook. The former had a regimented geometry, expressed in the layout of the streets, while the latter had informal, picturesque curving streets. Adams’s planning artistry can still be experienced in the upper-management housing area, with its narrow streets and carefully considered sight lines and circulation patterns characteristic of an English village. In planning circulation through the neighbourhood, Adams anticipated a procession through a sequence of articulated spaces that were keyed to particular views.18 Andrew Cobb devised housing types for the residential areas, an interesting architectural precedent that Sir Brian Dunfield likely knew about in planning the housing of Churchill Park in St John’s twenty years later.19 It is particularly interesting that housing for unskilled labourers working at the mill was not provided in Adams’s plan. They were expected to fend for themselves by informally building their own houses nearby without any particular arrangement and without publicly organized infrastructure. The lack of roads, sewers, and public water supply echoed the way houses were once built in outport Newfoundland. Symonds is critical of the “haphazard appearance of the town’s west end” that resulted from this informal settlement pattern built by “squatters,” a criticism with which I respectfully disagree.20 This criticism is reminiscent of former Smallwood cabinet minister William Callahan’s objection to “higgledy-piggledy” development: Confederation came, and the number of occupied communities in the new province declined as scores of isolated hamlets were abandoned. At the same time, the number of places persuaded to organize into city, town, community and rural district councils ballooned. Under the Smallwood government’s direction, town planning became the norm with the introduction of the Urban and Rural Planning Act. Serious and successful attempts were made to correct higgledy-piggledy development, and new, modern subdivisions to rival the best in North America began to spring up. Establishment of the St. John’s Metropolitan Board and amalgamation of four towns to create the City of Corner Brook were important milestones in the development of forward-looking local government.21

11   I n t r o d u c t i o n

1.6 Corner Brook town site, 1924; pa.

12   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

Callahan wrote that one of the positive benefits of Smallwood’s planning vision was the end of informal development in Newfoundland. However, I would argue that some of the main objections to modern architecture in post-Second World War North America had more to do with alienating, sterile, and regimented planning than with poorly designed architecture. Newfoundland’s modern planning was not immune to this condition. Unfortunately, Callahan’s unrestrained enthusiasm for a more formal and ordered planning vision remains entrenched in present-day planning practice in the province, and this tends to work against the memorable character and sense of place of Newfoundland and Labrador’s traditional urban and rural cultural landscapes. Professor Blanche van Ginkel of the University of Toronto offers further evidence of Smallwood’s interest in planning. In the 1960s, Smallwood invited her firm, van Ginkel Associates, to work on two planning projects involving new towns. “Smallwood was full of development ideas. I do remember that he once found me, to my great surprise, when I was briefly visiting Winnipeg, to offer us a project – and I think that it was about Fermeuse – or perhaps it was about the St John’s satellite.”22 The Fermeuse project spanned from 1961 to 1968, and the project summary states: “A study of the expansion and conversion of a fish plant operation in Newfoundland from a seasonal in-shore type to a year-round dragger operation. New housing and community facilities would be required to attract experienced and trained personnel to the area. A statistical model which balances primary and secondary industries was developed to estimate the ultimate size of the new town.”23 The new town satellite for St John’s was proposed for a low-lying and swampy site between Cochrane’s Pond and Forest Pond. This project originated with John C. Crosbie, then minister of municipal affairs, who requested a feasibility study from Engineering Services and van Ginkel Associates. According to van Ginkel, much of their report was a discourse on principles and an argument for an economically independent town, and not for a “dormitory” for St John’s.24 Although the new towns that van Ginkel Associates worked on were never built, in the late 1960s the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation attempted to reconfigure the town of Mount Pearl, located fairly close to Cochrane’s Pond, according to similar planning principles. To understand the context for modern architecture in the province, it may help to discuss the construction situation in Newfoundland in the 1950s and 1960s. Whereas

13   I n t r o d u c t i o n

most construction components have to be imported to Newfoundland today, some were locally manufactured during the period covered in this book.25 Companies such as Horwood Lumber in St John’s and Saunders and Howell in Carbonear beautifully crafted special architectural millwork like stairways and columns. Local foundries such as United Nail and Foundry and the Trask Foundry fabricated ornamental and heavy-duty cast iron. Most of these companies closed down by the end of the 1970s, when they could no longer compete with imports from the mainland or when the demand for more traditional components and services declined. But in the midtwentieth century, Newfoundland architects were still well connected with local manufacturers of construction components and with the building trades. This provided opportunities for innovation and for the crafting and detailing of both traditional and modern architecture.26 Although Newfoundland was remote and relatively isolated during the Smallwood era, local architects were made aware of modern architectural design developments outside the province from books and periodicals. For many years after its founding in 1949, the Newfoundland Association of Architects (naa) annually sponsored the purchase of architecture books for the library at Memorial University of Newfoundland. St John’s architect W.E. Brown mentioned his interaction with the North American architectural community in a 1965 letter to Premier Smallwood: “I am receiving all the important professional magazines from down in the United States on the latest developments in school architecture in that country and I am also receiving all the important magazines on the latest developments in school architecture in Canada. In addition, each year I attend a symposium in Toronto, sponsored by the Ontario Department of Education which features the most modern teaching equipment and the latest methods of teaching as well as the latest designs in school architecture all across Canada.”27 I was told many times about the influence of internationally known architects on Newfoundland’s architects, either by the architects themselves (such as Angus Campbell and Paul Meschino) or by former employees or family members. In the 1950s and 1960s, Newfoundland’s architects learned about modern architecture mainly from books and journals, since their travel outside the province was infrequent. The books Newfoundland architects could access primarily featured the work of well-known, internationally recognized architects. The comparisons I make between modernist projects in Newfoundland and specific projects by architects like Le Corbusier, Wright, Neutra, Louis Kahn, and Mies 14   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

van der Rohe should be clarified. These architects were not alone in their pursuit of modern architecture in the 1950s and 1960s, and a review of the journals and magazines from this period would show that many architects who were not as well known also embraced modernism, which by the 1950s was fairly ubiquitous. In cases where I have no firm evidence for architectural-design precedents, the comparisons I make are speculative and rely on my visual associations. In these types of comparisons, I am less interested in the authenticity of influences and precedents, and more interested in a syndetic process that makes connections between concepts, details, assemblies, and materials. Even though Newfoundland was remote, new buildings constructed there in the 1950s and 1960s were not conceived in isolation. Architects from the mainland28 could have influenced these projects, but it is also the case that local architects influenced each other. For example, Angus Campbell had a collection of black-and-white photographs of several buildings designed by other contemporary Newfoundland architects. However, I feel confident that some direct comparisons I make are justifiable. For example, Campbell’s project for a church in Grand Falls, Newfoundland (Figure 12.50), was obviously influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright’s church in Madison, Wisconsin. The plans of the two buildings are almost identical, and there are only minor variations in their exterior detailing. Other Newfoundland modern projects synthesized with, instead of imitated, their precedents. My research for this book began with an article I wrote titled “Modernism in Newfoundland” published in Canadian Architect in 2000.29 One year later, the excellent exhibition (and subsequent book of the same title30) Atlantic Modern: The Architecture of the Atlantic Provinces, 1950–2000, curated by Professor Steven Mannell of the Faculty of Architecture, Dalhousie University, presented a selection of early modern buildings from the Atlantic provinces, among which Newfoundland was well represented. William MacCallum was the Newfoundland member of the jury for Atlantic Modern, and he told me that of the submissions for the exhibition from Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick, by far the most submissions were from Newfoundland. For balance and comparison, only a few projects from Newfoundland could be included in Atlantic Modern, and four of the eight projects featured in the exhibition correspond with the period from 1949–72. These are the Beth-El Synagogue, Newfoundland House (Smallwood’s private residence), St Bride’s College in Littledale, and mun’s Marine Sciences Research Laboratory. 15   I n t r o d u c t i o n

In the chapters that follow, I have included these projects as well as the remainder of the projects determined by William MacCallum and the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Architects to be the most significant examples of early modern architecture in the province, in addition to some buildings of my own choosing. The era that inspired Newfoundland’s modern buildings is perhaps the most neglected with regard to heritage conservation. Many buildings from the 1950s and 1960s have been renovated or demolished, and photographs and drawings for them are often either difficult to find or non-existent. Proper maintenance is sadly lacking for many of Newfoundland’s modern buildings, and inappropriate renovations and demolition of viable structures are erasing a very interesting period of Newfoundland’s architectural history. The partial demolition of Angus Campbell’s 1960 Beth El Synagogue in 2001 represents Newfoundland’s general lack of interest in preserving its modern architecture. Forty-five years after the construction of the synagogue, the members of Beth El faced a very difficult decision with regard to the upkeep of the building. It had deteriorated to the point where leaks had caused distress, and it was difficult to heat and expensive to maintain. Some Beth El members claimed that preservation of the building was impossible because of all the deterioration that had taken place over the years. This same argument was, of course, once applied to many of the old wooden buildings in present-day heritage-conservation areas of St John’s. With patience, perseverance, and technically sound contemporary heritage-conservation strategies, most of these old buildings have been given a new life, and I am sure this would have been possible for Beth El. Many of the recent renovations to modern structures cloak them in false Victorian trim and quasi-gable roofs or gable-roof pediment fragments, accretions that appeared congenial in the postmodernist 1980s and 1990s. As part of my recent work as chair of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, my goal was to increase awareness for the need to preserve Newfoundland’s modern architecture. But it may be that more time must elapse before we can be convinced to cherish and protect this architecture. It took me a while to appreciate the modern architecture I saw in Newfoundland after I moved to the province in 1974. I took these modern buildings for granted, not understanding the significance of their genesis in the time and space of postConfederation Newfoundland. It was only much later, and unfortunately after the destruction of many fine examples of this architecture, that I came to appreciate the 16   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

work of such Newfoundland architects as Paul Meschino, Angus Campbell, William J. Ryan, and Frederick A. Colbourne, among many others. I now regret that, because of my inattention, I missed an opportunity to meet and interview many of these architects. McGill School of Architecture Emeritus Professor Derek Drummond told me about his first trip to Newfoundland in the winter of 1963: The issue had come up in the Montreal architectural firm I was working with, Bolton, Ellwood, and Aimers, of their main client in Newfoundland, the Catholic church, starting to question why they needed architects from Montreal. Bolton, who was my uncle, was the prime contact with the client and he had been to Newfoundland a few times. He sent me to Bishop’s Falls, Newfoundland, to placate the Bishop. So off I went. It was the policy of the firm to always fly first class, because in those days, if you got snowed in, first class got the first ticket to get out when the weather finally cleared. So I was put in a first class seat, and just before we were going to take off, the last person to get on the airplane was someone I recognized, the premier of Newfoundland, Joey Smallwood. He sat down beside me with a bulging briefcase, and he looked at me, and asked me why are you going to Newfoundland? I answered I was working for an architectural firm, and that I was going to meet with a client. He said, well now, fine, I have a lot of work to do during the flight, but I will make you a promise. As soon as we begin our descent around twenty minutes before we land, I am going to close my briefcase and I will tell you about Newfound­land. He did as promised, but it was nothing to do with architecture. It was all about the history of the province and Confederation issues, and it was a delight. And after we landed, he said you must be staying at the Hotel Newfoundland. I’ll drive you because I am going down to my office. So that was my introduction to Newfoundland, which was really very special! He was such a nice man. I was only young then, twentythree years old.31

One winter’s day in 1975, while I was waiting at Tooton’s photofinishing counter at the Avalon Mall in St John’s, an elderly gentleman wearing a gray fedora and long gray overcoat stood next to me, asking for his photos. The young woman at the counter asked for his name, and he answered, “Smallwood.” I found it surprising that, a mere three years after being ousted from office, the former premier was already fading from public prominence. I hope that with this book I may add to the scholarship on the man and his legacy as well as renew interest in the architecture that marked his era.

17   I n t r o d u c t i o n

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P ar t O n e

M o d e r n i s m ta k e s h o l d

2.1 (previous page) West Fire Station, St John’s, designed by William D. McCarter, 1944; City of St John’s Archives.

In the decades just prior to Confederation, Newfoundland’s architects worked primarily with traditional forms, materials, and methods. Yet modern design was already making a mark. Art Deco and streamlined forms, new building materials and manufactured components, and modern planning were present in St John’s and beyond. These modern influences often came from outside Newfoundland. In the following two chapters, I present early precedents for modernism and describe the context of architectural practice in Newfoundland, providing background on the commissioning of projects, architectural education, and the establishment of the Newfoundland Association of Architects. Local architects worked on most pre-Confederation projects, but occasionally institutions, religious denominations, and government sought expertise from outside Newfoundland. An architect who regularly consulted on Newfoundland projects was A.J.C. (Carmen) Paine (1886–1965), and his contribution to early modernist projects should be recognized. Paine was practising architecture in Montreal as a staff architect with Sun Life Assurance, but he made frequent visits to Newfoundland to consult on various public-building projects. His name appears frequently in correspondence in the Provincial Archives. For example, Paine was the architect for the interdenominational Normal School for teacher training on Merrymeeting Road in St John’s, built in 1924, and it is possible that the Normal School project first brought him to Newfoundland. The school was constructed with cast-in-place concrete exterior walls with stone ornamentation, and the building later became Memorial University College.1 Paine was active as a consulting architect in Newfoundland for forty years, and the first buildings for Memorial University of Newfoundland and Confederation Building were his major projects in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

21  m o d e r nism T A KE S HOLD

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Chapter two

Ear l y M o d e r n i s m

2.2 (previous page) Churchill Square apartment block with ground-level shops, St John’s, designed by George Cummings, under construction in 1956; Angus J. Campbell archives.

The way architects were commissioned for projects was very conservative in preConfederation Newfoundland, and to an extent this continued in the decades just after Confederation. It was commonly understood and accepted that an architect’s religious affiliation determined eligibility for particular commissions, and not just for the design of buildings for worship but also for denominational schools. As St John’s architect Frank Noseworthy told me, “You have to understand that at that particular time, you had a situation where your affiliation with a particular denomination meant the work you were getting. Fred Colbourne was Anglican, and he did all the Anglican work. John Hoskins was Roman Catholic, he did all the RC work. Tom Lench was United, he did all the United Church work. George Cummings when he came on the scene was Salvation Army, and George did all the Salvation Army work. It was neatly divided up in relation to your faith.”1 In pre-Confederation Newfoundland, and for several years thereafter, it was usual for public and private building clients to seek expertise from registered architects and other consultants from outside the province. Many Newfoundland architects in practice before Confederation did not attend architecture or engineering schools or take professional registration examinations, and until 1949, when the Newfoundland Association of Architects was formed, there was no professional association of architects to regulate the practice of architecture. There were no schools of architecture in Newfoundland, and so those who were not able to study architecture elsewhere resorted to a longer process of apprenticeship (augmented by self-directed studies) in local architecture offices, often paying a fee for the privilege. Because of this type of training, most mid-twentieth-century architects in Newfoundland straddled modernity and tradition in their design and construction competence. An example of this can be seen in the work of Angus Campbell, the most prolific architect in post-Confederation Newfoundland. Campbell designed many modern buildings but was confident enough in his understanding of traditional architecture to take on a 1968 project to complete the stone spire for Sir Gilbert Scott’s Cathedral of St John the Baptist (commissioned in 1847 and largely completed in 1885) (Figure 2.3). Some Newfoundland architects working in pre-Confederation Newfoundland and even in the 1950s acted as their own contractors on projects, which offered both benefits and detriments to executing modern design. While architects in other provinces were able to take advantage of more advanced construction 24   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

2.3 Drawing for the spire of the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, St John’s, designed by Angus J. Campbell for Horwood, Campbell, Guihan Architects, 1968; drawing by Roy Pieroway in the Campbell family archives. 25   e aR l y m o d e r nism

technology, Newfoundland’s architects had to make do with fairly rudimentary local construction capabilities for poured-in-place concrete and for the fabrication and detailing of large expanses of glass, materials typically associated with modern architecture. Knowledge and expertise obtained on construction sites must, however, have emboldened those architects interested in pursuing modern architecture. Despite the limitations of building in Newfoundland, their work demonstrated many basic modern architecture principles. It is likely that these architects were able to work unencumbered by many of the planning and building codes and in-house client experts that frustrate their counterparts today. A freer, more experimental atmosphere almost certainly prevailed, enabling them to work with new forms, materials, and components. In 1922 St John’s architect John E. Hoskins designed an early cast-in-place concrete building on Water Street West for pharmacist Peter O’Mara (Figure 2.4).2 Another early architect to work in cast-in-place concrete in the old downtown area of St John’s was William Ryan.3 Ryan designed and constructed congenial buildings, often in an Art Deco modernist mode with decorative relief. They were typically constructed with cast-in-place concrete exterior walls and wood floors and roofs. Some of these buildings, like the Duckworth Building (Figure 2.5), are still in use today, despite the fact that they were built without benefit of modern building science. They have held up remarkably well in harsh environmental conditions. According to Frank Noseworthy: “Bill [Ryan] was a great lover of reinforced concrete. He did a lot of concrete buildings. As a matter of fact, Bill did all of his own structural design work. Bill also acted as a contractor on some of his early projects. That was rather common.”4 The Total Abstinence Society Building on Duckworth Street is William Ryan’s most prominent extant project (Figure 2.6). Designed in the late 1940s, just prior to Confederation, this speculative office building opened on 20 November 1950.5 For many years it was the St John’s studio of cbc Radio. The bilaterally symmetrical and tripartite facade has been modified by extensions over the years, but its basic integrity – including its painting, highlighted in grays and off-whites, with dark red accents – has remained intact. The building is reminiscent of Art Deco-style hotels found at Miami Beach, and the character of the exterior derives from a tension between modern, horizontal banding and semicircular vertical fluting. For cast-in-place concrete, the detailing is exceptional, and the fluting relieves what would otherwise have been a rather severe facade. 26   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

2.4 Apothecary Hall, St John’s, designed by John Hoskins in 1922 and restored by William MacCallum in 1988; photo by Robert Mellin, 2009.

2.5 Duckworth Building, St John’s, designed by William J. Ryan, late 1940s; photo by Robert Mellin, 1999.

27   e aR l y m o d e r nism

The Second World War affected the introduction of modern architecture to Newfoundland both positively and negatively. The war accelerated the pace of rural and urban economic development in the province and introduced new opportunities and cultural influences – especially from the United States. But it also brought new constraints for construction owing to wartime-induced shortages of materials.6 The United States constructed the Fort Pepperrell military base next to Quidi Vidi Lake in St John’s in the early 1940s (Figure 2.7). Its standardized buildings were similar to those constructed at other U.S. military bases elsewhere in North America despite the challenging location and climate. These buildings presented a very modern appearance for the time. They featured flat roofs with projecting eaves and created the appearance of a horizontal flow of space, especially at their entrances. The influence of American popular culture in this era was strong, and this played a role in the gradual adoption of modernism in Newfoundland. As Ted Meaney wrote in his 1945 article “St. John’s” in the Atlantic Guardian, “youngsters wear bobby socks, drink coke, buy swing records, jitter, jive or what next. Juke boxes are all over the place and, need it be said, Sinatra is number one in our young hearts.”7 Even though the military base buildings were supposed to be temporary, the materials used for their construction were substantial and many of them still stand today.8 Following the war, the large American architectural firm Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill was hired to renovate many of the buildings over time. St John’s archi­ tect Brendan Murphy worked for this firm for many years on the renovations.9 He told me that the officers in charge of the base could get any materials they needed without regard to cost or local availability. When Murphy informed a senior officer that a particular mahogany wall panelling was not available locally for the renovation of his office, he was immediately dispatched by military airplane to procure the materials. An example of the effect of the Second World War on limiting materials for construction in Newfoundland is William D. McCarter’s 1944 West Fire Station on LeMarchant Road in St John’s (Figure 2.1). In 1940 A.J.C. Paine volunteered to assist with the development of program and architectural-design guidelines for the West Fire Station without charging a fee, proposing that he be reimbursed only for his travel expenses. In a letter dated 4 January 1940, Paine inquired: “Is it necessary to provide stalls for horses? If it can be done without affecting the operation of the fire 28   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

2.6 Total Abstinence Society Building, St John’s, designed by William J. Ryan, 1950; photo by Robert Mellin, 2009.

2.7 Building 311 at Fort Pepperrell, St John’s, designed by the U.S. military in the early 1940s; photo by Robert Mellin, 2009.

29   e aR l y m o d e r nism

2.8 American Aerated Water Company Building, St John’s, designed by McCarter and Colbourne, 1946 (left), and the Cornwall Theatre, St John’s, designed by McCarter and Colbourne, 1947 (right); photo by Ned Pratt, 2000. 2.9 Cornwall Theatre in the foreground with the lantern from the American Aerated Water Company Building in the background; photo by Ned Pratt, 2000. 2.10 St Michael’s Anglican School, St John’s, designed by Frederick A. Colbourne, mid-1940s; City of St John’s Archives.

30   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

department, we would much prefer to eliminate these as the presence of horses in the same building is objectionable for many reasons.” The government’s reply of 15 February 1940 affirmed the requirement for the provision of horses, explaining that the single diesel snowplow available for use at the time was not up to the task. The only reliable way to get equipment to a fire in heavy snow was with horses. By 1942, McCarter10 had prepared plans and specifications for the fire station with the assistance of his draughtsman, Frederick Colbourne. The West Fire Station was originally designed to be constructed using steel, and McCarter estimated that the building would cost $75,000, excluding furnishings. In a letter dated 20 May 1942, McCarter cautioned that he was uncertain about the availability of steel. In another letter dated 25 June, he proposed to change the structure to reinforced concrete owing to the shortage of steel. Then, in a telegram sent on 22 August, McCarter indicated that steel-reinforcing bars for concrete were not available. Construction was stopped in November 1942, and it was not until the end of 1943 that McCarter had access to steel-reinforcing bars. These steel bars were, however, of a very poor quality and required much preparation work before they could be used. The building was not completed until September 1944, and it is still in use today.11 In 1946 McCarter and Colbourne, by then in partnership, designed a building for the American Aerated Water company across the street from the West Fire Station (Figure 2.8). This building incorporated Art Deco and modernist detailing. At night, the soda-bottling operation was visible through the large front windows and the glow from the illuminated roof lantern turned the building into a local landmark. Two wide, horizontally ribbed bands corresponding to the first and second floor window heights were cast into the concrete, providing a horizontal thrust. These bands contrast with pronounced verticals in the form of curved concrete fins that frame the front entrance. Frederick Colbourne was the designer of the adjacent building to the east, the Cornwall Theatre (Figure 2.8), now a plumbing supplies store. This was also a castin-place concrete building, constructed in 1947. The theatre’s front entrance has been renovated, but delicate bands of ornamental relief in the concrete walls of the facade are still intact (Figure 2.9). Viewed together on LeMarchant Road, this pair of buildings must have appeared at the time as a vision of a new city, of things to come in St John’s. 31   e aR l y m o d e r nism

During the post-war, pre-Confederation period, Colbourne designed St Michael’s Anglican School (Figure 2.10), located just behind the American Aerated Water company building. This school, constructed in cast-in-place concrete, had many similarities to the water company building: horizontal banding at the base, monumental design for the front steps, and accordion-like folds in the intervals between bands of windows.12 Horizontal muntin bars similar to those used on many Second World War U.S. military base buildings in Newfoundland subdivided the windows. The St John’s firm Rennie and Horwood designed a boldly modern preConfederation project for the top of Signal Hill at the entrance to the St John’s harbour (Figure 2.11).13 This solarium and lookout project was promoted as part of the 1947 Discovery Day celebrations,14 but it was never built. As James Candow writes, “architects Graham Rennie and Robert Horwood drew up a plan and elevation of the proposed building, which was half spaceship and half sailing vessel, and thus a striking hybrid of modern and traditional elements. According to the celebration committee’s hype, the solarium would offer ‘all the advantages of a scenic coach on a modern train,’ with its glass roof and walls enabling visitors ‘to look over the magnificent panoramic view of the city ... without the inconvenience of the usually prevailing winds.’”15 This project is geometrically similar to Rennie and Horwood’s proposed design for a stadium in St John’s from 1950, three years later (Figure 7.18). Prior to Confederation in 1949, St John’s was mostly compact, with high-density, mixed-use residential and commercial areas. The centre of activity was the harbour and Water Street, and buildings perched on the hillsides around the harbour formed the impression of a natural amphitheatre. Plans for suburban expansion and the clearance of substandard residential areas in the central area began being considered in the early 1940s. At first, many residents living downtown were resistant to suburban development and could not understand the attraction of living on the outskirts of town. St John’s architects had historically accepted the necessity of working within the city’s irregular grid pattern of streets influenced by topography. They generally “built to the sidewalk” along the perimeters of blocks, creating courtyards in the centres. It was not until the late 1940s that the influence of the automobile affected the pattern of streets. At this time, new areas were planned with the now ubiquitous suburban pattern of wide, curvilinear streets, collector roads, and arterial 32   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

2.11 Proposed Solarium, Signal Hill, June 1947 / H.G. Rennie and R.F. Horwood Architects, pa, gn 2.5, file 885.1, Cabot celebrations monument, 1946, 1947, Office of the Colonial Secretary fonds.

33   e aR l y m o d e r nism

highways leading to shopping malls rather than with the traditional grid plan. Grid-type, higher-density, mixed-use residential and commercial neighbourhoods now comprise only a very small part of the total area of St John’s. The St John’s Housing Corporation (sjhc) created a large suburban development on what was then considered the city’s outskirts. The area, which came to be known as Churchill Park, was conceived in the early 1940s and developed just after the Second World War. It was one of the first developments to introduce cul-de-sacs mixed with gently curving streets. In the early 1950s, many city residents held this new area in high esteem as a modern alternative to substandard housing conditions downtown; others thought that the houses were expensive and out of reach of the ordinary family. However, to be “progressive” eventually came to mean moving out of old St John’s into “The Housing,” the new developments like Churchill Park on the outskirts of the city. Although some families were reluctant to leave old St John’s, others thought of themselves as setting a pattern for future well-being and social and economic success by moving into this housing.16 Today, Churchill Park is one of the most attractive suburban residential areas in the city, owing mainly to its convenient location (close to schools, shopping, Memorial University, trade schools, and government offices) and mature landscaping. However, the historic character of the Churchill Park area is undergoing rapid change. Most of the original houses, with their spare and elegant modernist detailing, are being renovated or demolished in favour of large new homes that use a more eclectic vocabulary of details and materials. With benefit of hindsight, the Fourth Draft of the St John’s Housing Corporation Report (December 1961) described the history of the Churchill Park development as follows: Because of the nature of the project, which was an entirely new concept of land development and housing for St. John’s, it took some time for the general public to accept the program. Churchill Park, as the housing area was named, was at that time a considerable distance from existing business sections of the city. Adequate transportation facilities had not been provided and there were few businesses in the area. The price of houses and the rental of apartments seemed high in comparison with existing rates, although homebuilders in other parts of the city soon realized that the Corporation’s prices were quite reasonable in view of the rising economy of the day. The new Churchill Park area, by 1950, provided modern accommodations for over 580 families, with ample playground and park space, streets that were wide and well34   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

lighted, commercial areas, and large apartment buildings – which at that time were an innovation for St. John’s. These families had either bought homes on a lease-rental, rented homes or apartments, or built homes on land developed by the Corporation.17

In 1942 a Commission of Enquiry on Housing and Town Planning in St John’s was appointed under the direction of Sir Brian Dunfield, and planning for Churchill Park began. The commission produced six reports between 1942 and 1944.18 Dunfield was interested in planning precedents for towns under construction in the United Kingdom, and he incorporated principles from these new towns in the planning for Churchill Park.19 (These were the Commission of Government days,20 when planning and architectural-design expertise was often imported from the United Kingdom.) In the early stages of the project, Dunfield hired A.E. Searles, a consulting engineer from San Antonio, Texas, who was working on Fort Pepperrell during the war, for surveying, mapping, and civil-engineering services at Churchill Park.21 Searles developed the first plans for Churchill Park’s streets and services in 1943 (Figure 2.12). The development did not, however, proceed exactly as planned. Churchill Park, or Village “B,” was the central part of a larger plan that had three “villages” focused on shopping facilities.22 Searles described the master plan for the new suburb in his report to the commission: This plan is basically divided into three satellite villages … The proposed circumferential road passes through each of these villages and provides direct communication between them … The plan of the different villages has been developed in accordance with modern practise to take advantage of the natural topography and existing roads in each area, to provide for an economic sewerage system and to provide an easy flow of traffic to radial and circumferential roads without encouraging through traffic on streets that will be gravel surfaced. Each village has as its focal point a small green and a shopping centre for the necessary community shops and services … Each village will be served by tram line direct from the business section.23

These villages were expected to merge as they grew. Of the three centres, only Village “B” was realized with a well-defined village square. Today, the other two “centres” at either end of Elizabeth Avenue are indistinguishable as part of this road’s strip malls. This was not the fault of the St John’s Housing Corporation. 35   e aR l y m o d e r nism

2.12 Plan for Churchill Park (marked Villages A–D) streets and services, developed by A.E. Searles, 1943; mun.

Rather, it was the result of Smallwood’s pulling the plug on the sjhc’s development operations after Confederation. The tram system that served Water Street was never extended to Churchill Park. The sjhc’s Fifth Interim Report contained Searles’s detailed specifications for residential streets, alleys, and passageways.24 Residential frontage (fifty feet), rearage (115 feet), variations in lot areas, and the number of lots were extensively considered in the basic planning in relation to land and development costs, and the Newfoundland government and the city of St John’s were to share the cost of land acquisition.25 A uniform line of tree planting was proposed at thirty-six-foot intervals (“no suburb could be considered modern and attractive without them”26), and the tree planting in combination with the alignment of houses was recommended as a windbreak. 36   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

2.13 Typical floor plan for the Churchill Square apartments, July 1955; City of St John’s Archives.

Modest-sized, single-detached houses, a few duplex units, and low-rise apartments were built in Churchill Park. The apartments were located adjacent to the northeast corner of the central square, named Churchill Square. They were arranged at an angle to the square in free-standing blocks surrounding courtyards. Architect and engineer George Cummings, who later formed a partnership with Angus Campbell, designed the mixed-use apartment and commercial building that defines the north side of Churchill Square (Figure 2.2). The building included an underpass that provided vehicular access from the adjacent apartment buildings to the square, signifying the importance of the automobile in the design. The main shopping area of Churchill Park, unlike that of most post-war development in St John’s, combined residential and commercial use in one building. This building was very successful despite a modern architectural treatment that was likely foreign to its early users. The St John’s Housing Corporation included the following description of the Churchill Square apartments in its December 1961 report: “[The building] consists of sixty apartments and twentytwo business premises. The new apartment building is the first venture of its kind 37   e aR l y m o d e r nism

in Newfoundland, where modern, fully-equipped apartments and a large shopping centre has been of invaluable service to the residents of the city’s northern section”27 (Figure 2.13). The building remains a centre for upscale, specialized shopping in St John’s, and in recent years there has been a waiting list for the apartments above the ground floor since they are ideal for senior citizens. The houses in Churchill Park for which architectural drawings still exist were typically one-storey (types 2–1, 2–2, 3–13, 3–107, 3–111, 3–113, and 3–201) (Figure 2.14), one-and-a-half-storey (types 3–1, 3–7, 3–101, 4–101, and 4–201), two-storey (types 3–19, 3–103, and 4–107), semi-detached one-storey (types 11–1 and 11–3), and semi-detached two-storey structures (type 12–101). According to Chris Sharpe, the number of houses for each type are: seven for type 2; 128 for type 3; 77 for type 4; twelve for type 11; and two for type 12.28 Topography often determined the selection of house plans for particular sites. For example, a type 3 house had some flexibility and could be adjusted for either a level site or a sloped site. Paul Meschino did all of the design work for these houses (Figure 2.15). He was a 1939 graduate of the University of Toronto School of Architecture, where he studied housing with Humphrey Carver.29 He had met Sir Brian Dunfield during the war, and towards the end of the war Dunfield obtained Meschino’s release from his duties as an architect in the Naval Service, Works and Buildings Division of the Department of National Defence so that he could begin work on Churchill Park. Meschino was aware of innovative North American housing precedents, but he claimed not to be aware of the Garden City movement that likely guided Dunfield’s efforts in planning Churchill Park. Meschino worked with Searles on Churchill Park, and, although Meschino had a hand in the layout of many of the roads, it was Searles who produced the engineering drawings and guided the survey team for the civil-engineering and water and sewer infrastructure. Dunfield, Searles, and Meschino were an ideal team for this project. Dunfield brought charismatic force to the politics and planning, Searles brought engineering know-how gained during work for Fort Pepperrell,30 and Meschino brought architectural design talent and expertise. Meschino sought to provide variety in the design of the houses while at the same time making use of standard house types. He achieved some Wrightian effects in his Churchill Park designs. Wright’s residential designs have a strong visual impact because of his use of garden, stair, and porch walls, which effectively create layers between the street and the house. Many of his houses appear to float, 38   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

2.14 Elevations for a Type 3–13 house in Churchill Park, 1945; Christopher Sharpe’s archives. 2.15 Houses newly completed in Churchill Park, St John’s, designed by Paul Meschino, mid-1940s; mun.

39   e aR l y m o d e r nism

2.16 Type 3–13 house on Maple Street in Churchill Park, 1945; photo by Robert Mellin, 2008.

2.17 Type 3–13 house plan in Churchill Park, 1945; Christopher Sharpe’s archives.

40   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

with cantilevered elements (walls or solid balcony guard rails) hovering above heavier, rusticated foundation walls. Meschino’s designs show similarly layered effects. The clapboards of a type 3 house appear to float above the concrete block base wall, and its corner entrance porch with corner window is a small study in composition that echoes the spirit of Wright’s work (Figure 2.16). The sjhc’s board criticized the extravagance of Meschino’s house designs, despite the fact that Meschino had designed them as small as possible for economical construction and functionality. Fifty years later, Meschino admitted that he felt the houses were substandard in terms of size,31 but this observation followed many years of architectural practice and housing design work in Toronto, where small houses like those in Churchill Park were apparently not as marketable. Churchill Park houses were small because they were intended to provide affordable housing (Figure 2.17). Still, many well-to-do families eventually purchased these houses. The sjhc’s board also criticized Meshino’s house designs for their central heating and built-in kitchen cabinets. The board was convinced that a fireplace was all that was required for heating the house, and that only a wall sink was required in the kitchen. St John’s houses were traditionally heated with small coal-grate fireplaces in the principal rooms, and their kitchens were more like those once found in England, utilizing free-standing furniture components. Meshino argued with the board representative and eventually prevailed. It is not surprising, however, that central heating and kitchen cabinets created an impression of luxury. Each house was ultimately constructed with a fireplace and masonry chimney to supplement the central heating. Occupants of the first centrally heated houses in Churchill Park offered many complaints about heating problems. In each house, the air-return duct to the furnace was located in the floor of the hallway. Residents unaccustomed to hot-air central heating swept debris into these floor grills. Naturally, the ducts became blocked. When word got around about the purpose of the floor grills and ducts, problems with the central heating suddenly disappeared. After the demise of the sjhc, many of the houses in Churchill Park were built with the assistance of the Newfoundland government’s Division of Cooperatives,32 and many were constructed as cooperative ventures. Long-term St John’s residents Joe and Louise Doyle described this development: “Many people who bought homes [in Churchill Park] were civil servants. They had co-ops: eight or ten families 41   e aR l y m o d e r nism

to a group. All the houses were identical – all hands worked on everybody’s house. All materials were bought cooperatively. Each man had to put in a certain number of hours (evenings, weekends, vacations). They saved a nickel every way they could. Cooperatives were organized wherever they could get a few lots together.”33 After Confederation, Sir Brian Dunfield’s influence declined and Joey Smallwood’s government became more of a factor in the realization of the Churchill Park project, according to Paul Meschino.34 The original goal was to build around 1,000 houses, but only 241 houses and some apartments were built under Dunfield’s construction program, and the project eventually wound down in the 1950s. Subsequently, Searles and Meschino formed an architectural practice in St John’s in the early 1950s. Meschino remained in the city until 1953, working on private residential commissions,35 before moving back to Toronto.

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Chapter three

T h e f o rma t i v e y e ar s o f t h e n aa

3.1 (previous page) Frederick A. Colbourne and Angus J. Campbell along with other members of the naa attending the 1961 annual general meeting. Seated from left to right: unidentified, Lloyd Hoskins, William J. Ryan, Ernest Steinbrink, unidentified. Standing from left to right: Brendan Murphy, Colbourne, George Cummings, Frank Dove, Frank Noseworthy, Cyril Congdon, William Guihan, unidentified, William Brown, Campbell, Robert F. Horwood, unidentified.

The Newfoundland Association of Architects was certified on 10 November 1949, soon after Newfoundland’s entry into the Canadian Confederation on 31 March 1949. Its eight charter members were F.A. Colbourne, R.F. Horwood, John E. Hoskins, T.A. Lench, William D. McCarter, F.P. Meschino, H. Graham Rennie, and William Ryan (Figure 3.1). A.J. Hazelgrove, president of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, formally received the naa at the inaugural dinner (the raic works with provincial associations).1 Ryan’s 1958 sketch of the founding of the naa is presented as an appendix to this book.2 Architects practising in Newfoundland in the era following the formation of the naa faced many obstacles. They had to gain expertise, instill confidence, and protect their territory. Because there were no schools of architecture in Newfoundland, apprenticeship was the only local alternative for architectural education. Earning the confidence of clients in a position to commission large projects took many years, and local firms acting as “associate architects” sometimes had to enter into a kind of apprenticeship with outside firms in order to gain expertise. Into the early 1970s, many clients still believed that on large projects Newfoundland architects required guidance from out-of-province architects who had specialized experience and expertise. (The exception was the firm of Cummings and Campbell, formed by George Cummings and Angus Campbell, which broke out of this mould to an extent in the 1960s on some large projects.) Protecting territory was a constant struggle that involved not only the encroachment of outside firms but also disputes with local engineers and technicians who were practising architecture. For several years after its founding, the naa had a difficult time getting the Newfoundland Architects’ Act passed by the provincial legislature.3 When it was finally passed on 10 May 1956, naa President Robert Horwood wrote in his annual report that “the Act as passed is disappointing in many respects.” This remark likely refers to the fact that the naa was forced to admit those already practising architecture in the province without examination in order to have the act passed, and that the act did not prevent non-members of the naa from preparing building plans for remuneration.4 The controversy surrounding the delay in passing the Architects’ Act may in part be attributable to Premier Smallwood. Smallwood was not pleased that the credentials of some of his friends and associates who were informally practising architecture would be scrutinized, or that their activities would be restricted. As Richard Gwyn has written, “like most populists, who love the mass rather than the individual, it was 44   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

always in Smallwood’s nature to become a dictator. That he had won Confederation all-but single-handed confirmed his conviction that he alone knew what was best for Newfoundland.”5 Smallwood was renowned for his capacity to show favour to those who supported his politics. Smallwood’s reluctance to expedite passage of the Architects’ Act may have also related to his disinclination to hire local architects for government work and his desire to call upon the expertise of architects from Europe and elsewhere. He had what seemed at the time a brilliant idea to save money: to hire just one foreign firm of architects for government work on the basis of a fixed annual retainer. His plan is revealed in a letter he received from Dr Thormahlen from Hanover, Germany, on 4 October 1951: I herewith beg to confirm the two conversations we had at Duisburg and at Hanover (in the presence of Mr. Curtis), in which you offered my partner Dr. Steinbrink and me to assist us in establishing an architectural practice in Newfoundland, insofar as you proposed to give us a contract according to which we should be obliged to design such buildings as the Government desires for a fixed annual remuneration for the time the contract will be effective … We beg to assure you that you and your Government will – in due course – be absolutely content with our work. The magnificent idea of yours, Sir, to secure the services of an up-to-date architectural office for the government for a fixed annual remuneration will save you quite a substantial amount of money, while we are obliged for being given the chance we are looking for.6

Smallwood replied to Thormahlen on 13 December 1951. Since he did not mention retaining architects for government work on fixed remuneration, he may have been having second thoughts about this. I understand from you that it is the intention of your partner, Dr. Ernest A. Steinbrink and yourself to establish an office in this city for the purpose of carrying on your profession of architecture. I am very glad to hear that two such distinguished European architects have made this decision, and I feel that you will enrich the profession in this part of Canada. The Government of Newfoundland will welcome your firm to this Province, and will be glad to avail themselves from time to time of your professional services as the occasion may arise.7 45  T h e FOR M A T I V E y e a r s o f t h e naa

Thormahlen wrote again several times to Smallwood, urgently requesting Canadian dollars to pay for his travelling expenses, since obtaining foreign currency was difficult in post-war Germany. On 23 April 1952 Thormahlen wrote: “As I have not yet succeeded in acquiring the necessary amount of dollars in order to pay for my air ticket I would like to keep you informed about my serious wish to come to Newfoundland.”8 While awaiting travel funds, Thormahlen prepared six preliminary sketches for the design of a proposed infirmary for St John’s, a project Smallwood had discussed with Thormahlen at their first meeting in Germany.9 Thormahlen’s partner, Steinbrink, was eventually successful in relocating to Newfoundland, but Thormahlen was not. Smallwood’s interest in German architects corresponds to his plans for industrialization involving German companies and expertise in the early 1950s, and I present more information on this subject in chapter 8. Smallwood’s interference with the naa continued well after the passage of the Architects’ Act. In 1963 he confronted the naa over the application for admission of T. Porteous Bolton, an architect Smallwood had brought over from Britain to work full time for the Newfoundland government as a planner.10 Bolton was not a member of the naa, and when he began to moonlight from his government position by designing a new City Hall for Grand Falls, the association objected to his practising architecture without a licence. Then, when Bolton applied for membership, the naa questioned his level of experience. On 18 September 1963 the naa’s council informed him that he would have to take an exam prepared by the raic. Bolton never responded, but meanwhile Smallwood applied pressure on the naa to admit Bolton. The issue came to a head on 1 April 1964 at a council meeting held in architect William Guihan’s office at 389 Elizabeth Avenue. The secretary of the naa reported that architect George W. Cummings had been approached by Smallwood (Cummings and Smallwood were friends): “The secretary outlined a telephone conversation from G.W. Cummings in which the latter reported that he had been approached by Premier Smallwood regarding the condition under which this Association would admit Mr. T.P. Bolton to membership. The gist of the conversation was to the effect that unless Mr. Bolton was admitted, Premier Smallwood was prepared to take steps to have the Architects’ Act revoked.” All council members agreed with William Ryan that the association should stand firm on this matter. However, at the naa’s semi-annual meeting on 30 September 1964,11 it capitulated:

46   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

3.2 Elizabeth Towers Apartments, St John’s, designed by T. Porteous Bolton in 1966; photo by Robert Mellin, 2009.

G.W. Cummings reported to the membership on a meeting with Premier Smallwood, A. Vardy, and Attorney General L.R. Curtis regarding the application of Mr. Bolton. This meeting was reported to the Secretary who subsequently made a report to Council resulting in the matter being brought to the attention of the membership at this meeting. Premier Smallwood informed Mr. Cummings that he wanted Mr. Bolton in the Association, and would take steps to dissolve the Association if this were not done. Mr. Cummings felt the Association should avoid the adverse publicity that would result from such action.

Robert Horwood then questioned why Bolton would want to come to Newfoundland and work in a minor government position considering his purported qualifications, and requested more time to check Bolton’s credentials. Steinbrink, who also worked as an architect for the provincial government, vouched for Bolton’s credentials.12 Steinbrink cautioned there was no time to investigate Bolton’s background, saying that government pressure necessitated an immediate decision since otherwise the Supreme Court would intervene on Bolton’s behalf. After retiring to consider Bolton’s application, the board agreed to admit him.13 Bolton established a private architectural practice in St John’s and became involved with substantial projects such as Elizabeth Towers (Figure 3.2) and nearby Prince Phillip Place on Elizabeth Avenue, as well as apartment buildings for 47  T h e FOR M A T I V E y e a r s o f t h e naa

developer Craig Dobbin.14 He subsequently managed to further ingratiate himself with Smallwood, as in a flattering letter of 8 April 1968 – “You have done so much for Newfoundland – more than any other man who has ever lived” – and in a subsequent letter of 30 September 1968: “What a truly great and outstanding leader we have in you, Sir. You are certainly a blessing from Heaven, and your achievements in Newfoundland will earn you a rich reward – if not now, certainly in the hereafter. I am proud to be associated with you in the common cause.”15 Frank Noseworthy told me about his own dealings with Bolton: “Bolton was a strange character. I used to get calls from him, asking me questions about construction and construction methods. I thought, this guy is an architect and he doesn’t know that? He depended heavily on young architects to do the work. He went around promoting himself.”16 Bolton became president of the naa in 1970, but later that year he left Newfoundland under a cloud of suspicion on account of financial difficulties.17 He became a person of interest to the authorities, and rumour has it that, after emptying his bank account, he was driven to the St John’s airport in the trunk of a car by one of his employees. He left for the United States, disappearing and owing thousands of dollars to his consultants.18 Bolton was not the only architect in Newfoundland struggling to make a living. In the era in which the naa was formed, some architects found it difficult to rely solely on architectural practice fees for their income, so it was not unusual for them to act as contractors on their own design projects. The architect’s dual role of designer and contractor resulted in many well-crafted buildings. William D. McCarter and other architects of his generation sometimes directed construction by drawing full-scale details on the floor of the job site. Architect Angus Campbell, who once worked for William Ryan, told me that Ryan’s duties as a contractor extended to organizing his workers. Occasionally, Ryan had to arrange personally for the release of workers from jail after weekend altercations so that concrete could be mixed for his projects.19 Several men eventually admitted to the naa in the early years of the association were draftsmen who pursued further studies while working as apprentices with experienced architects. Some took correspondence courses as part of the Minimum Syllabus Program administered by the raic. This path to becoming a registered member of the naa typically took about nine years. It was not an easy process, since these architects often had to balance family life with work and study. At that time, architects who had the advantage of completing formal studies in a school of architecture were sometimes unjustifiably skeptical of the Minimum Syllabus Program.20 48   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

A concern about work being done by architects from outside the province on local projects first surfaced at the naa annual general meeting of 30 May 1950 and reappeared in the minutes of naa meetings over many years.21 In 1957 naa members expressed their belief that they were not getting their fair share of federal government work.22 In 1958 naa President Frederick Colbourne proposed implementing a temporary licence system for outside architects and recommended collaboration for larger projects. “I have always felt that the Government work in any province should be put out through the local Architect and should it be of sufficient size to warrant doing so, an association between ourselves or with some mainland firm could be arranged.”23 In a strongly worded letter to the St John’s City Council on 26 January 1968, naa President Ernest Steinbrink wrote to protest the city’s decision to hire John B. Parkin’s Ontario architectural firm for the design of its City Hall. Although he was not from Newfoundland, by this time Steinbrink had been a member in good standing of the naa for many years. The naa council proposed to send Steinbrink’s letter to the editor of both local newspapers. “In view of the fact that this Association wrote the City Council several years ago, outlining pertinent observations on the proposed City Hall, it is extremely discouraging to suddenly be made aware of the fact that a fully qualified local architectural profession has been ignored in favour of a non-resident firm.”24 The naa was also concerned about architectural work being done in the province by engineers, technicians, and even government employees.25 At the 30 September 1964 naa semi-annual meeting, President William Guihan reported on architectural work being performed by engineers. He indicated that architects on the mainland had successfully brought several cases against such work to court. However, Steinbrink doubted if a line could be drawn between architectural and engineering work and felt that the architects should not condemn such work by engineers. Guihan admitted that “we were on thin ice on this issue due to the weakness of our Act,” which allowed non-members of the naa to prepare building plans for remuneration.26 As may be expected, much of the material in the naa Archives provides a record of the mundane administrative details of running a professional association. There is, however, evidence of occasional altruism, inspiration, and initiative, especially from the association’s public relations committee, and there were modest attempts at continuing education. In September 1959 the public relations committee showed the film New Age of Architecture to members of the association, and President Colbourne lectured on architectural design at an mun/Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation 49  T h e FOR M A T I V E y e a r s o f t h e naa

(cmhc) series.27 The naa promoted education and, since there were no architecture classes in Newfoundland universities, proposed a pre-architecture course at Memorial University in 1959. But no reply was received from either the dean of engineering or the president of the university.28 Architectural technology courses were eventually offered at the College of Trades and Technology, and the minutes of the semi-annual meeting of the naa on 15 September 1966 record the contributions of naa members to these courses: William Ryan, history of architecture and building services; William Guihan, rendering; Frank Noseworthy, drafting; and Peter Holtshousen, model making.29 In 1961 President Ryan recommended establishing a section on architecture in the Memorial University library, and the naa financially supported this initiative for many years. The naa promoted its work to the community beyond the university. In 1961 William Guihan from the naa’s public relations committee proposed establishing a committee for architectural control in St John’s. In a move intended to boost public awareness of the work being done by Newfoundland architects, the committee suggested arranging an exhibition. In his report for the annual general meeting in 1963, President Guihan again raised the prospect of holding an exhibition, stating: “I believe we can and should improve our Public Relations Policy. Exhibition space (once non-existent in this City – the best we could do was the Chinaware Department at Ayre’s Main Store) is now quite adequate and we should plan at least one Archi­ tectural Exhibition during the year 1964.”30 The naa responded to the needs of its community. In 1962, when many residents of Newfoundland were concerned about the prospect of nuclear annihilation, naa President T.A. Lench attended a seminar at Arnprior, Ontario, related to the Cold War. At that time some new houses in St John’s, and in Corner Brook on the west coast of the province, had bomb shelters. Lench wrote in his 1962 president’s report that he was “pleased to represent the Newfoundland Association of Architects by attending a school at Arnprior, Ontario, where a course of studies on survival was given by the Government of Canada to architects and engineers across Canada: every province was represented. The course consisted of forty lectures in five days (I think Dr. Steinbrink also attended this course). The course was very enlightening and highly technical dealing with such subjects as Fall Out Shelters, Nuclear Weapons, and Communications.”31 The ongoing debate on the quality of architecture in Newfoundland is rarely documented in the minutes of the association, but at least one example exists. In a 50   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

3.3 An advertisement for W.J. Ryan from the early 1950s in the Atlantic Guardian.

council meeting on 6 April 1961, the minutes record a surprisingly frank critique of the colonial revival design of the new dining hall and residences at Memorial University: “The design of these buildings was considered atrocious and the subject was tabled for discussion at a future date.”32 Larson and Larson of Winston-Salem North Carolina had designed these buildings, which formed the campus enclave known as Paton College. The lush landscaping with tall trees that usually accompanied similar buildings on mainland campuses was, however, not transferable to Newfoundland. Fifty years later, the sparse landscaping on mun’s windy campus continues to reinforce the banality of Paton College.33 From the tone of correspondence in the Provincial Archives, it seems that gov­ ernment officials did not hold local architects and the architecture profession in particularly high esteem in the first two decades of the naa. This is especially evident in the letters of C.H. (Harry) Conroy, chief engineer in the provincial Department of Public Works. (I present a few examples of Conroy’s letters in the chapters that follow.) Conroy’s regular and voluminous correspondence and notes on project files during his tenure demonstrate how intensively he controlled the work of local architects on government projects. Conroy recommended architectural and engineering consultants to the government, and he commented extensively on the programming and technical details for large government projects. Through his letters and other activities, he also placed himself in the position of mentor for the continuing technical education of architects. The minutes of the naa council meeting of 6 January 1965 record that Conroy was available to give a talk on masonry walls at the next annual general meeting. The primacy of engineering over architecture and planning established by Conroy continued for many years in the province at different levels of government, and this extended to the Department of Facilities Management at mun. Unfortunately, the consequences of this priority are still all too evident at the university, where qualitative issues of planning and architecture were often secondary to vehicular traffic flow and efficient mechanical and electrical infrastructure for buildings. Architects were at a business disadvantage to engineers in terms of marketing since they were not permitted to advertise, except for a modest business notice with only basic contact information (Figure 3.3).34 In a four-page report submitted in January 1968, the naa committee on advertising recommended banning the unsolicited distribution of brochures prepared by architectural firms and cautioned that brochures had to be “designed and worded with good taste and in the manner to be 51  T h e FOR M A T I V E y e a r s o f t h e naa

expected of the architectural profession.” Still, the committee recommended amending clause 9 of its by-laws stipulating a maximum two-inch height of lettering for architectural firm names on job signs and on the exteriors of architect’s offices, “provided it is done in an unostentatious manner.”35 This debate continued into the next decade. The naa was a small association, almost like a family, and it had its share of disputes, wherein members and firms were routinely taken to task about such things as advertising and collaborating with architects from outside the province. Newfoundland architects did not benefit from public architectural-design competitions, as architects did in other places. This process had been used successfully for many decades before the founding of the naa in countries like Finland, and it would have facilitated healthy public debate on the quality of architectural design. From time to time, extending back to the earliest days of the association, the naa advocated the use of competitions. In the minutes of an naa meeting of 12 November 1949, the association supported holding a competition for the design of a city stadium. This was to be a limited competition, as outlined in the raic code, but unfortunately the competition was never held.36 Thirty years later, the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation sponsored a housing-design competition open to members of the naa, which became an annual event. This ended in the mid-1990s when federal government funds for public housing were withdrawn. During Premier Smallwood’s administration, naa members had to be careful not to criticize the government, often their main client. By the late 1960s, however, the association’s disputes with Premier Smallwood had been largely resolved or forgotten. The members’ deference to Smallwood is not surprising, since many people in business or government in Newfoundland during the Smallwood era tried to remain in his favour. Smallwood became a patron of modern architecture through a select group of architects and engineers, and some – but not all – members of the naa revered him. In his president’s report for 1968–69, Steinbrink wrote about Smallwood’s address at a meeting of the raic council: “The Honorable, the Premier, our one and only lifetime Member of the Association, accompanied by your President and your Honorary Secretary, paid an official visit towards the end of the first morning’s session when the Premier, in his own inimitable style, talked for three quarters of an hour on the Newfoundland weather and the changes that have taken place over the past twenty years in Newfoundland. This was warmly received by those assembled.”37 Thanks in large part to Smallwood’s government, Newfoundland’s modern architecture dramatically, and perhaps naively, symbolized the optimistic and forward52   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

looking post-Confederation era. According to Gwyn, “(Smallwood) drew no pleasure in the exercise of authority for its own sake, nor in having others bow down before him. He despised pomp and pretence. Instead, Smallwood loved power because it gave him the chance to act, and above all to build … At heart, Smallwood is an engineer who has used the opportunities political power has given him to build the foundation of the new Newfoundland he dreamed of. The weakness of an engineer is to be concerned with structures rather than the people who will use them. It is a weakness that characterized Smallwood’s record as Premier.”38 In the 1950s and 1960s, Newfoundland architects who were not members of Smallwood’s Liberal Party were at a definite disadvantage with regard to obtaining government commissions. Perhaps early in their careers they could not imagine that Smallwood would be premier for over twenty years, and that he would enthusi­ astically welcome architects from outside the province and even from outside the country when it suited him, regardless of their political affiliations. In retrospect, throughout the Smallwood era, the naa largely perpetuated the status quo, protecting the domain of established architects and refraining from overt criticism of Smallwood and his government.

53  T h e FOR M A T I V E y e a r s o f t h e naa

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P ar t t w 0

Modern Architecture i n C a n a d a’ s H a p p y P r o v i n c e

4.1 (previous page) Cover of Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province, 1966; Newfoundland Government Publication.

Modern architecture was well represented and even celebrated in a Newfoundland government publication titled Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province.1 This roughly 200-page book, whose title page promised “The remarkable story of Newfoundland’s progress since she joined the Canadian Federation,” was published for the 1966 “Come Home Year.”2 Premier Joey Smallwood’s introductory essay describes “the miracle of Confederation”: “If you are a Newfoundlander of forty or more you know the miracle of Confederation in Newfoundland; you know it, and you marvel. You need to have lively recollections of what Newfoundland was like before, if you are to understand.”3 According to Smallwood, the miracle is not in improved education, public health, roads, municipal infrastructure, and rural electrification, all achieved by his government, but rather in “our people; their new standard of living, their new confidence in themselves and in the future of their Island.”4 Former Lieutenant Governor Edward Roberts, who was once executive assistant to Premier Smallwood, claimed that Smallwood wrote most of the text for the book.5 Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province provided the opportunity for Smallwood’s government to disseminate propaganda on progress in chapters titled “Highways,” “Public Health,” “Housing and Accommodation,” “Places of Worship,” “Education and Recreation,” “Industry and Commerce,” “Hydro-electric Development,” “Federal Public Works,” “Provincial and Municipal Public Works,” and “Transportation and Communication.”6 These chapter titles form the outline of this part of Newfoundland Modern. Each chapter in Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province includes tables of statistics on expenditures and amenities before and after Confederation. Modern architecture is associated with progress throughout, and I present here many examples found in Smallwood’s book along with other buildings that I believe are worth note. Since there is no significant architectural content in three chapters – “Highways,” “Hydro-electric Development,” and “Transport and Communication” – I have omitted these subjects from my architectural study. Still, some attention is due “Highways,” the first chapter in Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province. Twenty-four pages of the book are devoted to motor vehicles and the infrastructure they required, since improving roads and highways was one of the most important concerns of the post-Confederation era. Before Confederation there were 13,765 registered vehicles and 18,438 drivers; sixteen years after Confederation, there were to 92,282 registered vehicles and 98,213 drivers.7 This chapter is heavily illustrated with photos of bridge and highway construction, in particular the TransCanada Highway, in rural areas. The federal government paid for 90 per cent of the 57   M o d e r n a r c h i t e c t u r e in C ana d a ’ s Ha p p y P r o vinc e

cost of the Newfoundland portion of the Trans-Canada Highway, and paving of the highway from coast to coast in Newfoundland was completed on 27 November 1965. As Richard Gwyn observed, with the completion of the Trans-Canada Highway, “the most glaring material disparity between island and mainland had disappeared. That event, more clearly than any other, marks the transition from the old Newfoundland to the new.”8 William Callahan noted, “Rather than the shortest distance between two points, [the highway] was routed deliberately to link up or come within reasonable proximity to dozens of communities that otherwise would have remained isolated.”9 The photos and statistics in Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province tell only part of the story of the influence of the automobile, especially on architecture and planning in Newfoundland. In pre-Confederation rural Newfoundland, most towns and outports were typically accessed by sea rather than by road. After Confederation, people started to travel by road rather than by sea, and the orientation of buildings and dwellings in coastal settlements changed from the sea to the road. When the Trans-Canada Highway was constructed, new commercial roadside developments began to appear in towns such as Gander and Grand Falls. Modern motels, stores, and gasoline stations sprang up (Figure 8.9). The ever-increasing use of the auto­ mobile made low-density suburban development possible around urban centres. Commercial and institutional strip development first appeared in St John’s in the early 1950s, beginning with roads like Elizabeth Avenue and later extending to roads leading out of town, such as Kenmount Road, Torbay Road, and Topsail Road. A film titled Come Home, Newfoundlander, commissioned by the provincial government for Come Home Year, reinforced the message conveyed in Smallwood’s book. As Ray Guy wrote in “Sunshine All the Way”: Those who expected a respite from the customary heavy-handed government propaganda are in for a disappointment. New schools have gone up all over – shots of St. John’s high schools. Newfoundland’s youth enjoy modern recreations – scenes around St. John’s swimming pools. ‘Construc­ tion crews work frantically’ – pictures of work in a St. John’s subdivision. Every single foot of the 27-minute production was shot in brilliant sunshine. There’s no mist, no fog, no rain, no snow, no drizzle, no overcast, even. It’s sunshine all the way.10

The last chapter of Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province presents Premier Smallwood’s single-page concluding essay titled “The Goose That Lays the Golden 58   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

Egg.” This essay serves as a preface to forty-five pages of full- or half-page advertisements placed by leading companies of the day, including construction companies that were recipients of government patronage11 (Ashley Electric, Curran and Briggs, J. Goodyear and Sons, Hefferton Construction, William J. Lundrigan, McNamara Construction of Nfld., Newfoundland Engineering and Construction, Art Noseworthy, Electrical Contractors, M.A. Rose and Son, William Tiller, and Western Construction) and architects who enjoyed Smallwood’s patronage (for example, Bélanger, Roy, Blanchette, architects based in Montreal who were involved with the design of several hospitals in Newfoundland, and St John’s architects Cummings and Campbell). These names represented only a selection of Newfoundland’s modern builders. As William Callahan wrote, “a large book could be filled with the names of dozens and scores of smaller firms, many of them newly sprung-up – architects, engineers, contractors, suppliers, subcontractors, and specialist firms engaged in various aspects of general construction, road building, shipbuilding, and other activities spotted around the province, and all participating in a huge wave of progress.”12 In summary, in Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province, Premier Smallwood carefully selected buildings and projects to convey the unmistakable impression that Newfoundlanders were happy with Confederation. Numerous failed industries begun in the early 1950s under his ambitious and extensive economic development program were not included. Perhaps he had hoped that this book would provide overwhelming proof of progress since 1949, and that mistakes by his administration would soon be forgiven. Smallwood was also careful not to provide detailed statistical information that would permit realistic comparison and analysis, and only positive results are presented in the tables prepared for the book. Also missing from this book is any hint at the reality of disparity between communities, companies, and individuals who were supporters of Smallwood and those who were not. There is no denying the book was a masterpiece of propaganda, prepared to impress Newfoundlanders returning to the province for the 1966 Come Home Year. Although it was not his main purpose, with this small book Smallwood produced the first catalogue of modern architecture in the province.

59   M o d e r n a r c h i t e c t u r e in C ana d a ’ s Ha p p y P r o vinc e

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Chapter four

P u b l i c H e a lt h

4.2 (previous page) Nurses’ residence, General Hospital, St John’s, Fleming and Smith Architects, 1964; Angus J. Campbell archives.

The chapter titled “Public Health” in Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province indicates that the number of hospital beds, doctors, and dentists doubled and the number of nurses tripled in the sixteen years after Confederation.1 This chapter is sixteen pages long and shows photographs contrasting small, modestly designed, clapboarded, cottage hospitals with larger and architecturally more adventurous regional hospitals2 designed by out-of-province architects, such as the Charles S. Curtis Memorial Hospital designed by Bélanger and Roy in 1965 (Figure 4.3). According to author Frederick Rowe, “between 1949 and 1980, fourteen new hospitals were built or completed [in Newfoundland]; others, including private hospitals, were rebuilt or substantially enlarged.”3 The new, regional hospitals were typically located on the outskirts of towns. They followed a pattern in their design and layout: narrow, rectangular wings were informally deployed around a central entrance pavilion with a carport that responded to the dramatic sweep of the road to the main entrance. The plan of these hospitals is not unlike that of Alvar Aalto’s Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Paimio, Finland, designed in the late 1920s, but the regional hospitals had lower wings not usually exceeding four stories. In St John’s, prior to the development of the Health Sciences Centre (the new hospital and medical school that opened in 1978 adjacent to Memorial University of Newfoundland’s campus), hospitals developed over time as additions to existing buildings and were often affiliated with religious denominations. Hospital complexes consisted of older low- and medium-rise buildings and newer high-rise buildings. Examples include the General Hospital on Forest Road in the city’s east end, St Clare’s Mercy Hospital in the west end, and the Salvation Army Grace General Hospital, also in the west end. The General Hospital complex on Forest Road and the Grace General Hospital, whose original structures were built in 1874 and 1923 respectively, both had new high-rise wings for “Nurses’ Residential Training Schools” (Figure 4.2).4 “The Grace” (Figure 4.4) was demolished in 2008, since the use of asbestos in its newer buildings and additions meant it could not be economically remediated. But the nurses’ residence still stands as of this writing, even though it has been vacant for years. It was designed in the early 1960s by Govan, Ferguson, Lindsay, Kaminker, Langley, and Keenleyside Architects of Toronto. H.H. Angus and Associates were the consulting engineers, and St John’s architects Cummings and Campbell were also involved in this project.5

62   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

4.3 Charles S. Curtis Memorial Hospital, St Anthony, designed by Bélanger and Roy, 1965; Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province, 1966.

4.4 Grace General Hospital in the late 1960s, St John’s, with the 1955 addition by architect George Cummings to the left and the 1963 addition by Govan, Kaminker, Langley, Keenleyside, Melick, Devonshire, Wilson Architects (Cummings and Campbell, associate architects) to the right; City of St John’s Archives.

63   p u b l ic h e a l t h

The Grace was more than just a hospital. It was a congenial part of its neighbourhood and acted like a community centre. Senior residents who lived in the area regularly ate lunch or dinner in its basement cafeteria. Architect Brendan Murphy recalled, “It was lovely over there, it was not like a hospital. I used to go over there Sundays and have my dinner there. The cooking was really good.”6 It had sunny, bright, cheerful rooms in the main patient wing and remarkable views of the harbour, the Narrows, and the Southside Hills. The 1923 building that was the origin of the complex was known as the Grace Maternity Hospital. Located on the corner of Pleasant Street and LeMarchant Road, it had a wooden floor and roof structure, and you could tell from the acoustics and resilience of the floor where it ended and the 1960s additions started. The dark, wooden handrail leading to the physician’s entrance was smoothed and polished by contact with hands over many years. Various renovations and additions to the Grace were made during the 1930s7 and, starting in the early 1950s, George Cummings did further work on the building. Cummings often used cast-in-place concrete construction in his projects in this era. Christopher Pratt captures the stark character of the Grace’s cast-in-place concrete construction in his 1973 painting Institution (Figure 4.5). Pratt wrote about the inspiration for this painting: “There’s a painting, it’s actually here in the National Gallery, called Institution. There were numerous studies for that painting and I didn’t really know what I was doing, or where I was heading when I was doing those studies. When they finally got there I realized after the fact that it was the view from the room, or rather was based on the room, at the Grace Hospital in St. John’s where I had my appendix out when I was sixteen and – not to be morbid or prophetic or anything about it – the same room where my father died twenty-eight years later. Those things are not connected except by coincidence and the power of association.”8 The concrete doctors’ entrance to the Grace (Figure 4.6) is similar in character to the front entrance of McCarter and Colbourne’s 1946 American Aerated Water Company Building, which uses heavy curved walls. Cummings and Campbell took a similar approach in their 1957 design for the entrance to the Red Cross Memorial Hospital in Carbonear9 and for entrances to schools they designed for the Salvation Army, such as Booth Memorial High School in St John’s. It is tempting to speculate, in relation to the Grace, that the architects may have known about Le Corbusier’s projects for the Swiss Hostel at the Cité Universitaire in Paris, built in 1930, and the Salvation Army Refuge in Paris, built in 1929. The design 64   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

4.5 Institution, Christopher Pratt, 1973, oil on masonite, 76.2x76.2 cm, National Gallery of Canada, © The Artist; photo by ngc.

4.6 Doctors’ entrance, Grace General Hospital; photo by Ned Pratt, 2000.

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of the 1963 addition to the Grace was reminiscent of the Swiss Hostel’s geometrically free-flowing ground-level pavilion contrasting with a rectangular tower. The Grace”s front entrance set a dramatic curved entrance canopy and curved brick wall against an orthogonal tower. The Health Sciences Centre and Memorial University Medical School is another important Newfoundland medical facility. Since its design work did not get substantially under way until after 1972, I have not included it in this book. It is, however, worth noting that as early as 1966, consultants began to position themselves for possible involvement in this major project on mun’s north campus. In 1966 Toronto architect John B. Parkin wrote to Premier Smallwood asking to be considered for the proposed new medical school at mun.10

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C h a p t e r f iv e

H o u s i n g a n d acc o mm o d a t i o n

The “Housing and Accommodation” chapter in Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province shows twelve pages of social housing, new suburban housing, hotels, and motels. One featured project is a post-Confederation social-housing development constructed in the early 1950s (Figure 5.2). It was located on Livingstone Street and Goodview Street in what was considered to be a slum area. It followed in the footsteps of the quasi-public affordable housing development of Churchill Park presented in chapter 2. Architect Charles Cullum told me that he often heard architect Robert Horwood talking about the Livingstone Street and Goodview Street housing, which he designed when he was associated with Graham Rennie. The Livingstone Street and Goodview Street housing maintained the traditional pattern of St John’s streets and defined the space of the street in a way that many subsequent housing projects in the city ignored. Its porch roofs created a congenial semi-private open space at the front of each unit, while also providing a visual layer or transition between the units and the street.1 All units had a view of the harbour, and the buildings were substantially constructed with brick exteriors, hardwood floors, and masonry chimneys for oil-fired furnaces. T. Porteous Bolton’s Elizabeth Towers from 1966 (Figure 3.3) was considered by many in St John’s to represent the latest in contemporary residential apartment design, according to Edward Roberts.2 It introduced to the province a new type of high-rise apartment building that featured commercial space at ground level. This arrangement is similar to that of George Cummings’s Churchill Square apartment building of the 1950s (Figure 2.2). Bolton’s design had a zigzag entrance canopy that continued all the way across the front of the building above the ground-level commercial space.3 The zigzag effect was complemented by the tapered geometry of the apartment balconies and by the angular geometry of the building’s plan and the building’s sign. Before the construction of Elizabeth Towers, high-rise apartments had not been built in St John’s, apart from the nurses’ residences at the General Hospital (Figure 4.2) and the Grace Hospital. Smallwood’s friend Oliver L. Vardy, chairman of the St John’s Housing Corporation, wrote to Smallwood on 6 May 1966 to promote the project: 5.1 (previous page) Goldstone Residence, St John’s, designed by Paul Meschino, 1953; photo by Robert Mellin, 2008.

In case you have not seen the story on high-rise apartments which appeared in the April 30, 1966 issue of the star weekly, I am enclosing a copy for your information, since it indicates the trend in apartment living all across Canada.

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5.2 Livingstone Street and Goodview Street housing, St John’s, designed by Rennie and Horwood, early 1950s; photo by Robert Mellin, 1993.

I think you will find this story interesting in the light of the present plans of the St. John’s Housing Corporation to erect a high-rise prestige-type apartment building on Elizabeth Avenue to be known as elizabeth towers. The plans of the Corporation for the construction of this apartment building, which were developed some months ago, include many of the outstanding features which are indicated in this story as being desirable for modern apartment-type living. I think the story serves to substantiate the justification for this type of apartment building being erected in St. John’s and I feel sure elizabeth towers will be a structure of which the City and those responsible may be justifiably proud.4

About this project, Janice Wells wrote, “[Smallwood’s] old friend and former mha, O.L. (Al) Vardy, now Deputy Minister of Economic Development, decided St. John’s needed a top quality apartment building, so the province financed the $5 Million luxury Elizabeth Towers. Vardy ensconced himself in the penthouse, but the Towers were too expensive for most people, and a year later only forty of 102 suites were rented; the cost to taxpayers was another $500,000.00 a year.”5 Elizabeth Towers was later privatized, and its original precast-concrete exterior cladding, except for the walls adjacent to balconies, was replaced with brick.

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5.3 Buckmaster’s Circle housing, St John’s, designed by cmhc, mid-1960s; City of St John’s Archives.

One St John’s social housing project known as Buckmaster’s Circle, designed and built by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in the mid-1960s (Figure 5.3), is renowned for poor-quality design and negligent planning. A large infill development constructed on land formerly used by the military, Buckmaster’s Circle was located fairly close to the centre of the oldest part of the city towards the west end. The townhouses in this development were arranged in such a way that neither the residents nor the police could monitor the open space between the units, resulting in vandalism and neglect. The lack of semi-private open space was another major problem. Both worked against the sense of community in this part of town for many years. Private residences were also featured in the “Housing and Accommodation” chapter of Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province. One building of note is the Goldstone Residence on Rostellan Street in St John’s, completed in 1953 (Figure 5.1). Architect Paul Meschino, who designed the original houses for Churchill Park, designed this house for Joe Goldstone, the owner of a prominent department store on Water Street. After his work on Churchill Park, Meschino started his own architectural practice and worked on a few residences in St John’s. The Goldstone Residence was his main private commission from this period.6 70   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

Architect Brendan Murphy told me: “People praised the Goldstone House. People were talking about this new house going up that Goldstone had. It was way out as far as the design because it was not what people were used to having.”7 According to Murphy, “Joe Goldstone was a character. He owned the London, New York, and Paris [the name of his department store]. He was a prominent man. He was the first I remember that came in with all the ready-made clothing, and he used to put it all on sale and everything, he was way ahead of the ones that are here today. It was all quality stuff he had. And he had people that worked there that were very well known. In fact when my father wanted a special suit for something he was going to, he’d just get on the phone, call up Goldstone’s, and he’d say would you send up a suit for me, I have this dinner tonight, and they knew his size and everything!”8 The Goldstone Residence is located at the top of Rostellan Street on one of the most dramatic residential lots in suburban St John’s, bordering Rennie’s River near the rapids above Elizabeth Avenue. On this site, the sound of rushing water is loud and constant, adding a sense of acoustical privacy. Trees and shrubs provide visual privacy from the walking trail along the river. The basic design of the Goldstone Residence is a subtle composition opposing horizontal terraces and cantilevered roofs with vertical elements of the bedroom wing and chimney. The low, horizontal form with thick, cantilevered roof eaves contains the more public areas of the house such as the kitchen, dining, and living areas, and a two-storey vertical form with no eaves contains the bedrooms and main stair. The eaves and detailing of the house are similar to Richard Neutra’s 1933 design for the Mosk Residence, which also featured a contrast between vertical and horizontal forms.9 The house was the first in St John’s to feature an open plan on the main level (Figure 5.4). Meschino located the main entrance on the north side of the house under a wide front porch roof in a sheltered “L” created by the bedroom wing. After passing through the vestibule, visitors entered a large entrance hall with an indoor garden that had a curved, informal, irregular-shaped pool surrounded by plantings. The living area containing a fireplace was to the left of the indoor garden, and the dining area to the right. The entrance hall originally had a sandstone floor, and the living room and dining room originally had carpeting. These floor materials met in an informal, flowing curve. The living room has views to the east and south towards the river (Figure 5.5). Outside the living room is a terrace that has an exterior stair to a large yard next to the river. A study was open to the entrance hall behind the living 71  H o u sin g an d acc o M m o d a t i o n

5.4 First-floor plan, Goldstone Residence; courtesy of Derrick and Linda Rowe.

room fireplace, and a hallway and staircase providing access to the two-storey bedroom wing to the north were across from the indoor garden. Turning right from the entrance hall, visitors entered the kitchen and alcove for the “coffee corner,” which had views to the southwest and to the river. Adjacent to the kitchen to the north was the maid’s room. The Goldstone Residence extends into the landscape through layers of planting, steps, decks, and roofs. Some of its cantilevered roofs are supported by narrow, round steel columns. The southeast side of the house has a rusticated stone base that gradually merges with a stucco wall at the end of the living room, as if this part of the house had gracefully aged. The use of clapboards is typical of local construction, although specially milled shiplap-profile clapboards were used rather than standard tapered clapboards. Although the exterior of this house has been restored as closely as possible to its original condition, the interior was modernized in the late 1990s. The new owners were sympathetic to the house and to the period of modern design that produced it, 72   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

5.5 Living room, Goldstone Residence; photo by Robert Mellin, 2010.

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and the Goldstone Residence received a Southcott Award from the Newfoundland Historic Trust in 2003, the first such award for the heritage conservation of a modern era building. Paul Meschino described the design process and priorities for the house: Mrs. Goldstone told me about the basic requirements, how many bedrooms and that sort of thing, and we started off with a traditional style house. That was the fundamental beginning and I prepared drawings, sketch drawings for her to look over and we analyzed them and little by little we got their approval. The thing that was so satisfying is that when we finished [with a modern design], they liked it. When we oriented the house, we considered the rooms to suit the best view, the south and the east, south and west views. That meant all the best rooms were on the Rennie’s River side. The breakfast room, and the kitchen and the dining room and the front hall and the living room, they were all spaced along that side and the bedrooms were partitioned off to the north.10

5.6 Architect Paul Meschino visiting the Goldstone Residence in 2000; photo by Robert Mellin.

In the summer of 2000, as part of their research on the history of Churchill Park, Memorial University professors Jo Shawyer and Christopher Sharpe invited Meschino to return to St John’s to visit the projects he designed in the 1940s, enabling them and me to conduct detailed interviews with him (Figure 5.6). This was Meschino’s first return trip to Newfoundland after an interval of nearly fifty years. He told us that he was primarily influenced by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright’s possible influence on the design of the Goldstone Residence is reflected in the cantilevered flat roof extending over an exterior terrace, in the use of corner windows, and in the low, horizontal profile of the house’s form that is carefully integrated with the site’s topography. As in many of Wright’s houses, the front entrance of the Goldstone Residence is partially screened from the main approach by a projecting bedroom wing and a series of stair and porch retaining walls. In addition, Meschino initially intended the profile of the eaves to be tapered inwards from top to bottom, as shown on the elevations of the working drawings (Figure 5.7), but the taper was eliminated during construction. Although I did not get the chance to ask him about this in the interviews, it seems likely that Meschino was influenced by the residential designs of architect Richard Neutra as well as those of Frank Lloyd Wright. This is evident in one of the main fenestration details of the Goldstone Residence that combined large casement 74   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

5.7 Elevations for the working drawings, Goldstone Residence, drawn by Paul Meschino in 1951; courtesy of Derrick and Linda Rowe.

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5.8 Ewing Residence, St John’s, designed by Graham Rennie, early 1950s; photo by Robert Mellin, 2006.

windows and corner windows with horizontal vents beneath them.11 The wood vents were constructed locally and had sliding interior panels and screens. Neutra used similar vents in 1949 in the Wilkins Residence in South Pasadena, California, and it is possible that Meschino saw the design of the Wilkins Residence just before he designed the Goldstone Residence.12 Horizontal louvres were used on several houses in suburban St John’s neighbourhoods after the Goldstone Residence was completed, although Meschino may not have been the architect for these houses. Another possible influence on Meschino was the residential architecture of Keck and Keck in Chicago. The brothers George Fred Keck and William Keck designed many houses with vent windows over the years, first at the 1940 Sloan Residence. The Kecks used louvres under windows on their earlier houses, and on later houses they typically placed louvres next to the windows. According to Dan Obermaier, the vents were advantageous for their ability to ventilate the rooms while keeping out intruders and rain when left open.13 The Goldstone Residence influenced Graham Rennie’s design for the early 1950s residence of Sylvia and Edgar Ewing of Ewing Furriers (Figure 5.8). Mrs. Ewing had seen the Goldstone Residence, and she wanted a similarly modern residence but without an open plan. The Ewing Residence had three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, a maid’s apartment, porch, den, living room, dining room, galley kitchen, finished basement, and garage. The interior had hard plaster walls with curved 76   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

5.9 Spencer Residence, St John’s, designed by Ernest Steinbrink, 1957 or 1958; photo by Robert Mellin, 2009.

corners, two marble fireplaces, and mahogany doors. As the house’s current owner, Viki O’Dea, told me, “Sylvia watched every brick and nail go into the house and, since this was her dream home, she didn’t want any corners cut.”14 The house is formed with deceptively simple cubic volumes. Its exterior originally had gray brick and vertically sliding windows with horizontal muntin bars, which was a modern-looking window pattern at the time. In 1954 architect Ernest A. Steinbrink designed a residence with a strikingly modern appearance for Edward Samuel (Neddie) Spencer at 136 Rennie’s Mill Road in St John’s (Figure 5.9). Construction of the house was completed in 1957 or 1958.15 According to the present owners, the house was originally designed to accommodate three self-contained apartments, with one apartment on each floor. Spencer had considered applying for a government grant to subsidize construction of the house because of its innovative design features.16 Spencer worked as a civil engineer until he entered politics in 1949. He was Smallwood’s minister of public works until 1957 and his minister of finance until 1964.17 The Spencer Residence was constructed not long after Steinbrink moved to Newfoundland from Germany, and just before Angus Campbell designed Smallwood’s residence on Roaches Line. Some of the materials and components in the Spencer Residence are similar to those in Smallwood’s residence and may have been gifts from firms who benefitted from government patronage. The present 77  H o u sin g an d acc o M m o d a t i o n

owners have heard stories to this effect.18 For example, the sumptuous mahogany panelling on the walls of the first-floor study is similar to that in Smallwood’s dining room. In addition, the window hardware in the Spencer Residence may have come from Germany, and all the insulated glass in the Smallwood Residence was imported from there. The Spencer Residence features architectural elements and detailing that were unusual for St John’s and reflect the European background of the architect. Although it fits in well with neighbouring houses, it has a different scale and presence, more like a mountain chalet than a typical suburban St John’s home. The backyard of the Spencer Residence borders the shoreline of Rennie’s River. The house seems ready to break free from the constraints of its suburban lot and enter the river. This is evident in third-floor rooms whose large dormers with their inwardly sloping windows produce an effect of being on the control bridge of a large boat that somehow washed ashore. This feeling is especially apparent from the kitchen dormer at the back of the house, facing the river. From there it seems as if the house may start floating downstream. On the front of the Spencer Residence, a combination of vertical fluting between windows and doors and horizontal louvres below the windows produces a quilt-like effect. The view of the house from the street is asymmetrical but balanced. The front dormer is centred in the prominent roofline, but to the east the second-floor living room projects forward, its front wall protected by a narrow eave. Around the corner the roof ridge flares over the gable end walls (Figure 5.10), in a manner similar to that in Angus Campbell’s design for the residence of his partner George Cummings (Figures 12.51, 12.52). A curved wall with custom-milled vertical-board fluting marks an entrance to the recessed second floor, and a deep roof overhang provides shelter for the entrance and shade for two large windows with fixed ventilation louvres. Steinbrink’s careful consideration of daylighting is apparent throughout the house. Large, fixed corner windows project from the exterior wall cladding, and small-diameter chrome-steel posts unobtrusively support the weight of the roof (Figure 5.11). These corner windows are sandwiched between courses of horizontal, custom-milled cladding that is mitred at the corners. The cladding’s curved profile produces strong shadows. The same material is used on the curved piers that flank the garage door and on infill panels at the edges of the sloped dormer walls. A third-floor window with vent louvres under it projects slightly beyond the east gable end wall. There is an excellent view of Signal Hill from this window. The west gable

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5.10 Roof ridge at eastern wall, Spencer Residence; photo by Robert Mellin, 2009.

5.11 Chrome corner-column detail, Spencer Residence; photo by Robert Mellin, 2009.

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5.12 Roberts Residence, Corner Brook, designed by W. George Smith, 1950; photo by Robert Mellin, 2007.

5.13 Smith Residence, Corner Brook, designed by W. George Smith, 1950; photo by Robert Mellin, 2007.

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end wall has a similar window but without the vents, although it is possible that vents were removed during renovations. Despite its innovative design and detailing, the Spencer Residence has a layout not unlike the standard cmhc bungalow plans of its era, with the living and dining room at one end of the main floor (in this case at the east end of the house on the second floor), bedrooms at the opposite end, and a central kitchen at the back of the house. In the Spencer Residence, on the second floor between the main entrance hallway and the central kitchen is a wall of translucent glass with built-in shelving, and the kitchen has a curved wall next to this translucent wall. A “Modernfold” accordion door separates the kitchen from the dining area, and the living room is open to the dining room. The living room fireplace, with turquoise-coloured tiles, is tucked into a corner next to the entrance hall and is curved in plan. The chimney just above the fireplace mantle is tapered in elevation. There is a similar fireplace above this fireplace on the third floor. The third-floor fireplace features adjacent built-in bookshelves, similar to those designed by Frederick Colbourne for some of his fireplaces. Originally there were three different types of vents for the louvred windows, but only two types are currently in use. One vent is for the main, projecting corner windows. Another type of vent is a panel hinged at the bottom that drops away from the wall under windows. Yet another type was operated on a crank below windows in the kitchens. These are no longer used, but robust hardware for the operation of these vents is still in the wall. The louvred vent windows provide yet another demonstration of the influence of Paul Meschino’s Goldstone House, as well as the influence of his design for the vent windows for the houses in Churchill Park. St John’s was not the only Newfoundland town where “strange” new residential designs appeared in the post-Confederation period. According to Richard Symonds, Corner Brook on the west coast had twin modern houses as early as 1950 (Figures 5.12, 5.13).19 J.D. (Jack) Roberts and W. George Smith, two close friends and employees of Bowater’s Pulp and Paper Mill, built their modernist homes at 16–18 Marcelle Avenue. Smith, an engineer with the paper company, was the designer of these houses. The houses were constructed with concrete-block walls, cast-in-place concrete foundations, flat roofs, and glass block, and were painted white with black trim. They appear almost like apparitions in Corner Brook’s older residential neighborhood. Few people outside the town know about these houses, which look as though they may be more at home in the Rue Mallet-Stevens precinct of modern houses in Paris. 81  H o u sin g an d acc o M m o d a t i o n

The composition of the Corner Brook houses is reminiscent of that of Le Corbusier’s 1916 Villa Schwob, which was composed according to a proportion scheme based on diagonals and perpendicular lines to these diagonals – Le Corbusier’s “regulating lines.” The resulting proportions make Le Corbusier’s house seem much larger than it really is. Although it is unlikely that George Smith used regulating lines, the houses he designed have an unusual proportion and scale similar to those of Villa Schwob. The interiors of the houses have curved wall and trim details that relate to the curved exterior walls. On the back of the south duplex unit is a wooden pergola that appears to be an original feature of the house. Smith outfitted the basements of both units with large bomb shelters protected by two-foot-thick concrete walls and concrete ceilings and stairs, demonstrating that, even in isolated Corner Brook, the threat of nuclear war was felt in the 1950s. Mail-order house plans and prefabricated house kits (for example, the kits produced by Viceroy Homes) were occasionally used for modern houses in Newfoundland. In 1966 Randell Pope constructed a modern house from plans he bought from Minto Construction in Ottawa (Figure 5.14). Pope told me, “I saw the house in Chatelaine magazine and the home was the featured home of the year 1963. I was designing a new home and this one looked close to my own drawings (my drawings didn’t show the carport), so I wrote to Chatelaine and they sent me the plan.”20 The Pope Residence was built in a new suburban area in the historic town of Grand Bank on the Burin Peninsula. It must have appeared very modern when it was first constructed, almost as if it was suddenly transplanted from hot and dry southern California to a cool and foggy climate. With its large windows, post-andbeam construction, and carport formed by the extension of the main roof, it is reminiscent of houses in the Case Study House program (1945–66) in Los Angeles. In 1964 architect W.E. Brown designed a house for the Noseworthy family at 73 Cornwall Crescent in St John’s. This rectangular two-storey home with a flat roof has a modest exterior (Figure 5.15). Its second floor is supported on thin round metal posts oversailing the first floor at the front. When he listed the house in 2010, realtor Chris O’Dea commissioned Paul Daly to photograph the interior, unchanged since the time it was first occupied, including furniture and decor, and in remarkable condition. The design features a sunken living room open to a mezzanine. In the middle of the mezzanine is a free-standing room enclosed with frosted-glass partitions. This room has skylights and an extraction fan, and was used for smoking (Figure 5.16). 82   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

5.14 Pope Residence, Grand Bank, designed after plans from Chatelaine magazine’s 1963 home feature, 1966; photo by Robert Mellin, 2007.

5.15 Noseworthy Residence, St John’s, designed by W.E. Brown, 1964; photo by Paul Daly, 2010.

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5.16a Smoking room exterior, Noseworthy Residence; photo by Paul Daly, 2010. 5.16b Smoking room interior, Noseworthy Residence; photo by Paul Daly, 2010.

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Motel designs were also featured in the “Housing and Accommodations” chapter of Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province. Architects working on motel design in Newfoundland in the 1950s and 1960s were aware of the latest developments for roadside architecture elsewhere in North America. The Kenmount Motel is a typical example from this era (Figure 5.17). It was located at the west end of Elizabeth Avenue, across from the location originally planned for the centre of Village “C” of Churchill Park.21 It had an underpass for cars to access parking at the back of the building, similar to the one designed by George Cummings for the Churchill Square apartment block (Figure 2.2). The Kenmount Motel had painted plywood panels in different colours, simulating curtain-wall construction, and a modern roadside sign.22 The vent louvres under its windows are similar to those at the Goldstone Residence (Figure 5.1) and the Imperial Oil Building (Figures 8.15, 8.16) in St John’s. According to a list of projects I obtained from Robert Horwood, the architects were Craig, Madill, Horwood, Abram, and Ingleson, and they were commissioned to design this building in 1959.23 Architects Horwood and Guihan later had their offices in the back quadrangle wing of the motel. Some of the best examples of modern architecture in the mid-1960s in Newfoundland were the Holiday Inns in St John’s, Clarenville, Gander, and Corner Brook, designed by Boigon and Heinonen of Don Mills, Ontario. Frederick W. Rowe wrote about the connection between the Holiday Inns and Come Home Year. “In 1964 Government decided that 1966 would be designated ‘Come Home Year.’ This led to the doubling of the ferry service across the Cabot Strait and a stepped-up programme of hotel accommodation. A chain of Holiday Inns was established in the province and existing facilities were expanded. By the time the tourist season started in 1966, 1000 additional rooms had been provided. The influx of visitors during the 1966 season did not cause the shortages and embarrassments that some had feared.”24 The St John’s Holiday Inn is located at the intersection of Prince Philip Drive and Portugal Cove Road, within view of Confederation Building and the College of Trades and Technology (Figure 5.18). This iconic motel was originally designed so it would be compatible with nearby public buildings. Its modern architectural-design elements included sun shading on the south-facing facades, lightweight cantilevered entrance canopies, and three-dimensional wraps made from walls that extend into roofs and enclose the restaurant. Ironically, the St John’s Holiday Inn was recently renovated in a postmodern style that obliterated these original design features at a time when they are once again in vogue in contemporary architecture. The building is now festooned 85  H o u sin g an d acc o M m o d a t i o n

5.17 Kenmount Hotel, St John’s, designed by Craig, Madill, Horwood, Abram, and Ingleson, 1958 or 1959; Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province, 1966.

5.18 Holiday Inn, St John’s, designed by Boigon and Heinonen, mid-1960s; mun.

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with garish signage, something that would have been inconceivable in Smallwood’s day. Premier Smallwood wrote to A. Bakvis at Boigon and Heinonen Architects on 7 December 1966: “The four new Holiday Inns in Newfoundland are a splendid addition to our Province. These four fine buildings are among the finest hotels anywhere in Canada. My colleagues and I feel that you and your associates have every reason to be proud of the architectural aspects of these buildings.”25

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C h a p t e r si x

P l ac e s o f W o r s h i p

6.1 (facing page) St Mary the Virgin Church; Keith L. Graham archives. 6.2 The third church in St Patrick’s Parish, Tilting, Fogo Island, architect unknown, late 1960s; photo by Robert Mellin, 2006.

In the 1950s and 1960s, clergy in Newfoundland became infatuated with modern design for new places of worship. In Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province, fairly equal representation is given to the various religious denominations, with eight pages of photographs of modernist religious buildings. Religious buildings I write about here that are included in this book are Beth El Synagogue, Holy Redeemer Cathedral, two Salvation Army citadels, St James United Church, Grand Bank United Church, St Mary the Virgin, and Trinity Lutheran Church. (I provide more information in chapter 12 on Beth El Synagogue, designed by Angus Campbell.) Modern design became the norm in both urban and rural areas. The outport of Tilting on Fogo Island had a fine wooden church built in the early 1900s, and this was the second church in St Patrick’s parish. In the late 1960s, an Irish priest newly arrived in Newfoundland wanted to make his mark on the North American continent, and he insisted that the old church had to go. The parishioners were reluctant, but the priest was in charge and he had the final say. The replacement church (Figure 6.2) is a fairly utilitarian modern building somewhat lacking in character.1 89  P l ac e s o f W o r s h i p

6.3 Salvation Army Citadel, St John’s, designed by George Cummings, date unknown; City of St John’s Archives. 6.4 St James United Church, St John’s, designed by Craig, Madill, Horwood, Abram, and Ingleson, 1959; photo by Robert Mellin, 2009.

Many of the examples of religious buildings in Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province are fairly conservative in design, described as follows: “Some of them are modest; some are small and plain; but many are handsome edifices that would do credit to any land. Handsome new churches will be found in many parts of the Province, and rather surprisingly they are as modern in architectural design as will be found in most parts of North America. Some of them are quite daring. Newfoundlanders are a God-fearing people, and in all the rush to build roads, schools, hotels, municipal services, and all the rest, it is pleasant to see that churchbuilding has more than kept pace.”2 Early examples of modern religious buildings in Newfoundland include the Salvation Army citadels in St John’s and Corner Brook, designed by George Cummings. They used architectural elements and materials similar to those in Cummings’s extension to the Grace General Hospital (Figure 4.4). The St John’s Salvation Army Citadel (now demolished) had an asymmetrical exterior with spare, orthogonal design and glass block windows (Figure 6.3). Two Newfoundland churches used symmetrical gable roofs and zigzag entrance canopies as signs of modernity. These are St James United Church (Figure 6.4) on Elizabeth Avenue, designed in 1959 by the architectural firm Craig, Madill, Horwood, Abram, and Ingelson,3 and the Grand Bank United Church, designed by Eric Jerrett in 1965 (Figure 6.5). 90   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

6.5 Grand Bank United Church, designed by Eric Jerrett, 1965; photo courtesy of Robert C. Parsons, 2009. 6.6 Holy Redeemer Cathedral, Corner Brook, designed by McGinnis, Walsh, and Kennedy with M.J. Downey, 1956; Angus J. Campbell archives.

Construction for Holy Redeemer Cathedral, located on Mount Bernard with a view over the city of Corner Brook, began in 1953 and was completed in 1956 (Figure 6.6). In his 22 May 1947 letter to Bishop Michael O’Reilly of St George’s parish, Archbishop Richard James Cushing of Boston recommended the Boston architectural firm McGinnis, Walsh, and Kennedy for the design of Holy Redeemer. M.J. Downey supervised the project for the architects. This cathedral has a cast-in-place, triangular concrete spire, with figures of Christ, the Blessed Mother, and St Peter cast in concrete, trimmed at the top by copper-coated lead and a gold cross. The tower is linked to the main facade by an entrance canopy. Round glass-block bay windows are on the sides of the church.4 The Anglican church of St Mary the Virgin in the Waterford valley of St John’s, designed by the distinguished Nova Scotia architect Keith L. Graham, opened on 23 December 1962 (Figure 6.1). It is a dramatic landmark in the west end of the city, especially when illuminated at night. The base of the church is a concrete structural 91  P l ac e s o f W o r s h i p

6.7 Model, St Mary the Virgin Church, St John’s, designed by Keith L. Graham, 1962; Keith L. Graham archives.

frame with brick and glass infill panels, and its detailing, materials, and structure are similar to Graham’s 1966 design for Queen’s College in St John’s (Figures 7.11, 7.12), which is also affiliated with the Anglican Church. A gambrel-shape roof tops the base, and the roof frames glass-curtain walls in the gambrel ends and steep, full-height dormers on the sides. The roof appears as a lightweight structure almost floating above a solid platform (Figure 6.7). This church is reminiscent of Walter Netsch’s design for the U.S. Air Force Academy chapel in Colorado, constructed in 1962 and first publicized in 1955.5 But, according to Graham, there were no particular precedents that influenced his design for St Mary’s.6 The interior of the sanctuary is framed by exposed structural elements in the form of large, boomerang-shaped concrete beams that meet symmetrically under the apex of the roof, as if representing hands folded in prayer (Figure 6.8).7 Thin precast concrete panels are attached to these beams to form the roof decking and the projecting walls of the dormers. The side aisles are symmetrical, single-storey 92   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

6.8 Interior, St Mary the Virgin Church; photo by Robert Mellin, 2009. 93  P l ac e s o f W o r s h i p

6.9 Rendering by Ernest Steinbrink of his 1963 design of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, St John’s; from the 12 September 1965 dedication program, courtesy of Zenta Balodis.

galleries, defined by the lowest parts of the angled rafters and a low, flat roof. Bulkheads were inserted under the side aisle roofs for ductwork. The side aisles are illuminated by frosted-glass windows that alternate with solid walls. The lower ceiling heights of the side aisles create a sense of expanding, horizontal, earthly space which contrasts with the aspiration to divinity that characterizes the main vertical space of the sanctuary. Above the side-aisle roofs are narrow ribbons of continuous clerestory windows with frosted glass. The effect of the day lighting, even on a sunny summer afternoon, is very gentle. Soft light is equally diffused into the sanctuary from multiple sources 94   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

and reflected off the lower portion of the roof and the wooden pews. The stainedglass window above the altar provides the main dramatic highlight by its position and colour. Light reflecting from this window onto the floor and the exposed structure creates the impression of the light, colour, and geometry of a kaleidoscope. The stained-glass window was designed and fabricated by Cuppens Studios in Saint John, New Brunswick. Above the altar and suspended from the roof is a 13’x19’ stainless steel cross that was made in St John’s by Horwood Lumber.8 Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church on Logy Bay in St John’s was one of Newfoundland’s first A-frame structures (Figure 6.9). It was designed by Ernest A. Steinbrink, who was also the structural engineer, and dedicated in 1965. The structure for this church has A-frame arches or bents of cast-in-place concrete attached to substantial concrete foundation piers, rather than the wood or steel glue-lam bents typically used for A-frame buildings. The roof decking is constructed with tongue-and-groove wood with an exposed bevel joint and is exposed on the interior. Originally, the brick end wall facing the road had narrow slot windows in a staggered pattern. When the church closed in 1976, its steeple was removed, and it was converted into an office building. This church owes its existence to the labour-recruitment activities of Alfred A. Valdmanis, a Latvian-born Canadian who once served as Smallwood’s minister of economics. As described in The Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, “as Newfoundland’s Director of Economic Development, Valdmanis recruited 16 new industries from Europe, as well as about 1,000 German- and Latvian-speaking skilled personnel (including some of their families) to manage these industries. All of the Latvians and the majority of the Germans were Lutherans.”9 Prior to the construction of Trinity Lutheran Church, Lutherans in St John’s met “in the annex of Prince of Wales College, the U.S. Army chapel at Fort Pepperrell, the RCMP gymnasium, and Gower Street United Church.”10

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Chapter seven

E d u ca t i o n a n d R e cr e a t i o n

In the chapter titled “Education and Recreation” in Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province, thirty-six pages are devoted to education and four pages to recreation. The inclusion of recreation in this chapter may seem odd, but for Smallwood it was strongly related to physical education. The number of new educational buildings featured in this chapter shows that education was one of the main priorities of Smallwood’s administration. The writing is in character with Smallwood’s enthusiasm: The people have come suddenly alive, and their demands are insatiable. It is as though government and people were joined in an effort of absolute determination to overtake the neglect and failure of the centuries. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on schools since the coming of Confederation. As much money is spent in any two years nowadays as was spent in the whole history of Newfoundland before Confederation. Soon we shall be spending as much on education in any one year as we spent in the whole pre-Confederation history of Newfoundland. We have built a thousand new schools; a dozen handsome new vocational training schools; a seven million dollar technical college, a College of Fisheries, Navigation, and Marine Engineering and Electronics. This latter bids fair to become the greatest school of its kind in the world, to which students will come from all over the world. We have created a University, and its student body has grown from just over 300 to just under 4000.1

7.1 (facing page) Science Building, Memorial University, designed by Durnford, Bolton, Chadwick, and Ellwood of Montreal in consultation with A.J.C. Paine, 1960; mun.

The book presents ten pages of photographs of high schools from all over the province. Many of these are spare, modern, one- to three-storey rectilinear structures with horizontal inflections and either full or partial curtain walls, and sometimes with large areas of glass block. Most of the new schools are in suburban locations with plenty of open space for recreation facilities. Eight pages are devoted to photographs featuring vocational schools with gendered programs typical of the era (“from mechanics to beauty culture”2). Many vocational schools were built with assistance from the federal government in the 1960s. I present more information on the vocational schools designed by Angus Campbell in chapter 12. Four pages of photographs are devoted to the College of Fisheries, Navigation, and Marine Engineering and Electronics. Not surprisingly, no female students appear in the two pages of black-and-white photos of its students. Ten pages of photographs feature Memorial University of Newfoundland in St John’s. These emphasize scientific and technical laboratories by promoting “more training and more technology in the sciences”3 and excluding mention of the arts or humanities. The chapter concludes 97  E d u ca t i o n an d R e c r e a t i o n

with two pages summarizing school building before and after Confederation. These contrast large new schools with the antiquated one-room, clapboarded schoolhouses typical of outport Newfoundland. New schools constructed in rural areas of the province often collected students from many surrounding communities. Although there were obvious advantages to these in terms of amenities, the long bus rides to school were a disadvantage.4 Planning for Memorial University began in the early 1950s, and the first buildings opened in October 1961 (Figure 7.2). The campus was developed on land owned by the Church of England Orphanage farm. H.R. Theakston’s letter to the mun Board of Regents, dated 17 September 1951, is one of the earliest letters in the Smallwood Papers collection at mun’s archives relating to the university. Theakston, from Dalhousie’s Department of Engineering, wrote: I would strongly recommend to the consideration of the Board that the architecture of the buildings be of the more pleasing modern types – they can be beautiful, and are free of the many features which, in most of the classic types, lead to expensive maintenance. During my visit to St. John’s, I inspected many of the buildings in the city, and studied them, not from the architectural standpoint, but from that of the appearance of the fabric of the walls. With all due respect to the opinions of others, I have the following comments – Concrete – (or architectural concrete, so called). This is cold, ‘artificial,’ and devoid of real beauty and mellowness. Brick – Do what you will architecturally, brick is still brick and suggests a factory. Stone – This, when properly chosen, can give the greatest beauty of all, although the cost will be slightly higher. Through its use you will … achieve a mellowness not otherwise possible. Of the several stone buildings I inspected, that which appeals to me most was the Court House [constructed of sandstone from Kelly’s Island, Conception Bay].5

Theakston proposed a “Grand Court” for mun’s campus. “I can vision great beauty in the proposed Grand Court with buildings in simple style of modern architecture and built of the Kelly’s Island sandstone – and so recommend.” He suggested architects for mun’s buildings: Leslie R. Fairn (Halifax, Wolfville, N.S.), Alward and Gillies (Saint John, N.B.), J. Phillip Dumaresque (Halifax, N.S.), and Colin St John Wilson (Halifax, N.S.).6 Theakston’s concepts and recommendations, however, were not implemented.

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7.2 Opening ceremony for Memorial University, St John’s, October 1961, (front row, left to right) Faith Vilas (Polly) Macpherson, Lieutenant Governor Campbell Macpherson, Premier Joseph R. Smallwood, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Prime Minister John Diefenbaker; mun.

In August 1952 St John’s architect William Ryan was hired to design the original buildings for mun, including an Arts Building, Science Building, Gymnasium Building, and Library.7 Before Ryan was appointed, several other architectural firms from outside the province expressed strong interest in undertaking planning and design work for mun’s early buildings. Nova Scotia architect Leslie R. Fairn wrote to Premier Smallwood on 24 June 1952: “I would like to thank you for your kindness and courtesy in seeing me while I was in St. John’s last week. After giving considerable thought to your remarks regarding architects’ fees and architects in general, I am only able to answer that I feel it has been proven they are a necessary evil.”8 It appears from the tone of this letter that Premier Smallwood did not hold architects in high esteem. The Rankin Newfoundland Company, a firm of consulting engineers, wrote to Premier Smallwood on 17 May 1952 to propose their involvement in the mun project in association with Dr A.J. Hazelgrove, consulting architect from Ottawa and past president of the raic; with Halifax architects Duffus and Romans; and with local St John’s architects Rennie and Horwood. Even internationally known architect Walter Gropius was interested, as shown in this excerpt from an undated letter from Norman

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7.3 Elevation drawing, Science Building, Memorial University, designed by William J. Ryan, likely rendered by Angus J. Campbell, May 1953; mun.

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C. Fletcher of The Architects Collaborative to G.A. Frecker, deputy minister of education: “If you can make any progress with the programming of your new College, I would be most interested to hear about it. Should the situation develop to such a point in the near future that we could be of aid in your home territory, I am sure that our office would be pleased to cooperate in every way possible. If in fact a trip to St. John’s seems necessary, either myself or possibly even Dr. Gropius, or both of us could accomplish this.”9 Correspondence in the mun Archives indicates that Ryan had disputes with the provincial Department of Public Works, specifically with Chief Engineer Harry Conroy.10 Conroy seemed impatient with the speed and efficiency of Ryan’s work after he was commissioned for the project.11 Ryan produced designs for the four buildings listed in the original 1953 campus plan: Arts and Administration, Science and Engineering, Physical Education, and the Library. He submitted remarkable ultra-fine pencil drawings of facade details with shades and shadows (Figure 7.3). These were probably drawn by Angus Campbell. Ryan’s designs may not, however, have had the type of progressive character Smallwood expected from modern architecture. On 25 March 1955 Ryan wrote to Premier Smallwood outlining the work he had done to date on the buildings for Memorial University. He indicated that he had prepared thirty-nine designs for the campus layout, fifteen for the Science Building, fourteen for the Arts and Administration Building, and several for the Library and Physical Education buildings. He claimed that all the designs except those for the Library and Physical Education buildings had been approved by the various committees, which consisted of members from the mun Board of Regents, mun faculty, and representatives from the Department of Public Works. Ryan’s plan for the Arts and Administration Building represented, perhaps unintentionally, the shape of the human body, with the main entrance in the groin and the lecture theatre at the head (Figure 7.4). The building was to be the formal entrance to the university off Elizabeth Avenue, and circulation passed through it to the campus to the north. The front facade of the building was somewhat oppressive and symmetrical (Figure 7.5). Its slightly curved steps leading to the main entrance, flanked by long symmetrical wings of administrative offices, seem to indicate that the administration intended to monitor the arrival and departure of students. Two flagpoles and the university crest were attached to the wall above the main entrance. Ryan’s design for the Science and Engineering Building was oddly similar to that of the Arts and Administration Building, with the same flagpoles and crest above the 101  E d u ca t i o n an d R e c r e a t i o n

7.4 Plan, Arts Building, Memorial University, designed by William J. Ryan, 1953; mun.

7.5 Elevation drawing, Arts Building, Memorial University, designed by William J. Ryan, 1953; mun.

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entrance. But this building had longer wings flanking the entrance in its rigidly symmetrical composition. Ryan’s design for the Library Building presented a more conservative orthogonal composition but with similar ornamentation above the main entrance. In this case a clock replaced the crest. His design for the Physical Education Building had a less formal, asymmetrical composition, with a mast for a flagpole to the left of the entrance. It had a horizontal, flowing character with streamlined canopies above the windows and entrance. Ryan eventually lost the commission to design these early mun buildings. According to Ryan, in 1953 the Board of Regents called upon A.J.C. Paine to consult on the planning and design development for mun. Paine had been a consultant to the Newfoundland government for many years, beginning with the Normal School for teacher training on Merrymeeting Road in the early 1920s.12 When Ryan first met with Paine to discuss his designs for mun, he thought Paine was impressed with his work. He soon learned, however, that Paine had rejected all of it. This disrupted Ryan’s plan to expand his office to complete the mun project. As a result, Ryan put his mun work on hold for two years. In a 25 March 1955 letter to Premier Smallwood, Ryan expressed his views on working with Paine: It is my personal opinion that Mr. Paine’s ideas and my own are separated too greatly, by the viewpoints that his generation and my generation represent, to ever meet in harmony. I maintain that the designs presented for the buildings have much to recommend them, not alone from the design standpoint, but also from the vantage point of cost of erection. An era is known and interpreted, among other things, by its architectural beauty and design. Architecture reflects the culture of its people, and in university design, particularly in our own Newfoundland University, an effort has been made to incorporate atmosphere that is not severe and to create halls of learning in which students can be at home.13

Paine first expressed interest in working on the campus for mun in a 15 July 1953 letter, and he was hired as a programming consultant in 1954.14 In an April 1954 letter, he expressed his opinion about the campus plan for mun: “The academic courts should be kept entirely free of vehicular traffic: walkways, grass, and flowerbeds and shrubbery should be found there only. In every campus visited this procedure has either been adopted or is being striven for in changes being made. This type of plan prevails on the other side at Oxford and Cambridge in the colleges; and again in the Inns of 103  E d u ca t i o n an d R e c r e a t i o n

Court in London, such as at Gray’s Inn.”15 Paine’s proposed budget for the first buildings was based on costs of $15–20 per square foot, requiring a total of $4,425,000 to construct four buildings. On 11 May 1955 the chairman of the mun Board of Regents wrote to Premier Smallwood protesting delays in the planning and design work for the university. He noted that, since the working drawings produced by Ryan for the Arts and Science buildings had not been approved by the Department of Public Works, architects from outside the province with experience in the design of university buildings should be hired.16 Subsequently, in addition to his programming duties, Paine was put in charge of the location, layout, and budget for the early mun buildings. This led to the hiring of a consortium of architects: A.J.C. Paine and Lawson, Betts, and Cash; and Durnford, Bolten, Chadwick, and Ellwood. Construction was to be undertaken by Hanson and Hanson of Newark, New Jersey, on a leaseback arrangement similar to that used for Confederation Building. In their 28 April 1959 letter to Premier Smallwood, Hanson and Hanson wrote: “The Province agrees that said plans and specifications may be modified, at Hanson’s cost, to conform to the specifications of the Confederation Building presently being constructed under the supervision of the Department of Public Works, provided such modifications are approved by said Department.”17 The Arts and Administration Building, as eventually designed by Lawson, Betts, and Cash of Montreal in consultation with Paine and constructed in 1957, retained the locations for the entrance and lecture theatre proposed by William Ryan but eliminated his angular plan. According to architect William MacCallum, aesthetically the most innovative of the four original mun buildings was the Science Building, designed by Durnford, Bolton, Chadwick, and Ellwood of Montreal in consultation with Paine in 1960 (Figure 7.1).18 The same architects designed the Library across the courtyard from the Science Building in 1959. Lawson and Betts, again in consultation with Paine, designed the Gymnasium Building in 1957. The planning for these early buildings aspired to the types of outdoor spaces usually associated with congenial university campuses, with well-defined inter-building spaces creating pedestrian-oriented courtyards (Figure 7.6). This was achieved in the courtyard between the Science Building and the Library Building, but the common-sense precedent was ignored in almost all future buildings constructed on mun’s campus. Frederick W. Rowe provides an overview of what was eventually implemented on mun’s campus: “Starting in 1961 and continuing almost without let-up, the campus was expanded by providing residences, two large Arts-Education 104   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

7.6 Aerial view of the early development of mun’s campus, 1960; mun.

and Physics-Chemistry buildings, a Marine Science laboratory (Logy Bay), a Student Centre and three church colleges. A School of Nursing was established in 1964–65; the opening of a School of Engineering and the Health Sciences Centre (including a School of Medicine) made the University one of the largest and certainly the most modern in eastern Canada.”19 Yellow brick made by the L.E. Shaw company in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick was the preferred exterior cladding material for most of mun’s buildings for the first thirty years of campus development.20 Brick made in Newfoundland was available only in a brown colour since there was no yellow clay in the province. It is odd that Premier Smallwood did not insist on the use of locally made brown brick for all of mun’s buildings, given that documents in the Smallwood Papers Collection indicate he was largely behind the decision to construct many new buildings with this type of 105  E d u ca t i o n an d R e c r e a t i o n

brick cladding. (See more on Smallwood’s support of the local brick industry in chapter 8.) Another controversial issue involving the exterior cladding of mun buildings was the proposed use of the Larson System. This was a proprietary exterior cladding system developed for the milder weather conditions of the United States using preformed waterproofing units in exterior brick walls. In his 29 July 1958 letter to James Chalker, minister of public works, Paine questioned the project management firm Whitney-Hanson’s intention to use the Larson System. Whitney-Hanson had adopted this system to economize on the construction of the Provincial Building (later called Confederation Building), and it felt that Paine’s specifications for the brickwork of the university buildings “was too rigid, and that the work, if done as specified, would cost more to erect than that outside wall construction with which they were familiar in the Eastern United States.”21 Paine replied that his specification would provide “walls that are relatively waterproof, and not subject to damage by frost, etc. because of the extremely high number of freeze-thaw cycles experienced each winter in Newfoundland’s east coast.” His main concern was the possibility of water penetration in the Larson System. Further, he disputed the potential cost savings of using the system.22 Ultimately, the mun buildings did use the Larson System. About a fifteen-minute drive from the main campus is a late 1960s mun project, the Ocean Sciences Centre in Logy Bay, originally called the Marine Sciences Research Laboratory. At an early stage in the project, the architectural firm of Cummings and Campbell prepared a design (Figure 7.7) that was virtually identical to Philip Johnson’s 1961 design of the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. Their design was for a building situated along an existing road and fairly close to existing houses and outbuildings at Logy Bay, which may not have taken into consideration the space required for possible expansion, seawater access for research, topography, and other challenges. The site was later moved to the southern part of Logy Bay, to a cove that required the construction of a new, and fairly long, vehicular access road. Cummings and Campbell were ultimately not hired for the Marine Sciences Research Laboratory, ostensibly because of their lack of experience in designing laboratory buildings. The Quebec architectural firm of Dobush Stewart Bourke was instead engaged for this project (Figure 7.8). Peter Holtshousen was the project architect, with the assistance of Sir Christopher Barlow.23 At around the same time, Holtshousen and Barlow were also involved with the design of the Corner Brook Arts and Culture Centre, as well as the Government Centre in Corner Brook.24 106   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

7.7 Early scheme, Marine Sciences Research Laboratory, Logy Bay, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1964.

Planning for the Marine Sciences Research Laboratory began in 1964, and it opened on 21 June 1967. Mun marine biology professor Frederick Aldrich initiated and guided this project. The Logy Bay location was thought to be ideal because of its subarctic boreal ecosystem, unpolluted seawater, the absence of heavy arctic ice, and the possibility of wintertime research in a location not affected by the Gulf Stream. Steven Mannell described the project in Atlantic Modern: The early promotional material calls the Marine Sciences Research Laboratory an “outer space building for inner space research.” The lab was founded to instigate leading research into cold water marine science. The site on Logy Bay had been a fisheries preserve since 1904, and sits adjacent to the mingling of the warm Gulf Stream and the cold Labrador Current. A key innovation of the lab strategy was to draw seawater directly from the bay for research purposes, and the management of the water distribution is intimately linked to the extraordinary built form. According to Peter Holtshousen, the “facility was required to function 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, hence the central core with all services available.”25 107  E d u ca t i o n an d R e c r e a t i o n

7.8 Marine Sciences Building, designed by Dobush Stewart Bourke with project architect Peter Holtshousen, with the assistance of Sir Christopher Barlow, 1967; photo by Robert Mellin, 2009. 7.9 Second-floor plan, Marine Sciences Building, Logy Bay, 1967; Facilities Management Archives, mun.

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The shape of the building is dodecahedral and represents the form of the sea anemone (Figure 7.9). The geometry was controversial, and Aldrich had to defend this concept.26 Even the president of mun got involved, writing that the building was “very unique.”27 Harry Conroy, chief engineer of the Department of Public Works for the provincial government, was critical of the building’s geometry. He criticized the letter from Memorial’s president, pointing out that the use of the term “very unique” by an experienced academic was unpardonable, advising that something was either unique or it was not, but that it could not be “very unique.”28 Aldrich obtained an endorsement from John T. McEvoy of the Woods Hole, Massachusetts, oceanographic institution who considered the proposed laboratory to be inspired. McEvoy wrote, “The scientific community at Woods Hole has seen these plans and considers this somewhat novel dodecahedral structure sound and a significant innovation in the design of marine science laboratories.”29 Aldrich and Holtshousen eventually prevailed, and the dodecahedral concept was adopted. Mannell provides this insightful description of the form of the building and its interior layout: Aldrich’s reading of the design has persisted, entwining symbol with process in the story of the building. The sea anemone has a single intestinal opening, the septa, simultaneously anus and mouth, leading to its intestinal tract, surrounded by a chambered body. The lab’s gut is the central core providing vertical circulation up from the base for both researchers and seawater, ringed by 28 lab spaces forming a twelve-sided outer wall. The core is topped by the glass-enclosed phylarium. Here seawater flows into a ten-footdiameter pool in which algae and plankton are grown, the fundamentals of marine life. The water and food moves by gravity to the labs below, which study increasingly more complex forms of marine life as the distance from the phylarium increases.30

In less skilled hands the architectural design may have ended with the shape of the plan, but Holtshousen’s project was a bold exercise in “animation.” He strengthened the “sea creature” analogy of the building’s form in three ways. First, he made it appear that the building was hovering above the rocky terrain, not rooted to its site, by placing it on a narrow base. Second, he articulated the exterior walls with large horizontal folds. The folds create the impression of movement, and viewers can almost imagine that the building is a breathing animal, with bellows-like expansion and contraction. Third, porthole windows and projecting concrete lugs31 around the

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building substitute for the many tentacles of the sea anemone, replacing the haptic with the visual but nevertheless creating the prickly impression that the building is monitoring its surroundings. Despite Holtshousen’s proposal to construct additional buildings for the complex using similar geometrical forms,32 less inspiring orthogonal additions were made to this complex over the years, detracting from Holtshousen’s dynamic sea-creature analogy. The rugged exterior cladding of the building uses exposed cedar board and battens, as at the Sea Ranch, California, houses designed by architect Charles Moore and others in 1964. The Marine Sciences Research Laboratory was one of the first buildings in Newfoundland to use this type of cladding, and both the cladding and the shape of the windows added to its modernist aura. Other, smaller campus enclaves of interest for their planning and architecture were built during the Smallwood era. These include the 1960s denominational colleges: Coughlin College, St John’s College, and Queen’s College on mun’s campus; and St Bride’s College in Littledale in the west end of St John’s. Coughlin College was affiliated with the United Church and is now used by the Department of Social Work.33 St John’s College was affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church and had a chapel and residence hall designed by William Guihan of Horwood and Guihan Architects in 1965 (Figure 7.10). Queen’s College, established in Newfoundland in 1841 and affiliated with the Anglican Church, was relocated to the northwest corner of mun’s campus adjacent to St John’s College. Architects Horwood and Guihan began work on the college in 1965.34 In 1963 landscape architect Gordon Culham established the following requirements for the Queen’s College campus: • Continuity of effect desired • Length parallel to parkway • Uniform building material • Colour effects controlled • Uniformity of scale

In 1965 Nova Scotia architect Keith L. Graham took charge of the design work for the project (Figure 7.11), and his construction drawings were completed on 15 January 1966. The residences opened in 1967, and the main building (Queen’s College) opened in 1968. The Queen’s College campus is a collection of classroom buildings

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7.10 Interior, St John’s College chapel on Memorial University’s campus, St John’s, designed by William Guihan, 1965; photo by Robert Mellin, 2009.

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7.11 Rendering for the campus of Queen’s College, St John’s, designed by Keith L. Graham, 1966; mun. 7.12 Queen’s College, designed by Keith L. Graham, 1968; Keith L. Graham archives.

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and dormitories arranged orthogonally along Long Pond. According to Graham, the design was based on the traditional cloister and quadrangle.35 Graham’s initial design featured a courtyard defined by wings to the east and west, but the building program was scaled back and the west wing was never constructed. The design was reminiscent of the cloister created by Le Corbusier for his La Tourette project in Eveux, France, in 1953. The buildings for Queen’s College are restrained, reflecting Graham’s preference to use no more than three materials.36 Their exteriors use concrete to frame brick and slate panels. Concrete posts define recessed arcades at the base of the buildings (Figure 7.12). Parking lots along Prince Philip Parkway were sunk below the parkway level and hidden from view by earth berms. The new campus of St Bride’s College, in the west end of St John’s in the Waterford valley, was built on the Little Estate known as Littledale. The college opened in 1884 as a Catholic girls’ boarding school. Various additions were built over the years, and planning and design work began in the early 1960s for a large, modern, cloistered college complex for women (Figures 7.13, 7.14) next to the original college buildings. In 1965 the Sisters of Mercy commissioned Montreal architects Bolton, Ellwood and Aimers,37 in association with local St. John’s architects Horwood and Guihan38 and consultant A.T. Galt Durnford,39 for this project.40 The new buildings, again perhaps inspired by the cloister of Le Corbusier’s La Tourette, were constructed between 1965 and 1967. Their cast-in-place, ribbed, precast concrete was not unlike prominent contemporary buildings, such as Place Bonaventure, an arcop (Architects in Co-Partnership: Affleck, Dimakopoulos, Michaud, Sise, Desbarats, and Lebensold) project, which was under construction in Montreal at the time.41 A chapel and bell tower sit at the centre of the complex (Figures 7.15, 7.16). Surrounding these are a motherhouse, dining hall, two residences, a library (Figure 7.17), classrooms, administration building, gymnasium, and pool. There are two main courtyards. The smaller courtyard to the east is surrounded by the residences, the motherhouse, the dining hall, and east wall of the chapel. The larger courtyard to the west is enclosed by the other buildings and the west wall of the chapel. St Bride’s College is a good example of what could have been achieved on mun’s campus with more thoughtful design and planning. The configuration of its courtyards follows diurnal patterns of use and distinguishes between public and private areas. The architects were able to create variety with the design of the different buildings while achieving a sense of overall unity. The complex fits well with its surroundings (Figure 7.18) and provides excellent protection from pervasive 113  E d u ca t i o n an d R e c r e a t i o n

7.13 Site plan, St Bride’s College, designed by Bolton, Ellwood and Aimers, in association with Horwood and Guihan and A.T. Galt Durnford, 1965; lac, Fetherstonhaugh Fonds. 7.14 Elevation drawing, St Bride’s College, 1965; lac, Fetherstonhaugh Fonds.

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7.15 Chapel and bell tower, St Bride’s College, 1967; City of St John’s Archives.

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7.16 Chapel floor plan, St Bride’s College, 1965; lac, Canada, Fetherstonhaugh Fonds.

7.17 Library, St Bride’s College, 1967; City of St John’s Archives.

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7.18 Classrooms (left), administration (centre), and gymnasium (right), St Bride’s College, 1967; City of St John’s Archives.

and strong winds, something that to this day often escapes consideration in Newfoundland’s planning and architecture. In the 1960s Newfoundland constructed many new buildings not only for univer­ sities but also for vocational education. (I present selected examples both in this chapter and in chapter 12 on the work of Angus Campbell; and in chapter 11 I describe elementary and high schools designed by Frederick Colbourne that demonstrate his knowledge of the latest developments in school design.) Prior to 1960, opportunities for vocational education in Newfoundland were extremely limited. Premier Smallwood’s hopes for industrialization depended on the provision of vocational education. William Callahan provides this overview of vocational schools: In 1950 came the Vocational Schools Assistance Agreement, under which the province could receive 50 per cent of the cost of approved capital projects. This was followed in 1960 by an even more generous arrangement, Ottawa paying 75 per cent, which enabled the Smallwood government to build what would become known as the College of Trades and Technology on grounds adjacent to Confederation Building. At the time the largest structure in the province, with a floor area of 262,000 square feet, it was completed 117  E d u ca t i o n an d R e c r e a t i o n

in early 1963 at a cost of $8 million and opened almost immediately. By 1971–72, it had an enrolment in excess of 4,000 full and part-time students. However, Mr. Smallwood realized in building it that it would do little for young people in distant areas of the province, outside the St. John’s area. Therefore he set out, under the terms of a revised 1960 agreement with Ottawa, to build 11 modern trade schools at Corner Brook, Grand Falls, Burin, Gander, Bell Island, Carbonear, Port aux Basques, Stevenville Crossing, Lewisporte, Clarenville, and Seal Cove, Conception Bay.42

In the 1950s and 1960s in Newfoundland, high schools were denominational. Architect John Hoskins’s last project, Holy Heart of Mary High School on Bonaventure Avenue, was located in close proximity to downtown St John’s (Figure 7.19). This cast-in-place-concrete building opened in 1958, and at that time it was the largest building in the city. In 1962 a large auditorium with superb acoustics was added to the south end, and in 1967 a two-storey library wing was added to the north end. Currently, there are rumours that this high school will close, to be replaced by a large new suburban high school that reflects new priorities for extensive sports facilities and greatly increased parking.43 Recreation in Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province is covered in just four pages within the chapter titled “Education and Recreation.” It includes photographs of the Marble Mountain Ski Area and of stadiums in Corner Brook and St John’s.44 It does not include a stadium designed by St John’s architects Rennie and Horwood (Figure  7.20). In 1950 the Lions Club promoted the erection of a new stadium in St John’s, advertising a prospectus inviting the public to invest in shares valued at $1 dollar each. Rennie and Horwood produced plans and specifications, but their design was not built.45 Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province makes no mention of provincial parks, such as Sir Richard Squires Memorial Park, established in 1954, or Terra Nova, the federal park established in 1957. According to Frederick Rowe, “outside of St. John’s and a handful of larger towns, recreational and athletic facilities in 1949 were non-existent for most Newfoundland communities. Here there was a two-fold movement, one in the schools, the other at the community level. Almost invariably, the large central and regional schools had playrooms, gymnasiums, and playing fields. Early in the period Government extended assistance to St. John’s, to build its long-delayed stadium.”46 One of the most interesting parks with regard to the development of Newfoundland’s modern architecture is Bowring Park on the outskirts of St John’s in the Waterford valley. This park substantially predates Confederation but underwent redevelopment 118   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

7.19 Holy Heart of Mary High School, St John’s, designed by John Hoskins, 1958; City of St John’s Archives.

7.20 Design for a new stadium, St John’s, designed by Rennie and Horwood, 1950; Robert Horwood archives.

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in the 1950s. Established in 1914 by Bowring Brothers and presented to the city in 1924, the park was originally designed by Montreal landscape architect Rudolph Cochius.47 It is a delightful, picturesque essay on a fairly small and compact site that manages to create the impression of a much larger park when you stroll through it. Cochius achieved this by providing a concentrated and imaginative itinerary that offers constantly changing views, a procession from open to closed spaces, interesting rock formations, and variations in acoustics, terrain, light, and flora. These are especially apparent in the pathways and bridges along the Waterford River. In 195848 the city of St John’s commissioned the Montreal architecture firm van Ginkel Associates (H.P. Daniel “Sandy” van Ginkel and Blanche Lemco van Ginkel49) to work on a new development plan to extend Bowring Park. When the consultants finished their plan in October 1959, they prepared a small, square booklet with carefully considered graphic design titled Plan for a Park (Figure 7.21). According to the plan, the park would be extended from its original area of fifty acres to cover more than 200 acres, with phased development over the years. The expansion proposed an ambitious program for recreation that anticipated much more intensive use of the park by city residents in the future and that would appeal to park users of all ages. It aimed to address such concerns as activity/repose, companionship/solitude, community/family/individual, young/old, and summer/winter, and it differentiated between “active” and “passive” areas (Figure 7.22). The new amenities included a swimming pool, boating pond (Figure 7.23), playground, restaurant pavilion, bandshell, group picnic area with playing field, nursery, formal gardens (Figure 7.24), children’s library, a lookout with a view back to the city centre, an arboretum, a deer park, tennis courts, an amphitheatre, a pedestrian bridge, and a road bridge (Figure 7.25). A partial extension to the park was made, but not entirely according to the van Ginkels’ plan. Many of the proposed amenities, such as playgrounds, the children’s library, and bandshells, were constructed elsewhere in St John’s over the years. But it is interesting that in the late 1950s the city of St John’s was proposing a concentration of public recreation amenities in one location. The active and passive areas proposed on the site plan are not explained in Plan for a Park, but if “passive” relates to enjoying scenery in a park-like setting, then the plan may have been too ambitious, considering the local context. The city already had two major parks, Bannerman Park and Victoria Park, close to the city centre. Moreover, despite intensive suburban development, large wilderness areas were still 120   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

7.21 Cover for the brochure “Plan for a Park” (Bowring Park, St John’s), by van Ginkel Associates with Ove Arup and Partners, 1959; Blanche Lemco van Ginkel archives. 7.22 Site plan, Bowring Park, designed by van Ginkel Associates with Ove Arup and Partners, 1959; Blanche Lemco van Ginkel archives.

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7.23 Boating pond, Bowring Park, 1959; Blanche Lemco van Ginkel archives. 7.24 Formal gardens, Bowring Park, 1959; Blanche Lemco van Ginkel archives. 7.25 Bridges proposed for Bowring Park, 1959; Blanche Lemco van Ginkel archives.

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easily and quickly accessible from many parts of the city and so competed with parks for outdoor enthusiasts. In the late 1950s funding became available from the Canadian National Railway (cnr) to construct a pedestrian bridge and a road bridge across the railroad tracks running south of the park. The van Ginkels, with the United Kingdom firm of Ove Arup as the structural engineering consultant, designed these bridges. Blanche Lemco van Ginkel told me that her firm had worked with Arup on other projects, and it recommended Arup to the city of St John’s since at the time it seemed convenient to collaborate on a project located between Montreal and London.50 Blanche Lemco van Ginkel shared this story about introducing Ove Arup to the celebrated architect Louis Kahn around the time the bridges were being designed: Sandy and I had suggested that Lou Kahn attend the Team X meeting in Otterloo. Sandy had been in contact with Ove because of the bridges and knew that he would be in Denmark and when he intended to return to London – and suggested that he return via Amsterdam so that he could meet Lou. We drove Lou to Amsterdam, met Ove and went to lunch. They immediately made a connection and spent most of lunch discussing/arguing about the nature of the column – and continued while walking along the street. We left Lou at a hotel and took Ove in our car to the airport. But along the way, Ove said that he wanted to see our daughter who was seven months old and staying with Sandy’s parents. So Sandy changed course, rushed into his parents’ apartment, snatched up the child and dumped her in my lap (sitting in the back seat) and sped to the airport. Ove turned around, inspected the baby, pronounced her O.K., and went back to discussing the column. I think that he just made his flight.

When Arup received the Gold Medal of the riba in 1966, he cited the Sydney Opera House and the Bowring Park pedestrian bridge (Figure 7.26) as his best projects. But little has been written about this bridge, and it now seems relegated to obscurity. The pedestrian bridge provides a graceful design solution for a difficult transition between high and low terrain (Figure 7.27). It boldly pivots and cantilevers across the railway track from off-centred legs, and the concrete pad at the lower end of the bridge anchors the cantilever. Architect William MacCallum recalls discussing this bridge with Sandy van Ginkel shortly after it was designed.51 He told me that van Ginkel compared the sectional profile and structural design to the body of an elephant. The lower stair and landing represent the elephant’s heavy torso and the pivot the 123  E d u ca t i o n an d R e c r e a t i o n

7.26 Pedestrian bridge, Bowring Park, 1959; photo by Robert Mellin, 2009.

7.27 Formwork for the pedestrian bridge in Bowring Park, Ove Arup and Partners, 1959; City of St John’s Archives.

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7.28 Victoria Park swimming pool complex, St John’s, designed by A. Fasido, 1963; photo by Robert Mellin, 2000.

elephant’s front legs. The elephant’s trunk is the long, gracefully cantilevered span over the railroad tracks, lightly touching the upper hill. The cnr shut down its Newfoundland operations in the late 1980s, and the railway tracks were removed. Today, the pedestrian bridge crosses the gravel path of the Newfoundland T’Railway, which follows the old railway. The pedestrian bridge originally had a teak handrail, but this was vandalized and the bridge fell into disrepair. It was restored forty years after it was built and is now in good condition. Its elegance endures, and it conveys the impression that it has always been there, especially now that the surrounding landscaping has matured. But over time it has receded in prominence in the park, and today there is little awareness of its distinguished design history. Another recreation project worth noting for its modern architecture is the early 1960s Victoria Park swimming-pool complex (Figure 7.28). Victoria Park is situated in the west end of St John’s on a hillside and once had a river running through it. The park extends from Hamilton Avenue at the top of the hill to Water Street at the bottom. The upper part of the park is devoted primarily to recreation (sledding, play equipment, and, recently, a baseball field), and the lower part is a more formal landscape for commemoration and flower gardens. The pool complex is located roughly in the middle of the park on a small plateau of land acquired by the city of 125  E d u ca t i o n an d R e c r e a t i o n

7.29 Plan, Victoria Park swimming pool; Friends of Bowring Park archives.

7.30 Signal Hill Visitor Centre, St John’s, designed by William B. Guihan of Horwood and Guihan, 1966; City of St John’s Archives.

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St John’s at the north side of Angel Place. Although the swimming pool was removed a few years ago, the bathhouse with its locker rooms and canteen remains. A. Fasido52 designed the pool and bathhouse, and the facility opened in August 1963. The bathhouse is noteworthy in that it is a low-profile building on the edge of the park, an intriguing infill or “contextual” project that was unusual in this era. It sits between the park and a small, dead-end side street with row houses. Its informal plan (Figure 7.29) is generated from lines radiating from a centre point. Fasido attempted to extend the geometry of the building into the landscape by using curved retaining walls, wide curved steps, and planters. The main exterior wall facing the park has a south orientation that is ideal for swimmers, while the cantilevered roof and the curved wall produce changing shadows during the day. Part of one of the roof canopies is notched to accommodate a large tree. The bathhouse was recently spared demolition through the efforts of the Friends of Victoria Park, a local citizens’ group. The Signal Hill Visitor Centre is yet another modern recreation project that deserves mention (Figure 7.30). The centre was designed in 1964 by Horwood and Guihan, and it sits in the National Historic Site overlooking St John’s. William B. Guihan, the design architect, was apparently concerned with how the building would appear from all angles on a very prominent site.53 The building has sloped walls covered by local slate and heavy timber roof beams that extend like flying buttresses. Angus Campbell had a photo of Signal Hill Visitor Centre in his archives, and the palette of materials is similar to those of Campbell’s design for Carnell’s Funeral Home on Freshwater Road (Figure 12.49). The centre has recently been extended to the east by Sheppard Case Architects.

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Chapter eight

I n d u s t r y a n d C o mm e rc e

8.1 (facing page) Avalon Mall, St John’s, architect unknown, 1967; City of St John’s Archives.

In the chapter titled “Industry and Commerce” in Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province, the first eight pages present the fishery, followed by fifteen pages on the mining, cement, and paper mill industry, and three pages showing office and retail buildings. Space does not permit a presentation of a detailed history of Smallwood’s grand plans for economic development. But the photographs in “Industry and Commerce” represent the most persistent theme of his administration in the 1950s: the province’s hopeful transformation from small-scale traditional inshore fisheries to large-scale industrial powerhouse.1 Photographs of coastal fishing communities like Ramea and Hibbs Cove are contrasted with large fish plants, mines, mineral concentrators, cement plants, feed mills, and pulp and paper plants (Figure 8.2). Had things worked out according to Smallwood’s plans, many fishermen would have resettled in industrial and commercial centres located along the newly paved Trans-Canada Highway. At this time, the government was supporting, and even initiating, industrial development of all kinds on an unprecedented scale. Correspondence dating from 1951 from two Newfoundland brick manufacturers in the vicinity of Random Island, C. and M. Pelley Brick Factory (owned by Smallwood’s long-term political supporter, Malcolm Pelley, and located near Clarenville) and Aaron Smith and Sons (established in 1898 and located in Elliott’s Cove), indicates they were keen to receive government support.2 Local brick was known to be of poor quality. For example, Smith and Sons produced common brick for chimneys but not face brick that could withstand Newfoundland’s harsh environmental conditions. If this difficulty could have been overcome, brick makers would have needed to find a market for well-fired, face brick. The cost of building a plant in Newfoundland to produce quality face brick was prohibitively expensive, and Newfoundland’s location made it economically unfeasible to export sufficient quantities of face brick to justify the construction and operation of such a plant. The local market could absorb only a small fraction of the required annual production. In the late 1950s, Malcolm Pelley wrote many letters to Premier Smallwood, pleading for government funding to support the construction of a tunnel kiln to fire face brick. Once built, the kiln never worked as promised, and the quality of the brick was poor. In a letter to Smallwood dated 12 July 1962, Pelley wrote: “I have had over 75 years experience in brick manufacture and can assure you these bricks will last truly as long as the South Side Hills.”3 He claimed that Pelley brick had been approved 129   I n d u s t r y an d C o mm e r c e

8.2 Premier Smallwood, left, viewing a model of the Corner Brook premises of Bowater’s Newfoundland Pulp and Paper Mills, others unknown, mid-1950s; mun.

for the Nurses’ Residence and the Veterans’ Pavilion of the General Hospital, and for the vocational schools. It soon became apparent that there were problems with Pelley bricks. Architect William MacCallum told me that the brick on exterior cladding of the Nurses’ Residence had to be painted not long after construction, since the brick was absorbing too much water.4 The painting resulted in a “banded” pattern. The L.E. Shaw company, with brick plants in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, produced face brick for Newfoundland building projects until 10 September 1965, when it acquired a major interest in Pelley brick, subsequently producing “Pelley-Shaw” brick in Milton, Newfoundland. In this chapter of Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province, Smallwood was careful not to feature industrial-development projects initiated by his administration that failed. One such project was the Superior Rubber plant in Holyrood, Conception Bay, 130   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

a large, concrete industrial building not far from St John’s that has recently been proposed for adaptive reuse (Figures 8.3, 8.4). Costing $1 million, it opened in 1954, and closed in 1956, because the products that came from its second-hand machinery were considered to be of poor quality. For example, the plant’s boots reputedly leaked (Figure 8.5). The concrete frame of the plant is still intact, but the glazing in the saw-tooth profile skylights has fallen into ruin. The building has large, open spaces with high ceilings and excellent daylight and therefore potential for adaptive reuse.5 Superior Rubber was one of many projects inspired by Smallwood’s then director general of economic development, Alfred Valdmanis. A Latvian-born economist, Valdmanis was asked to hire personnel with technical expertise using his post-Second World War Latvian and German contacts, thus combining the transfer of technology with provincial government funding.6 Other Newfoundland plants built under this plan produced cement (Corner Brook), gypsum (Corner Brook), machinery (Octagon Pond), cotton (St John’s), films and electronics (St John’s), hardwoods (Donovan’s), hardboard (Donovan’s), leather (Carbonear and Harbour Grace), gloves (Carbonear), electrical equipment (Topsail), textiles (Harbour Grace), shoes (Harbour Grace), chocolate (Bay Roberts), and knitted clothing (Brigus). Richard Gwyn wrote about the financing of these industrial projects in Newfoundland in the early 1950s: “It was Valdmanis who came up with an imaginative scheme for doubling the value of the government’s capital. Instead of building complete factories itself, he suggested that the government loan fifty per cent of the cost to private investors who would then make up the balance with machinery and technical know-how. The most abundant source of such investors, he advised Smallwood, was Europe, particularly Germany, where businessmen looked anxiously over their shoulders at the Russian border.”7 Unfortunately, many of these industries failed over the years as a result of naive and overly optimistic business planning, outdated or poor equipment, and the lack of technical expertise and trained labour. According to Gwyn, “to sustain the illusion of success and to avoid the embarrassment of boarded-up plants, each year more money was pumped into the new industries. Such expenses were a severe strain on the provincial budget.”8 The Smallwood papers in the mun Archives contain correspondence and accounting statements for Superior Rubber that date to the late 1960s, indicating that this company was still on the government’s books long after the Holyrood plant closed in 1957.9 Modernity in post-Confederation Newfoundland meant car travel, and buildings sprung up to meet the demand. In St John’s, cars and trucks were in use long before 131   I n d u s t r y an d C o mm e r c e

8.3 Model made in 1951, Superior Rubber Company, Holyrood, Conception Bay, designer unknown, built in 1954; Coll. 075,5.04.8.58, mun.

8.4 Interior, Superior Rubber Company plant; photo by Paul Chafe, 2008.

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8.5 Booth of the Superior Rubber Company at a provincial government trade show, mid-1950s; mun.

Confederation. Modern, streamline-designed car dealerships were constructed after the Second World War in downtown St John’s; examples include George G.R. Parsons (“The Auto Man”) on King’s Road, Adelaide Motors on Adelaide Street, and Hickman Motors on Water Street West (Figure 8.6). The flowing designs of these buildings utilized horizontal canopies, flat roofs, curved walls, and curved corner glass. Hickman Motors symbolized a new era in transportation. Passengers arriving in St John’s by train were confronted with this futuristic building upon departure from the station. Hickman Motors dramatically contrasted with its surroundings (Figure 8.7). It was a white, free-standing, poured-in-place concrete building in a part of town where most buildings were attached, clapboarded, and covered in a layer of soot from coal fires. The showroom had a rounded, streamlined shape with curved glass windows in opposition to its rectilinear neighbours. The service garage, a large rectangular shed attached behind the showroom, had one of the first in-floor radiant heating systems in Newfoundland. The designs for new automobile dealerships and service garages in St John’s occasionally influenced the vernacular architecture of rural communities not far from 133   I n d u s t r y an d C o mm e r c e

the city. The R.J. O’Brien general store in Cape Broyle on the Southern Shore of the Avalon Peninsula is an interesting interpretation of streamlined modern architecture (Figure 8.8). Ronald O’Brien took over the store from his father when he was nineteen years old in 1937. He changed the corners on the front of the building from square to curved. He also placed curved partitions around the office in the store.10 The renovation is a clever essay in streamlined modern detailing using clapboards, shingles, and a bold painting scheme. The curved posts leading to the entrance have carved ribs that mimic the ornamentation of cast-in-place concrete common in St John’s at the time. Narrow-course wooden shingles clad the corners, since clapboards could not have been bent for this purpose. The paint colours are similar to those of an automobile service station just outside the town of Brigus, which also uses traditional clapboards and trim boards (Figure 8.9). Architects Cummings and Campbell designed the parking garage for Bowring’s Department Store, one of the most daring modern buildings in St John’s, in the early 1960s (Figure 8.10). The full effect cannot be seen today. All the modern architectural features on the Water Street side of the department store, which included colour panels depicting signal flags, were removed in the 1990s and replaced by a brick facade. Angus Campbell told me that he was responsible for the design of the department store and that his partner George Cummings was responsible for the design of the parking garage.11 The parking garage, which faces the St John’s waterfront, was not renovated and it retains its original features. It has a steep, 17-degree exterior ramp leading to rooftop parking (Figure 8.11). This garage is still in use today, and its playful design hints at an optimistic new era for Newfoundland’s architecture. It is reminiscent of a child’s toy garage with a ramp and a wind-up elevator. Steep, exterior vehicular ramps like this one are rare in Newfoundland, with its severe winter weather. The base of the ramp was a challenge for drivers, for long, low, and heavy 1960s cars often scraped their bottoms on it. When viewed from the harbour apron, the parking garage has a sculptural and nautical character reminiscent of Le Corbusier’s early buildings. The “Industry and Commerce” chapter presents a few photographs of roadside commercial developments, such as shopping centres and office buildings. George Cummings’s early 1950s multipurpose residential/commercial building for Churchill Square was included (Figure 2.2), as was Cummings and Campbell’s office building on Argyle Street in St John’s (Figures 12.5, 12.6). The increasing influence of the automobile on the design of commercial projects is featured in this chapter. An example is 134   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

8.6 Hickman Motors showroom, St John’s, architect unknown, 1947; photo by Fred Ruggles, Hickman Motors archives.

8.7 Aerial photograph of Hickman Motors, with horses pulling a cart on Water Street in the foreground, 1958; photo by Fred Ruggles, Hickman Motors archives.

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8.8 R.J. O’Brien general store, Cape Broyle, curved walls added by Ronald J. O’Brien in the 1950s; photo by Robert Mellin, 2000.

8.10 Bowring’s Department Store and Parking Garage, St John’s, designed by Cummings and Campbell, early 1960s; photo by Robert Mellin, 2000.

8.9 Garage on the main road to Brigus, c. 1950; photo by Robert Mellin, 2000.

8.11 Ramp to Bowring’s Parking Garage; photo by Robert Mellin, 2000.

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the Millbrook Mall in Corner Brook, constructed in the mid-1960s (Figure 8.12). Generous parking and bold roadside signage figure prominently in the design. The stair towers with diagonal roofs were innovative architectural features at the time and surfaced in several projects in St John’s during the late 1960s and early 1970s, notably the Health Sciences Centre at Memorial University. Another modern commercial centre, the Avalon Mall, opened in 1967 and was for many years the main shopping mall in St John’s (Figure 8.1). When it first opened, it had an L-shaped plan anchored by a department store at the east end and by a grocery store at the west end. The floor finish was terrazzo, and the upper part of the walls was finished with anodized aluminum grills. The ceiling was coffered, and light from roof-level clerestory windows softly illuminated the upper walls. In the 1950s and 1960s, large grocery stores such as Ayre’s Supermarket at Summerville (Figure 8.13) and the Giant Mart at Churchill Square, both designed by Cummings and Campbell, heralded not just modern stylistic changes but also major changes in the style of everyday commerce and social interaction. Until the era of the supermarket, most small grocery and retail stores in Newfoundland were not selfservice. Shoppers had to place their orders with counter staff. A description of Giant Mart in Cummings and Campbell’s portfolio of projects states: “A new concept in department store design for Newfoundland, this store operates similarly to a supermarket in that goods are self-service with check-outs.”12 This prompted a major shift away from the established shopping pattern, wherein downtown residents walked to their local grocery store (or “groc and conf” – groceteria and confectionery – as they were still commonly called until the late 1970s). One office and manufacturing facility not included in “Industry and Commerce” is the playfully designed Brookfield Ice Cream Factory on LeMarchant Road in St John’s (Figure 8.14). This 1947 renovation of a plant established on this site in 1928 had ppg (Pittsburgh Plate Glass) “Vitrolite” exterior cladding, which was very popular on modern storefronts across North America from the 1920s to the 1950s.13 This shiny glass cladding was well suited for a dairy facility, since it created the impression of cleanliness. The Vitrolite banding produced an Art Deco streamlined effect, augmented by the use of glass block for the work areas towards the back of the complex. The factory building still stands, but the glass cladding has been removed. The building, with its warm yellow background and black stripes with black accents, was a landmark in this part of the city, not far from the Aerated Water company’s offices in the west end. 137   I n d u s t r y an d C o mm e r c e

8.12 Millbrook Mall, Corner Brook, architect unknown, late 1960s; mun.

8.13 Ayre’s Supermarket, St John’s, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1959; Cummings and Campbell marketing brochure.

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8.14 Brookfield Ice Cream Factory, St John’s, architect unknown, 1947 renovation; City of St John’s Archives.

Contrasting with the exuberant design of Brookfield Ice Cream Factory is a restrained, modern office building on Elizabeth Avenue, designed by architects Craig, Madill, Horwood, Abram, and Ingleson in 1959 for Imperial Oil (Figures 8.15, 8.16).14 The building has a simple, rectangular shape with solid-brick-clad sides and a curtain-wall front, the latter distinguished by a delicate, tapered, floating canopy above the main entrance. A one-storey masonry wall, with the name of the building and tenants in metal lettering, that extended from the entrance towards the sidewalk is no longer present. Continuous horizontal louvres below the windows recall those in the 1940s and early 1950s residential designs of Paul Meschino in St John’s. But the main precedent for the Imperial Oil Building was likely John C. Parkin’s 1950 competition-winning design for the headquarters of the Ontario Association of Architects (oaa) in Toronto, constructed in 1953–54, which was in turn influenced by Mies van der Rohe’s work.15 139   I n d u s t r y an d C o mm e r c e

8.15 Imperial Oil Building, St John’s, designed by Craig, Madill, Horwood, Abram, and Ingleson, 1959; photo by Robert Mellin, 2008.

8.16 Imperial Oil Building with the original front wall for signage; mun.

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H.H. Madill, director of the School of Architecture at the University of Toronto from 1934 to 1957, and his partners would have been aware of this headquarters. The Imperial Oil Building didn’t have the oaa building’s floating appearance or white steel frame, but its horizontal louvres and solid-brick end walls were similar. Architect Charles Cullum told me that he photographed the Imperial Oil Building before he moved to Newfoundland, since it was thought to be an example of noteworthy design in Newfoundland architecture in the 1960s. This building was featured at the end of the “Industry and Commerce” chapter, and it has survived fairly intact as of this writing.

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C h a p t e r nin e

F e d e ra l P u b l i c W o r k s

9.1 (facing page) Gander Airport International Departure Lounge, designed by Craig, Madill, Horwood, Abram, and Ingleson, 1959; Canadian Architectural Archives, Panda Photography Collection, University of Calgary.

Federal buildings featured in the seven-page chapter of Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province titled “Federal Public Works” are the Gander Airport Terminal, the Post Office on Water Street in St John’s, the Customs Building (later renamed the Sir Humphrey Gilbert Building) in St John’s, a Department of Transport Building on the south side of St John’s harbour, and smaller federal office buildings in the towns of Grand Bank, Burin, Corner Brook, Harbour Grace, Bonavista, and Port Aux Basques.1 Construction of Gander Airport began in 1936, and the facility was under military control during the Second World War. After the war, the airport reverted to civilian use, and it remained an essential stop for many transatlantic flights from North American cities well into the 1960s. A new terminal building was designed for the airport, and Queen Elizabeth II opened it on 19 June 1959 (Figure 9.2). Craig, Madill, Horwood, Abram, and Ingleson of Toronto, Ottawa, and St John’s were the architects. Clad with a colourful curtain wall,2 it was a flat-roofed structure with a control tower at the centre of low-rise wings. The interior of the terminal’s international-departure lounge retains its original appearance, except for an enclosed glass and aluminum corridor added recently for security reasons (Figure 9.1). Alan C. Elder, curator of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, considers it to be the single most important modernist room in Canada.3 The original terrazzo floor, with its abstract pattern evoking the works of Piet Mondrian, is in perfect condition. The “Prismasteel” furniture with blue cushions, designed by Robin Bush and used in many Department of Transport buildings, is still in use. This furniture is arranged into enclaves that congenially match the scale and geometry of the floor pattern. Upstairs in the old vip lounge, now just another waiting area, the original yellow “Chadwick” sectional furniture designed by Charles and Ray Eames is still in use.4 The staircase to the departure area is made of terrazzocovered slabs. It gently curves out at the base, imparting a sense of movement and providing a visual counterpoint for the orthogonal geometry of the lounge. The staircase and mezzanine guardrails have sloped wood handrails mounted on top of tapered posts made of flat-stock aluminum. The international-departure lounge has a seventy-two-foot-long mural painted on-site by Kenneth Lockhead (Figure 9.3). It was commissioned in 1958 as part of a closed competition limited to five artists. An information sheet at Gander Airport offers an insight into the creation of the mural: “Those who worked at the airport at the time remember how Mr. Lockhead mixed a batch of eggs each morning before he began his work, as the paint was egg-tempered. He would then climb a ladder and 143  F e d e r a l P u b l ic W o r k s

9.2 Gander Airport; Canadian Architectural Archives, Panda Photography Collection, University of Calgary.

9.3 Gander Airport International Departure Lounge mural by Kenneth Lockhead, 1959; Canadian Architectural Archives, Panda Photography Collection, University of Calgary.

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9.4 Sir Humphrey Gilbert Building, St John’s, designed by Lawson, Betts, and Cash with A.J.C. Paine, 1959; Angus J. Campbell archives. 9.5 Water Street Post Office, St John’s, designer unknown, 1958; Angus J. Campbell archives.

begin. Characterization of each figure has been attempted in order to portray the feelings that humans often experience in association to flying.”5 As Adam Leith Gollner6 and Nancy MacDonald have written, many world leaders and celebrities passed through this lounge, including Winston Churchill, Nikita Khrushchev, Richard Nixon, Ingmar Bergman, the Beatles, Albert Einstein, and Jackie Onassis. Fidel Castro passed through Gander Airport several times, occasionally meeting with Joey Smallwood.7 Once, when he saw snow for the first time, he went tobogganing with local Newfoundlanders.8 By the 1960s, the presence of the federal government was evident in St John’s in two major buildings: the Customs Building and the Post Office on Water Street. The Sir Humphrey Gilbert Building, as it became known, was the first high-rise office building in the east end of the city (Figure 9.4). Designed by Lawson, Betts, and Cash in association with A.J.C. Paine and completed in 1958,9 it is situated in the centre of 145  F e d e r a l P u b l ic W o r k s

what was later designated a Heritage Conservation District. At the time of its construction, even though it was not very high (only six storeys) compared to many contemporary office buildings, it dwarfed the low-rise two- and three-storey residential structures across Duckworth Street and blocked the sun as well as views of the harbour. The Gilbert Building was completely renovated in the 1990s. An unknown architectural firm from outside the province designed the St John’s Post Office, with its elegant stone exterior cladding (Figure 9.5). Its architectural elements and materials echo those seen on post offices in other eastern Canadian cities designed in this era. Unfortunately, it was decommissioned as part of a nationwide plan to relocate postal outlets to in-store kiosks. Post offices are no longer the public gathering places they used to be, and mailing a letter in a drug store nowadays first requires a procession through the aisle for analgesics.

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Chapter ten

P r o v i n c i a l a n d m u n i c i pa l Public Works

Featured in the eight-page chapter in Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province titled “Provincial and Municipal Public Works” are the provincial government buildings in St John’s and Corner Brook1 and public libraries, fire halls, and municipal buildings from around the province. One of the most significant provincial public works in the book is Confederation Building (Figure 10.2). In the mid-1940s, Newfoundland’s government started planning for a “Civil Service Building” in St John’s. Government offices were not centralized at the time, and the Civil Service Building was intended to solve this problem. Professor John Bland from the McGill University School of Architecture consulted on this project, and in his letter of August 1946 to the Commission of Enquiry on Housing and Town Planning he recommended that “an area be set aside for government buildings and a program outlined for the gradual development of a group of buildings that would be suitable for the departments of government.”2 Not long after Confederation, the name of the building changed from Civil Service Building to Confederation Building. Confederation Building was completed in 1960, and the architect was A.J.C. Paine, in association with Lawson, Betts, and Cash.3 Paine started working on this project in 1956, and financing was by a leaseback arrangement to the provincial government.4 The landscape architect for the project was Gordon Culham from Bolton, Ontario, and the contractor was Whitney-Hanson.5 Queen Elizabeth laid the cornerstone in June 1959 to mark the tenth anniversary of Newfoundland’s union with Canada. William Callahan wrote about the construction of Confederation Building: In time the politicians would move to the modern Confederation Building skyscraper that would rise on the St. John’s northeast landscape. It was built under a leaseback financing arrangement, a turnkey contract for 25 years at $665,000 a year, by Whitney-Hanson Ltd. of Hackensack, N.J. The same firm undertook in 1959 to construct, on a similar contract, the initial buildings of the new Memorial University campus. Newfoundland Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd., a Crosbie & Company subsidiary, was principal subcontractor. The city pretty well ended at Empire Avenue, and many said, “Joey must be crazy to put the government so far out in the country!”6

10.1 (previous page) City Hall, St John’s, designed by John B. Parkin, 1970; City of St John’s Archives.

Allan Byrne wrote a “Commemorative Integrity Statement” on Confederation Building in 2008, which claimed that Paine was originally from Trinity, Newfoundland.7 Paine designed a house at 217 East Keith Road in North Vancouver in 1911,8 so it is possible that his family moved from Newfoundland to Vancouver sometime before this date. 148   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

10.2 Confederation Building, St John’s, designed by A.J.C. Paine in association with Lawson, Betts, and Cash, 1960; City of St John’s Archives.

Paine studied architecture at McGill University, and he designed the MacDonald Park Sports Facilities at McGill in 1920.9 According to Byrne, Paine’s Newfoundland projects prior to Confederation Building were Prince of Wales Collegiate, the Tuberculosis Sanitarium, the General Hospital, and the Waterford Hospital.10 Paine also worked on the old Memorial College (Normal School) on Merrymeeting Road and on Memorial Stadium, both in St John’s, as well as the Sun Life Insurance Company buildings in Montreal and Toronto since he was at one time a Sun Life staff architect.11 Paine must have been extraordinarily energetic to be able to devote so much time to projects in Newfoundland in addition to his projects on the mainland, especially in an era when travel was not very convenient. Despite this, Paine was rejected for honorary membership in the Newfoundland Association of Architects on 18 December 1959.12 Confederation Building, which appears today as a somewhat architecturally naive caricature of a seat of government power,13 is nevertheless one of Newfoundland’s few post-Confederation buildings that has a sense of public decorum and monumentality. Built on a prominent site overlooking St John’s, the building provides a commanding view of the historic core of the city and Signal Hill. The front of the building is oriented towards The Narrows – the channel leading into St John’s harbour. A 149  P r o vincia l an d M u nici p a l P u b l ic W o r k s

10.3 Office interior, Confederation Building; mun. 10.4 Interior of the lantern, Confederation Building; mun.

wide entrance stairway, often used for media events and protests, leads to a symmetrical, central tower with flanking wings. Detailing is restrained modernism, with a touch of Art Deco. Present-day building managers might consider the basic design of the building too extravagant. Its office wings have a thin profile, and its central hallways permit most rooms to have operable windows for direct ventilation and light (Figure 10.3). The building is topped by a steel and glass lantern (Figure 10.4). At night this lantern is a prominent landmark, since it not only makes a connection with Newfoundland lighthouses but also reassures Newfoundlanders that government never sleeps. Confederation Building is clad with a combination of brick14 and turquoise-coloured metal curtain-wall infill panels, and Byrne points to the possible connection to the cladding of the early Memorial University buildings with which Paine was involved. Byrne also notes two possible precedents for Confederation Building: Vancouver’s City Hall (Figure 10.5), designed by Townley and Matheson and completed in 1936, and the Nebraska State Capital building, designed by Bertram G. Goodhue and completed in 1932. I think the more likely precedent was Vancouver’s City Hall,15 considering the scale of this building and also Paine’s connection with the city of Vancouver. 150   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

10.5 Vancouver City Hall, designed by Townley and Matheson, 1936; date of image unknown, photo in Angus Campbell’s archives.

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Byrne describes the importance of the setting for Confederation Building within a series of linear parks that physically and visually connected such prominent public buildings and complexes as the College of Trades and Technology, the Arts and Culture Centre, and Memorial University.16 It is likely no coincidence that both Smallwood’s private residence on Roaches Line and Confederation Building sat on top of hills that provided panoptic views, enabling Smallwood to survey his domain both at home and at work. The lobby of Confederation Building contains a mural by Harold B. Goodridge, a St John’s native (Figure 10.6).17 The mural, commissioned on 20 November 1959, was painted on three sheets of 4'x6' Masonite. In a letter dated 13 March 1959, architect Randolf C. Betts described his aspirations for the piece: “The mural should be some kind of allegorical composition – either representing the growth of the Province from the earliest settlers to the present industries, or else depict a historical scene such as the sailing ships coming into the harbour in St. John’s.”18 The completed mural includes key figures in the history of Newfoundland, such as John Cabot, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, and Sir David Kirke. Kirke is painted in a somewhat bizarre and comical manner, with the facial features of Premier Smallwood.19 For other persons depicted in the mural, there are facial resemblances to former Canadian prime ministers Mackenzie King and Louis St Laurent.20 Smallwood, masquerading as Kirke, appears to the right of Gilbert, as if welcoming him on the occasion of his first visit to the province. In the foreground is a Boy Scout cooking a meal of brook trout over a campfire with some children. Smoke from the campfire swirls around Gilbert’s feet, and he wears a regal costume representative of his period, with a fancy shirt, flowing cape, light-blue hose – possibly netherstockings – Milan bonnet, and sword. Kirke/Smallwood, also with sword, is dressed in period costume, although it is likely that Smallwood asked Goodridge to paint him in more robust and masculine working garb, as was always his preference. Kirke/Smallwood is not wearing tights, but instead sports loose-fitting breeches with high boots, as if he was used to Newfoundland’s rough wilderness conditions. He is not wearing a hat, and to the base of Smallwood’s characteristically modern slickedback haircut Goodridge has painted in an awkward sheaf of long hair.21 The lobby of Confederation Building is a double-height space with a balcony at the second floor. The floor is made of light-coloured travertine and marble, and the columns are clad in dark marble. C.H. Conroy, of the Department of Public Works, expressed reservations about the use of marble in a letter he wrote to John Wilkins of Whitney-Hanson22 on 4 November 1958: “The breakage on marble slabs in shipment 152   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

10.6 Partial view of the mural in the lobby of Confederation Building by Harold B. Goodridge, 1959; photo by Robert Mellin, 2010.

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and handling is very great. When we built the West Wing of the General Hospital in 1943 one slab was shipped from Montreal five times and arrived broken each time.”23 Another important provincial public work featured in Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province was the federally sponsored Arts and Culture Centre in St John’s (Figures 10.7, 10.8). The building was under construction at the time of publication, and so the book contains an artist’s rendering of it. Other than libraries, this was the only cultural building featured in the book. The St John’s Arts and Culture Centre was built at a cost of $8 million, including $2.5 million from the federal government, and opened in 1967.24 Its original program included a theatre, children’s library, art gallery, teaching facilities, restaurant, and auditorium. The centre was one of five provincial arts and culture centres constructed during the 1960s and 1970s; the others were located in Gander, Grand Falls, Corner Brook, and Stephenville. Around the time that Nova Scotia architect Keith L. Graham was working on Queen’s College in the mid-1960s, Premier Smallwood told him he would be the architect for this building.25 The project was, however, eventually awarded to Cummings and Campbell in association with arcop. On 21 February 1963 G.W. Cummings wrote to Premier Smallwood to clarify the terms of reference for this project: That we would be retained by the Government as architects for the new Cultural Centre on the basis that we would start work immediately to prepare preliminary drawings which when completed would be presented to you for your approval. In the event that we are unable to satisfy you with our drawings and our concept of what the new Cultural Centre should be like we would still retain the work on the basis that we would associate with some other architectural firm that would meet with your approval and turn out a new set of preliminary drawings in close consultation with this firm but that any agreement with this firm would be between us and them and not between the Government and them so as to leave us, a local firm, still handling the project.26

One month later, Cummings and Campbell seemed resigned to partnering with a firm from outside the province: “We are keenly aware of the importance of this project and what it would mean to Newfoundland. We therefore feel that we should not limit this design to our own talents, and with this in mind we have conferred with the prominent Canadian firm of Affleck, Desbarats, Dimakopoulos, Lebensold, Sise whom we would use as associates in the event that we were given this commission.”27 154   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

10.7 Model, St John’s Arts and Culture Centre, designed by Cummings and Campbell in association with arcop, 1967, with (from left to right) George Cummings, Premier Smallwood, singer Mary Lou Farrell, and Angus J. Campbell; Angus J. Campbell archives.

10.8 Model, St John’s Arts and Culture Centre, 1967; photo by Robert Mellin, 2010.

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The architects of the St John’s Arts and Culture Centre may have been influenced by Louis Kahn’s Richards Medical Building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1957–61), since a preliminary rendering included brick towers with glazed infill panels similar to Kahn’s work.28 However, this influence was not apparent in the final design. The main performing hall has beautifully crafted cast-in-place concrete detailing for the balcony and side aisles. Before and after performances, light from many small ceiling lamps hides exposed structural elements as well as mechanical and electrical equipment (Figure 10.9). As Barbara Lambert wrote soon after the centre’s opening, “to the audience, the ceiling seems to be a canopy of stars. This delightful effect is created by thousands of five- and ten-watt bulbs on a dimmer system hanging below the catwalks and acoustical equipment above. This lighting method produces a desirable balance between actual size and apparent size. The actual size is that needed for reverberation time, but to the audience the visual barrier provides a small and intimate space. Ray Affleck calls the starlight an ‘energy feeling’ most appropriate to the theatre.”29 The dramatic atmosphere of the performance hall carries over into a generous, multilevel lobby, where the audience is put on stage. It is a place to see people and to be seen. The lighting in the lobby, combined with dark brick walls, a concrete structure, and slate floors, creates a dramatic public space though the use of very low and non-uniform levels of illumination. Newfoundland brickmaker Pelley-Shaw made the dark “rock faced” brick for the Arts and Culture Centre, and the brick-relief lobby mural designed by Montreal ceramist Maurice Savoie30 and illuminated by a large skylight was fired in Pelley-Shaw’s kiln (Figure 10.10). William Callahan described the opening of the St John’s Arts and Culture Centre: “Attending with the entire Cabinet and in company with federal Transport Minister J.W. Pickersgill, on 22 May 1967, Mr. Smallwood declared his ‘indescribable pleasure of declaring this centre open … in the hope that it will become a powerhouse, an inspiration for everything cultural in this province.’ He saw its role as being ‘the cultural heart of the province … a people’s place, and not merely for the arty-arty people, as important as they are, but for the toiling masses too.’”31 Other Newfoundland arts and culture centres originated from Expo ’67 in Montreal. Premier Smallwood announced the purchase of two Expo ’67 buildings on 17 October 1967, identifying only one of them – the Czech pavilion.

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10.9 Auditorium, St John’s Arts and Culture Centre, 1967; photo by Robert Mellin, 2010. 157  P r o vincia l an d M u nici p a l P u b l ic W o r k s

10.10 Brick relief mural in the lobby of the St John’s Arts and Culture Centre, designed by Maurice Savoie, 1967; photo by Robert Mellin, 2009.

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10.11 Southern Newfoundland Seaman’s Museum, Grand Bank, re-erected by Horwood, Guihan, Cullum, 1967, formerly the Yugoslavian Pavilion at Expo ’67, architects unknown; photo by Robert Mellin, 2007.

It is with very special pride and satisfaction that I announce today the Government’s success in obtaining two different pavilions from Expo to be brought to Newfoundland. One of these is the two-building pavilion of Czechoslovakia, which is one of the most handsome pavilions among the hundred or more buildings at Expo. I prefer not to mention the name of the country from whom we have acquired the other pavilion, but will do so in the very near future. These two buildings will be dismantled carefully, crated and placed aboard a ship that we will charter for the purpose of bringing the buildings to the port of Botwood. From there one building [the Czech pavilion] will be trucked to Grand Falls and re-erected as the Arts and Culture Centre for that town and area. The other will be trucked to Gander and re-erected there as an Arts and Culture Centre for that town and area.32

The other building, the Yugoslavian pavilion (Figure 10.11), was purchased by the provincial government and moved to Grand Bank on the Burin Peninsula, not Gander as Smallwood initially announced, for reuse as the Southern Newfoundland Seaman’s Museum. It is situated to the north of the town on the main road and is still in use today. Its design represented abstract, angular sails. The building is on architect Robert Horwood’s list of projects from this era, and Charles Cullum told me that he was the architect responsible for the re-erection of the building. This was at the time 159  P r o vincia l an d M u nici p a l P u b l ic W o r k s

when Horwood was in partnership with Campbell and Guihan, and Charles Cullum was not yet a partner in the firm. The building’s re-erection was done in association with Lundrigan’s, a large Corner Brook construction firm that enjoyed regular patronage from the Smallwood administration. Cullum states that, contrary to Smallwood’s expectations, this building was not the bargain the government thought it would be. Many components were lost in transit, leaving little to rebuild with. The structure was designed in metric units, rather than the imperial units that Canadian builders used, and the local engineers had difficulty figuring out how the original structural calculations had been made. These had to be completely re-verified in imperial, and “eventually the building was cobbled together” with new exterior cladding.33 The Czechoslovakian pavilion from Expo ’67 was re-erected and modified for two buildings in Newfoundland. One-half of it became the Arts and Culture Centre in Grand Falls-Windsor (Figure 10.12). Architect Sir Christopher Barlow, in conjunction with Lundrigan’s, was commissioned for this work. Construction began in 1968, but, owing to problems with financing, the building did not open until 1971. The other half of the Czechoslovakian pavilion was shipped to Gander and partially incorporated into the construction of the Gander Arts and Culture Centre, which opened in 1971. The architectural firm of Dobush, Stuart, Burke, and Barlow reconfigured the Gander centre to accommodate a swimming pool, classroom, and cafeteria.34 The Newfoundland government initially negotiated terms to purchase the Czechoslovakian pavilion, but the structure was later presented as a gift from the Czechoslovakian government to Newfoundland in appreciation of rescue efforts following the crash of a Czechoslovakian airliner on 5 September 1967 at Gander International Airport.35 Miroslav Repa and Vladimir Pycha, the original architects for the building, adopted a minimalist and orthogonal design, creating the appearance of a floating, rectangular prism, delicately supported by dark brick corner piers that recede into the background. “The pavilion’s architecture was of extreme simplicity. Its walls were mainly of tinted glass on the ground level, and a solid screen of ceramic panels above. While plain, the beauty was reserved for the objects on display within.”36 The steel structure was prefabricated in Czechoslovakia and shipped to Canada. Czech glass and ceramics figured prominently in the exhibition materials, and the projecting upper part of the pavilion’s exterior was clad in Czech ceramics. One exhibit in the Czechoslovakian pavilion during Expo ’67 was a “diapolyecran” mural composed of 112 two-foot-square cubes, each containing two slide projectors 160   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

10.12 Arts and Culture Centre, Grand Falls, re-erected by Sir Christopher Barlow, 1971, formerly the Czechoslovakian Pavilion at Expo ’67, designed by Miroslav Repa and Vladimir Pycha; photo by Robert Mellin, 2008.

and constantly shifting its position. “Flipping them at a rate of five seconds, the 224 projectors flashed 15,000 colour slides in 14 minutes [displaying] ‘The Creation of the World,’ the story of how man changes raw materials into products.”37 The industrial theme of this mural was bound to please Premier Joey Smallwood, who almost certainly viewed this exhibit at Expo ’67. This theme related to an interesting undercurrent of Expo ’67 and other international exhibitions: the role of modern architecture in the propaganda of the Cold War era.38 Smallwood was reluctant to stop with the purchase of only two Expo ’67 pavilions, and in his 17 October 1967 press release he announced: I personally examined a large number of pavilions and buildings at Expo, and have had a team of several men stationed in Montreal for several weeks past to make careful inspections of certain buildings at Expo, and carrying on certain negotiations in the Newfoundland Government’s behalf. We are in hopes of acquiring perhaps two other 161  P r o vincia l an d M u nici p a l P u b l ic W o r k s

pavilions in addition to the two that we have already acquired. As soon as I am in a position to do so I shall inform the Newfoundland people of the degree of success we have achieved, and when the House of Assembly opens in the coming winter I will, of course, give all the financial details of what these buildings will cost by the time they are brought to Newfoundland, re-erected, winterized, and made ready for use by the general public.39

In the same press release, Smallwood stated that the two-building Czechoslovakia pavilion cost four million Czech dollars for the structures alone and eleven million dollars with the addition of the exhibits and facilities. In his clever crafting of the announcement, Smallwood almost managed to present the purchase as an incredible bargain, as if it had resulted in a savings of seven million dollars.40 Since neither pavilion was originally designed for re-erection, this bargain was an illusion, but the possibility of making a symbolic connection with the modern architecture of Expo ’67 was very real. If Smallwood’s team of several men were in fact experts in building construction, they would have been aware of the logistical and financial implications of re-erection in Newfoundland. The pavilion was originally designed for a summer exposition, and would have to be moved to a remote location that often experienced severe weather conditions. However, these men may have been reluctant to contradict Smallwood or to dampen his enthusiasm for the project. One of the most architecturally significant modernist municipal buildings in the province is Ontario architect John B. Parkin’s St John’s City Hall, which opened in 1970 (Figure 10.1). Parkin’s design is derivative of Boston City Hall, designed by the architectural firm of Kallman, McKinnell, and Knowles and completed in 1968.41 St John’s City Hall continued the process of slum clearance and urban renewal begun in the early 1950s in central St John’s. The main design emphasis is placed on the front of the building along New Gower Street, with large glass areas that provide views towards the harbour from an interior concourse. However, the fit between the building and its site is poorly resolved, since the building is placed in a large hole blasted out of the hillside. This results in awkward and unusable leftover space and, as well, a dangerous cliff behind the building that prohibits possibilities for expansion. It also creates a physical barrier between the building and the old residential neighbourhoods on the hill above City Hall. The wide steps in front of the St John’s City Hall, similar to those leading up to the main entrance of Confederation Building, create space for a public forum. These wide 162   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

steps continue into the interior concourse as if stepping up the steep hill behind the building, providing generous access to all floors. The cast-in-place concrete, used on both exterior and interior and textured by the vertical boards of its formwork, was carefully detailed and constructed and has held up well. The Brutalist character of the building carried into the design of the parking garage to the east. For many years, a Second World War cannon was perched at the edge of the parking garage parapet, as if the garage were a giant military bunker. Concrete paving, ramps, retaining walls, and a clock tower extended its Spartan character into a plaza in front of the building. The later addition of an enclosed pedestrian bridge of unsympathetic design eroded this character.

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P ar t t h r e e

Two Newfoundland Architects

11.1 (previous page) Members of the naa attending the 1960 annual general meeting. Seated from left to right: George Cummings, Robbins Elliot (President, raic), Frederick A. Colbourne, Neil Stewart (guest architect from New Brunswick), and Robert Horwood. Standing from left to right: two unidentified persons, Frank Dove, William Brown, Cyril Congdon, Ernest Steinbrink, Brendan Murphy, Lloyd Hoskins, and Angus J. Campbell; naa Archives.

While many post-Confederation Newfoundland architects deserve note, two in particular stand out because of their consistent dedication to modern architectural design. Architects Frederick A. Colbourne and Angus J. Campbell were near contemporaries, and they followed similar paths to professional registration in the naa. Both were superb draughtsmen who apprenticed with Newfoundland architects, and both took correspondence courses with the International Correspondence School (ics). Both pursued drawing and painting in their spare time, with a focus on Newfoundland’s architecture and landscape. Their architectural designs evolved over time but demonstrated consistent form and detail within particular periods. Colbourne and Campbell were highly successful in their pursuit of modern archi­ tecture. They persevered despite Premier Joey Smallwood’s tepid and, at times, even reluctant endorsement of the Newfoundland Association of Architects and his limited tolerance for architects in general. Early in their careers, both architects faced difficult odds. There were several reasons for this: they had not attended accredited professional colleges or university programs in architecture; they apprenticed to architects whose stature was not significantly recognized at the time; and their practices overlapped with the period when Smallwood was frequently shopping around for architects from outside the province. Colbourne retired earlier than is typical for most architects, many of whom do not establish their careers until they are in their forties and fifties. The talent Frank Noseworthy brought to Colbourne’s practice must be acknowledged, and some of the projects presented here reflect their successful collaboration late in Colbourne’s career. Campbell’s career was launched by his partnership with architect and engineer George Cummings, and they benefitted greatly over the years from the patronage of Premier Smallwood.

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Chapter eleven

Fr e d e r i c k A . C o l b o u r n e

Frederick Augustus Colbourne (1910–89) was one of the most creative architects in Newfoundland in the era straddling Confederation (Figure 11.2). He was born in Tilt Cove, Notre Dame Bay, and when he was two years old his family moved to the west end of St John’s. When he was young he enjoyed playing baseball. He was a member of the Church Lads Brigade (clb), and in school he did well in art and geometry.1 He attended Bishop Feild College and subsequently moved to Grand Falls, where his father obtained a position as a machinist with the paper mill. For a while, Frederick worked as a night watchman at the mill. Colbourne liked sailing and he had a snipe called the Wendiane. Later in life he became an avid curler. In 1962 his team won the British Consul’s Curling Championship, and he participated in the McDonald Brier the same year. Colbourne originally wanted to become a cartoonist so that he could use his artistic ability. Hoping for a more secure future, he began to study architecture through an apprenticeship with William D. McCarter and by taking courses with the ics. He was a founding member of the Newfoundland Association of Architects. Later, he was a volunteer member of the Anglican School Board, advising on building matters. Colbourne obtained some work from this position, but, as was common then, he was expected to discount his fee. Colbourne married Jean Charles in 1938. The Colbournes had four daughters: Wendy, Diane, Karen, and Roma. In 1950 Colbourne and his family moved to 16 Chestnut Place, to a house he designed. The Colbournes also built a country house in Topsail, west of St John’s, and called it “Topsail Top.” Colbourne’s daughters penned the following description of daily life with their father:

11.2 (previous page) Self-portrait by Frederick A. Colbourne, early 1930s; Colbourne family archives.

We now think of him as a very modern man, husband, and father in contrast to that era of the 1940s and 1950s. Of course, we did not think of him that way at the time as his children. He worked hard at the office and felt very proud at times in a quiet way of his ability to provide a good life for us – much more than he or mom had ever had as children. His proudest accomplishment was his ability to provide secondary educations for all of us in a time when his friends often teased him for wasting money on four girls who would of course get married and “stay home.” The neat thing is, that was not his concern and he knew we would appreciate, use, and benefit from higher education, whatever our career choices. He was a modern husband, helping mom with house chores, and vacuumed every Saturday, whether he wanted to or not. While useless in the cooking department, he did dishes more often than not, and felt it was his place to help mom, who he felt was 170   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

11.3 Newfoundland scene, pen-and-ink drawing by Frederick A. Colbourne, 1935; Colbourne family archives.

overworked with all of us. He spent countless hours driving mom about and was very patient in this respect, always waiting in the car while she shopped, something he hated unless it was for records, art, or books that were his main interests.2

11.4 Newfoundland scene, pen-and-ink drawing by Frederick A. Colbourne, 1935; Colbourne family archives.

Colbourne undertook drawing and painting early in his career (Figures 11.3–11.6), and, although he did not intensively continue in these pursuits while practising architecture, he returned to painting late in his career. He often worked on sketches of projects at home, and when the children were growing up he was an avid photographer. During the Depression years, he would often paint on top of previous paintings to save money, and his wife tried to save as many of these paintings from destruction as she could. Colbourne’s practice was based in St John’s, and he did not travel very much. His early projects date from the time of his apprenticeship and subsequent partnership with William D. McCarter. His later projects were done either on his own or, towards the end of his career, in partnership with Frank Noseworthy. Colbourne’s projects varied in type and scale over the years, and included the American Aerated Water Company Building (Figures 2.8, 2.9), Cornwall Theatre (Figures 2.8, 2.9), St Michael’s Anglican School (Figure 2.10), MacPherson Academy, the Royal Bank Building, Terra Nova Motors, an office building on Rawlins Cross, O’Brien’s Fruit Store, Holland Hall 171  F r e d e r ic k A . C o l b o u r n e

11.5 Winterton, Newfoundland scene, oil painting by Frederick A. Colbourne, 1974; Colbourne family archives. 11.6 La Manche, Newfoundland scene, oil painting by Frederick A. Colbourne, 1972; Colbourne family archives.

on the St Bonaventure’s College campus, Bishop’s College, St Mary’s College, Blackhall School, Bishop Abraham Junior High, Fieldian Gardens, and St Michael and All Angels Church. Colbourne designed many private residences, including those for the Wilansky, Clouston, MacDonald, Giannou, Swersky, Anderson, White, and Silver families. His daughters recall, “He designed furniture to fit in the modern houses as many architects did, especially in the 1950s and 1960s, including our own – the twin beds, coffee table, end tables, and ottomans.”3 He also designed a modern model home that was auctioned for charity by the Kinsmen. Colbourne began his architectural career as a draughtsman for William D. McCarter, himself an excellent draughtsman. In 1929 Colbourne produced exquisite drawings for McCarter’s First United Church in Corner Brook (Figure 11.7). The building’s structure and also many of its exterior features were made of cast-in-place concrete with block infill panels, similar to many other contemporary buildings in Newfoundland. McCarter and Colbourne joined forces in the mid-1940s to establish the firm of McCarter and Colbourne Architects. The firm set up offices in the Royal Bank Building and some time later moved to the Muir Building. Two noteworthy projects Colbourne designed in this era were the American Aerated Water Company Building and the 172   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

11.7 Drawing by Frederick A. Colbourne for architect William D. McCarter’s First United Church, Corner Brook, 1940; collection of Frank Noseworthy.

Cornwall Theatre. Another project from this period was Colbourne’s design for MacPherson Academy in the east end of St John’s, constructed in 1948, also built in cast-in-place concrete. This building had traditional detailing but used small, regularly spaced recessed squares, similar to Charles Rennie Macintosh’s Arts and Crafts work, on the arches above doors and in panels between windows. One of McCarter and Colbourne’s small-scale modern projects was the 1948 design of a fruit store for M.J. O’Brien Ltd. It was to be located on the corner of Military Road and Barnes Road in the east end of St John’s. The colour drawings of the project, called the “Orange Bowl,” show two alternatives for the exterior, one with more conventional rectangular fenestration (Figure 11.8) and the other with rounded, streamlined fenestration (Figure 11.9). Client and architect must have compromised on the final design, since the building was constructed with rectangular windows and a curved corner wall (Figure 11.10). This cast-in-place concrete building is still in use today. 173  F r e d e r ic k A . C o l b o u r n e

11.8 Elevation drawing of a fruit store for M.J. O’Brien Ltd, St John’s, designed by McCarter and Colbourne, 1948; St Michael and All Angels archives. 11.9 Elevation drawing of a fruit store for M.J. O’Brien Ltd, 1948; St Michael and All Angels archives.

11.10 Fruit store for M.J. O’Brien Ltd, 1948; photo by Robert Mellin, 2010.

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Colbourne’s floor plans show details of the bins for the display of the fruit, anticipating his design of built-in cabinetry in his residential designs of the 1950s. Colbourne and McCarter’s partnership dissolved in the early 1950s, but they remained in contact, and McCarter continued to ask Colbourne to produce drawings for the construction company he founded.4 Colbourne then opened his own office at 5 Church Hill, and he hired Frank Noseworthy, who would later become his partner.5 At any one time Colbourne had two or three draftsmen in his office, in addition to Noseworthy. He limited the size of the projects he took on in order to avoid expanding his staff. Architects from outside the province often asked Colbourne to be an associate architect on Newfoundland projects. One such firm called to ask about his political affiliation, at that time a prerequisite for getting certain projects. His daughters recall, “Dad thought it was funny and said he was not interested in politics. He said they were all crooks!”6 According to Colbourne family members, firms that offered political support to both Liberals and Conservatives approached him, but Colbourne was not interested in any political affiliations and this ultimately cost him work. In 1958 architect Arthur B. Scott from Ontario wrote to Premier Smallwood about working with Colbourne (it is possible that Scott was the architect who inquired about Colbourne’s political affiliations): I did uncover Fred Colbourne, whom I find from various sources, has no known political affiliations, and appears to have remained clear of any trouble. Personally, I found him most friendly and co-operative and very honest in his approach – and after some dis­ cussion, he appeared quite enthusiastic about the prospect of linking himself with us. However, before I make any moves in this direction, I would like to ask your advice on this man, and your opinion of our possible partnership with him … In short, I certainly do not want to ally myself with anyone in Newfoundland, to whom you have any objection.

Muriel Templeman, personal assistant to Premier Smallwood, wrote to Scott: “Replying to your letter, the Premier has asked me to say that he has had the matter checked and finds that Mr. Colbourne is a very satisfactory person.”7 One of Colbourne’s earliest modern residential designs was for Ellwood and Vera MacDonald and their son Vaughn on Forest Avenue in the east end of St John’s (Figures 11.11–11.14), completed in 1952.8 The MacDonalds moved to Newfoundland from Nova Scotia in the early 1930s. Ellwood MacDonald was a pharmacist, and his 175  F r e d e r ic k A . C o l b o u r n e

11.11 MacDonald Residence, St John’s, designed by Frederick A. Colbourne, 1952; photo by Robert Mellin, 2003.

11.12 Plan, MacDonald Residence.

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11.13 Ellwood MacDonald standing by the frontwalk trellis shortly after the construction of his house, 1953; photo courtesy Vaughn MacDonald. 11.14 Main bedroom built-in closet, MacDonald Residence; photos by Robert Mellin, 2003.

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pharmacy was in the old Newfoundland Hotel, close to their home.9 The low, modern, single-level MacDonald Residence dramatically contrasts with the traditional houses in its neighbourhood. According to Vaughn MacDonald, the house made quite an impression when it was first constructed, since the only other flat-roofed houses at that time were in the newer residential areas of Churchill Park and vicinity.10 The flat roof had thick, cantilevered eaves with built-up roofing11 using the latest technology available at the time. The exterior cladding was striated plywood with a wide, twenty-four-inch coursing, a material Colbourne used in his 1953 design for the Clouston Residence (Figure 11.15). This material has held up remarkably well over the years considering Newfoundland’s damp climate. Frank Noseworthy described Colbourne’s use of this new material: “Fred was rather imaginative in the materials that he used. In other words, unless someone really wanted it, he never went with anything like clapboard. He experimented a lot with how he did things.”12 The original colour of the plywood was light blue, and there were accent panels with narrow, vertical tongue-and-groove boards around the den corner windows next to the main entrance and also by the side entrance to the kitchen. The walk from the street to the front door passes under the main roof. This passageway is screened from the view of the driveway by a wood trellis of modern design with planters (Figure 11.13). Another trellis with an abstract pattern is at the end of this passageway, on the wall to the right of the front door. A secondary walkway permits a shortcut from the parking area at the back of the house to the main entrance, and this shortcut passes by the corner windows of the den. The eave of the main roof extends around the front of the house and varies in depth. Its projection, along with a wide band of windows at the front, establishes a horizontal character to the house. The high clerestory roof above the den and the entrance hallway adds a threedimensional sculptural effect that is visually more interesting than a single flat roof. The entrance vestibule has translucent, vertically ribbed glass in the exterior door sidelight and on top of a low, solid wall that forms the interior wall of the vestibule. The ceiling is eight feet high in the foyer and becomes higher towards the living room to admit light into the hallway from clerestory windows. To the right of the foyer is a den that also has a high ceiling with clerestory windows. The den’s fireplace has built-in bookshelves that partially overlap the chimneystack. Similar fireplace details are used in the living room fireplace. The MacDonald Residence has a fairly open plan, with a large living room at the back of the house that is open to the dining room towards the east. The living room 178   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

windows face south, and the dining room windows form a corner window. Next to the dining room on the east side of the house is the kitchen, which has two small skylights above its windows. Custom-designed wood cabinets are built into the living room and dining room. A door from the foyer leads to the hallway to the bedrooms located at the front of the house. There are three bedrooms in all, with the main bedroom located at the front, northeast corner of the house. The main bedroom has a unique, circular storage unit that Mrs. MacDonald was fond of demonstrating to visitors (Figure 11.14). In 1953 Colbourne designed a modern house for the Clouston family (Figures 11.15–11.18). Donald Clouston was the general manager for Terra Nova Motors and former owner of the Nash automobile dealership in St John’s. The Clouston Residence is located on the east end of Elizabeth Avenue at the corner of Rostellan Street, across from Rennie’s River.13 It has a simple rectangular shape, but this shape is carefully nuanced to enhance light and views in the principal spaces and to add depth to the exterior. The house was designed as a series of subtly layered rectangular forms from east to west: a rectangular, projecting, two-storey bay window; a slight widening between the front corner of the house and the main entrance; a slight projection of the main entrance that continues across the recessed entrance porch; and the main volume of the house. The main entrance to the house faces Rostellan Street. The design of trim adds a degree of monumentality to what could have been a rather banal entrance. This trim surrounds the front entrance and is carried over narrow, vertical windows with deep window jambs that function as a visual screen in the entrance vestibule. It continues over the recessed entrance to capture the ends of windows in the den next to the main entrance. Alvar Aalto applied the same type of detail on many of his public buildings in Finland, often using a material that contrasted with the rest of the cladding to identify the location of the main entrance. The main entrance is accessed by way of steps leading to a raised terrace on the southwest side of the house, since Colbourne was very careful with the house’s solar orientation. The terrace provides a semi-private open space. A large, rectangular chimney stack faced with Shaw “Rough-Tex” brick and a concrete cap is an important compositional element in the building. It acts as a pivot on the corner, separating the utility area of the garage from the corner bay window of the living room. The basic arrangement of the principal rooms of the main floor of the Clouston Residence (Figure 11.17) is similar to that of the MacDonald Residence. The living and 179  F r e d e r ic k A . C o l b o u r n e

11.15 Clouston Residence, St John’s, designed by Frederick A. Colbourne, 1953; photo by Robert Mellin, 2000.

11.16 Entrance detail, Clouston Residence; photo by Robert Mellin, 2006.

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dining area in the former are towards the front on its corner lot, showing Colbourne’s concern for sunlight and views, while those of the latter are at the back of the house, emphasizing the connection with the backyard as well as sunlight. The entrance leads to a small vestibule with narrow vertical windows and a built-in seat. The main hallway originally had four, plastic, vaulted, rectangular skylights, or “Sky Domes,” as they were named on the working drawings, with integrated fluorescent lighting.14 Three steps lead from the main hallway to a living room with a corner bay window and a fireplace (Figure 11.18). The fireplace is built into a tall and wide section of knot-free horizontal wood panelling with a six-inch coursing that extends into the dining area. Its appearance references the layered architectural elements and materials on the southwest elevation of the house. From the living room, three steps lead up to the dining room. A low, solid wall across from the stair separates the dining room from the kitchen. The kitchen includes a corner window and once had steel “Youngstown” cabinets made by Mullins Manufacturing of Warren, Ohio.15 The kitchen connects to a back hallway with the stairs to the basement and an adjacent service entrance. The den has built-in bookshelves and cabinets finished with “Leather Board.” Like Frank Lloyd Wright, Colbourne was interested in designing custom-made, built-in furniture in a way that seamlessly extended the sculptural quality of his architecture to his interiors. According to Frank Noseworthy, “Fred loved the work of Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright. He was critical like all of us of other works.”16 Noseworthy recounted a story about the cabinets in the den: “In the den, Don [Clouston] wanted to have a bar built in. But he didn’t want anybody in his family to know he had a bar there because there were some very strong teetotallers in his family. So Fred designed this literally hidden bar that was rather interesting. You could touch a button somewhere, and the thing just opened up; it had a sink in there and your liquor. But if somebody was sitting in the den it just looked like part of the panelling.”17 A secondary hallway leads to two small bedrooms and a bathroom. The master bedroom has an ensuite bathroom with a corrugated glass screen between the bathtub and the washbasin and a dressing room screened by a “Modernfold” (accordion) door. Its corner windows permit a view of the front door. Originally, it had regular closets and, according to the working drawings, a separate closet for hats. This master bedroom is on the southwest corner of the house, and Frank Noseworthy recalled why: “The master bedroom had to be in a certain position and the bed had to face a very definitive orientation, either east-west, or north-south (I can’t remember what it 181  F r e d e r ic k A . C o l b o u r n e

11.17 Main-floor plan, Clouston Residence, 30 March 1952; courtesy of James Randell Gushue.

11.18 Fireplace detail, Clouston Residence; photo by Robert Mellin, 2006.

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was), because Don was a very strong member of the Rosicrucians! I used to have long talks with him about that.”18 A full basement with garage is accessible from Elizabeth Avenue. The basement contained a large bedroom for the Clouston’s son, with a fireplace, built-in bunk beds, and a large bay window that matched the location, size, and detailing of the living room bay window. A trunk storage room, utility room, washroom, furnace room, laundry room, vegetable storage room, grocery/pantry room, and two rooms for grub storage were also in the basement. The owner of the house told me19 that several interior basement walls were constructed of concrete blocks in order to create a bomb shelter, but there is no label identifying a bomb shelter on the working drawings. The inclusion of two rooms for grub storage, however, seems to correspond with emergency preparedness and the use of a bomb shelter. Colbourne designed a Model Home for the Kinsmen around the same time, located across from Churchill Square on Elizabeth Avenue in St John’s (Figures 11.19– 11.24). The house was built in aid of the Kinsmen’s General Charitable Fund, and it was offered as the first prize in a raffle. Tickets were sold for one dollar each (Figures 11.20, 11.21) and on the tickets the house was described as “Model Home, Value $20,000.00, situated on Elizabeth Avenue.”20 Catherine Stokes, an elderly farmer from Logy Bay, won the raffle. Frank Noseworthy explained the origin of the project: At that particular time the Kinsmen Club was very strong here – well it is still strong here – but most of the clubs at that time were into a period of fundraising to carry out their community projects. And somebody at the Kinsmen who knew Fred came to him and said, look, we had a meeting, and somebody came up with the suggestion to build a house and put it up on tickets. So they sat down with Fred and said what we need is a saleable house, something that is going to be a family house, but we want something that is going to be eye-catching, not just your typical Cape Cod bungalow or anything like that, and that’s how the thing came about. The design was basically to be a little bit different than anything else around town. I think they did quite well.21

The detailing and materials of both the exterior and the interior of the Model Home are similar to those of Colbourne’s MacDonald Residence (Figures 11.11–11.14). The exterior is plain and understated. Its most prominent features are its large corner windows. Frank Noseworthy told me that he and Colbourne used scored plywood with grooves for the exterior cladding. 183  F r e d e r ic k A . C o l b o u r n e

11.19 Model Home for the Kinsmen, St John’s, designed by Frederick A. Colbourne, 1954; photo by Robert Mellin, 2008.

Fred had clad the outside of it with two materials: one of the materials that he used was plywood. He had a groove cut in the plywood so that the cladding on that section was broken up into rectangular pseudo panels. It looked quite good, actually. I remember the outside of it being done in that manner, and it was quite eye-catching at that time. He was also the type that picked all the colours for his exteriors. He never left it up to the owners to paint the thing in colours that he wouldn’t agree with. I remember that house was done in two colours, but the colours were beautifully integrated. One of them was, I hesitate to say, yellow, but it was probably more of a very pale, yellowish brown, but an unusual colour. He was good at that because he could mix colours. He could say to the painter, “Here’s what I want,” and the painter would go and match it somehow.22

Colbourne’s orthogonal and economical design contrasts basic horizontal and vertical forms, and the home resembles a simplified, miniature replica of Paul Meschino’s Goldstone Residence. The plan is typical of today’s conventional suburban split-level home, but when the house was built this plan was new to St John’s (Figure 11.22). A small front-entrance vestibule with translucent ribbed-glass sidelights leads to a transverse hallway with the combined living and dining room on the left and a half-flight of stairs to the bedroom wing to the right. The kitchen is across 184   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

11.20 Front of the winning ticket for the Model Home for the Kinsmen, 1954; courtesy of the Noftall family. 11.21 Back of the winning ticket for the Model Home for the Kinsmen, 1954; courtesy of the Noftall family. 11.22 First-floor plan, Model Home for the Kinsmen, 1954.

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from the entrance vestibule, and the dining room at the back corner of the house next to the kitchen. The dining area is partially separated from the living room by a translucent glass screen with a wide, vertically ribbed-pattern (Figure 11.23). Narrow, vertically ribbed-pattern glass is used in the entrance vestibule, for the clerestory windows in the bedroom-wing hallway, and for the sliding doors of the kitchen cabinets. The interior of the house appears deceptively large, owing to the corner windows and the open plan that allows diagonal views through the house. Light floods into the house throughout the day, and the present owners, Michael and Regina Noftall, especially appreciate the quality of light at sunrise and sunset. At sunset, the glazed screen between the living room and dining room glows with colour. Some visitors to the house have suggested removing this glass screen, since it does not look “domestic” to them. Others have stated that the flat roof should be covered with a conventional pitched roof. Fortunately, the Noftalls appreciate the modern features of their house. They even saved and reinstated the ribbed glass in the kitchen cabinets when they replaced the cabinet doors. Despite St John’s harsh climate and high snow load, the owners have had no trouble with the flat roof and it has provided excellent service over the years. Wilfred Whitemarsh Hoddinott was the contractor. Noseworthy described the construction situation when he practised with Colbourne: “Basically, there was a situation that existed at that time, which is not quite the way it is today. There was more of a friendly atmosphere between general contractors and architects. There weren’t that many general contractors, and Fred maintained a good relationship with all of them, but basically you’d end up preparing a set of plans and specifications, and these were literally followed right to the letter … There seemed to be a level of integrity that, unfortunately, I find doesn’t always exist today.”23 The Model Home for the Kinsmen had custom-designed wood cabinets. These are similar in detailing and materials to those at the MacDonald House. The fireplace and built-in shelving in the living room and dining room likely demonstrates Colbourne’s appreciation of Frank Lloyd Wright’s work (Figure 11.24). It creates the illusion of expansive space, as in many of Wright’s houses. The fireplace integrates elongated, custom-ordered Roman brick and wood elements. Shelves that are the thickness of the brick extend into the masonry coursing on one side of the fireplace. An interval of five bricks was placed between the shelves. Where the masonry chimney did not have to be as wide above the smoke chamber, a feature was made of the difference in width by continuing a section of plaster wall into the fireplace. The shelving tapers from wide by the fireplace to narrow by the dining room. This 186   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

11.23 Dining room glass screen, Model Home for the Kinsmen; photo by Robert Mellin, 2008.

11.24 Fireplace and built-in bookshelves, Model Home for the Kinsmen; photo by Robert Mellin, 2010.

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11.25 Church of St Michael and All Angels, St John’s, designed by Frederick A. Colbourne, 1956; St Michael archives.

11.26 Interior of the nave, Church of St Michael and All Angels; photo by Robert Mellin, 2006.

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11.27 Plan, Church of St Michael and All Angels, 1954; St Michael archives.

tapering effect adds to the dynamic, flowing space in the room and helps to make a graceful transition between the living room and dining room areas. Colbourne’s most creative non-residential project was his design for the Anglican Church of St Michael and All Angels (Figures 1.1, 11.25–11.30).24 In his design for the church, Colbourne achieved a fine level of custom detailing, even designing his own intricate door and window details.25 In 2010 the church was sold and converted into a recreation facility, but the building’s exterior has been preserved. The building is located in the west end of St John’s at the corner of LeMarchant Road and St Clare Avenue and next to St Clare’s Mercy Hospital. In her small book on the history of St Michael’s, Joyce Nevitt writes that the idea of building a new church on this site dated from the 1920s, and the sod-turning ceremony for the new building was held on 16 September 1945, many years before the start of construction.26 The exterior of St Michael’s was completed in 1955, and the interior in 1956. According to an article in St Michael’s archives written by J.P. Luscombe just before the church opened, “St. Michael’s was the first Anglican Church in St. John’s to declare for and advocate ‘free seats’ [abolition of pew rents] and to adopt such a ‘drastic’ step.” In the same article, Luscombe praises the church’s design, writing, “The church is very modern in design and a distinct departure from the ecclesiastical 189  F r e d e r ic k A . C o l b o u r n e

architecture of Newfoundland. On the Mainland of Canada and in the U.S.A., however, the tendency for some time has been toward the modern trend in church architecture.”27 St Michael’s had a long, rectangular nave with an east-west orientation, parallel to the contours of its sloped site. It could comfortably seat 850 persons and its chapel an additional 70 persons. The chapel’s glass doors could be opened to the nave. The floor of the nave was concrete with embedded radiant heating pipes. The concrete’s polished and coloured surface was intended to be exposed. Light troughs provided indirect artificial illumination, and clerestory windows provided daylight.28 Then and now, parking is on the south side at the corner of St Clare Avenue and LeMarchant Road, a half-level below the main floor. The building has one of the earliest drive-through entrance canopies for automobiles in St John’s, with a minimal clearance width. Wide steps to the main entrance porch are precariously close to the road (Figure 1.1). This porch has a low concrete screen wall that extends perpendicular to the south wall. Above this is a flat-roofed, cantilevered concrete canopy, angled to welcome pedestrians approaching the building from St Clare Avenue and balanced on either side of the extended wall. The ceiling height under this canopy may seem unusually low today, but it is not unlike many of Frank Lloyd Wright’s low-ceilinged entrance canopies.29 The main entrance door is reached after walking up three wide steps that are set at a slight angle in relation to the south wall. There is an exit door in the west wall of the porch that is framed in a carefully crafted, cast-in-place concrete relief. The chancel with its attendant apse was at the east end of the building (Figure 11.28), and a corresponding apse for the baptismal font, with ornamentation cast in its exterior concrete wall, at the west end. It is possible that a more typical pedestrianoriented narthex in the west wall was omitted in favour of an automobile-oriented side-entrance porch on the south wall, considering the relationship between the drop-off for cars and the parking lot. Along the south wall of the nave was a small chapel that projected beyond the main volume of the church. The building has a flat roof.30 Colbourne’s daughters point out that this roof was controversial: “The design was very modern and cutting-edge for the times, and we recall many parishioners didn’t like a flat-roofed, modern church that appeared ‘unchurchlike.’”31 Like McCarter and Colbourne’s early projects in St John’s, the building has exterior walls constructed in cast-in-place concrete with steel trusses supporting the roof. Its interior has traditional hard-plaster surfaces. According to Frank Noseworthy, “the only problem Fred had on St Michael’s was the inside of that 190   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

11.28 Carillon tower and entrance porch, Church of St Michael and All Angels; photo by Ned Pratt, 2000.

11.29 Carillon tower cross, Church of St Michael and All Angels; photo by Ned Pratt, 2000.

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11.30 Working drawing of sculptural relief on the carillon tower, Church of St Michael and All Angels; St Michael archives.

church was plastered. He was insistent that the plastering be done by John Conway from the Conway family. He ran into a bit of a problem with the diocese on that because John wasn’t of the faith. But Fred won out, he said, ‘that doesn’t bother me, I want a good plastering job done.’”32 On the exterior, Colbourne employed a repetitive, orthogonal, stepped ziggurat motif around doors and windows and on the apse-like semi-circular window on the west wall of the nave (Figure 11.25). This motif plays on light and shadow to produce softening and sculpting effects similar to those at Carlo Scarpa’s Brion Cemetery in San Vito d’Altivole, Italy, completed in 1972. The building’s geometrically intriguing carillon tower is carefully incorporated into the design of the main-entrance porch canopy (Figure 11.28). Its sculptural form features three crosses with tall and thin proportions: two lower crosses on the west and east walls, and a higher cross on the south wall. The crosses were once painted in a sky-blue colour (Figure 11.29). The south wall of the tower morphs into a small flat roof at the top of the tower, and this roof intersects with the vertical axis of the east- and west-wall crosses. Openings of various shapes and sizes in the concrete walls permit occasional views of the sky. 192   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

A grid of twelve small square openings cut into the south wall of the tower represents the twelve apostles. The cross on the south wall extends above the top of the tower to crown the overall composition. This cross is cast at an angle towards the principal view of the building, from the corner of the site at the intersection of St Clare Avenue and LeMarchant Road. Colbourne was confident in developing his own structural details when using concrete. An architect working on a similar project today would likely seek the input of an engineer. Colbourne’s working drawings show that he himself devised the spacing and diameter of the reinforcing rods for the intricate concrete forms of the carillon tower and many other concrete wall components. Cast into the lower part of the south wall of the carillon tower is a “tower figure.” Colbourne devoted all of sheet ten of the church’s working drawings to the careful detailing of this abstract robed figure (Figure 11.30). The tower figure faced the nave and appears to be symmetrical, since its overall width is symmetrical about a centre axis. There are, however, three folds in the robe on the left and two on the right. The figure’s hair terminates at varying angles, to add a natural effect, and comes to a point on the centre axis. The figure has a delicate two-inch and three-and-a-half-inch radii and its shallow bas-relief is as thin as one-inch deep. The nave appeared larger on the inside than the exterior suggested (Figure 11.26). A wood-panelled wainscotting at the height of the entrance door wrapped around the walls of the nave. Indirect incandescent lighting at the top of the wainscoting created the impression that the interior space extended beyond the actual enclosure of the nave and simultaneously added a sense of human scale to the proportions of the walls. For the chancel area, Colbourne designed the railings, pulpit, altar table, and choir seating to be constructed from oak. He also designed the oak-capped metal communion railings. The intersecting geometrical pattern of the metalwork for these railings was similar to that of the reveals of the chancel wainscoting and the ventilation grilles. The pulpit recalled the tapered layers of the robes of the tower figure on the carillon tower. Originally, it was integrated with Shaw’s Roman brick around the lower walls and the built-in seating of the chancel, but this brick was later removed.33 Colbourne devoted all of sheet seventeen of his working drawings to the design of the pulpit. Colbourne’s daughters recounted a story about their father’s involvement with the construction of St Michael’s. “There were birds in the building prior to its enclosure. Our father showed great pleasure in sharing with us the plan devised for eliminating the birds. The workmen sprinkled birdseed on the floor laced with rum bottled in 193  F r e d e r ic k A . C o l b o u r n e

11.31 Bishop’s College, St John’s, designed by Frederick A. Colbourne, 1959; City of St John’s Archives.

Newfoundland known as Screech. We can see now his animated face in the oft-retelling of this story that suited well his sense of humour.”34 In the 1960s Nova Scotia architect Keith L. Graham was hired for additional design work on St Michael’s and All Angels: stained glass for the apse, nave, and choir; an addition of a parish hall; and the renovation of the rectory.35 However, his work was not built, and a fairly utilitarian addition for a parish hall was constructed in the 1970s based on plans drawn by Stokes Construction. Colbourne’s office designed many schools in St John’s. In several of them, Colbourne used glass block in the exterior cladding. Examples can be seen in his 1959 design for Bishop’s College on Pennywell Road (Figure 11.31) and his 1961 design for St Mary’s on Waterford Bridge Road.36 The use of glass block in school design was common throughout North America in the 1950s, largely owing to the influence of William Caudill’s 1954 book Toward Better School Design.37 Frank Noseworthy described Colbourne’s school designs: “They had light-directional glass block in the windows. Those schools were interesting in that they had a central corridor, classrooms on each side, and the classrooms were twenty-two feet wide. Fred spanned the classroom with steel decking, and at that time, one of the steel deck companies was making decking about a foot deep and four inches wide, and he left that exposed. I remember that being one of the most economical schools that was built at that time.”38 194   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

11.32 Holland Hall, St Bonaventure’s College, St John’s, designed by Frank Noseworthy while working for architect Frederick A. Colbourne, early 1960s; photo by Robert Mellin, 2000.

A noteworthy school from this era is Holland Hall, on the St Bonaventure’s College campus, just behind the Basilica of St John the Baptist (Figure 11.32). According to Frank Noseworthy, this building was designed in the early 1960s, around the time that the building program for provincial vocational schools was initiated.39 This free-standing building was constructed in the southwest corner of the campus, and its placement along Mullock Street defines a large courtyard to the south of the main building of St Bonaventure’s, along Bonaventure Avenue. Trees planted along Bonaventure Avenue further enhance the courtyard, which is used mainly as an athletic field. Holland Hall is a modern building that contrasts with the historical detailing of its neighbouring buildings without calling attention to itself. It is a modest, rectangular building constructed in cast-in-place concrete and has large areas of glass block. In contrast to the large number of flimsy, post-Confederation school buildings in Newfoundland, this school is well built. Frank Noseworthy told me that he worked on Holland Hall before he became a partner with Colbourne, and he was given free rein for its design. Noseworthy recalls, “Fred was very easy to work with. He would give you sort of a rough sketch to do something, but would always say to you, if you can see a better way of doing that, feel free to do it, if you want to make some suggestions.”40 195  F r e d e r ic k A . C o l b o u r n e

The design of Holland Hall emphasizes the corner entrance facing the other St Bonaventure buildings. The clever and restrained entrance explores an issue that has preoccupied many architects: the problem of gracefully turning a corner. Wide steps fan out around the corner of the building, and crosses cut into the concrete walls mark both the east-facing entrance and its adjacent north-facing wall. A recessed panel above the main entrance contains the name of the building in small, modern metal lettering. It is aligned with the top of the first-floor windows and continues around the corner, where it forms a sculptural, concrete screen. Glass blocks above a narrow band of transparent, operable windows provide diffused day lighting for the classrooms. When viewed at night with the lights on, the artificial light filtering through the glass block produces a gentle, lantern effect. This building was vacant for several years before a private school opened at the St Bonaventure campus, and during that time vandals destroyed many of the original glass blocks. Colbourne entered into partnership with Frank Noseworthy in the early 1960s as Colbourne and Noseworthy, Architects.41 Colbourne and Noseworthy’s May 1963 design of the Silver Residence at 12 Rostellan Street in St John’s is a large one-storey, two-bedroom house with a full basement (Figure 11.33). The well-preserved exterior design emphasizes the horizontal, and this is achieved with several features: the low roof line with projecting eaves that cast bold shadows; the low stone walls that extend the form of the house into the landscape; the grouped window pattern with bold horizontal mullions; and the long slabs of angel stone used as exterior cladding. The roof eaves feature copper flashing with concealed gutters and regularly spaced mutule-like wood-block ornaments. The front entrance leads to an open living room and dining room at the north end of the house, and across from the entrance at the back of the house are the breakfast room, kitchen, and utility room (Figure 11.34). Located at the south end of the house are the garage, master bedroom, guest bedroom, and den, and there is a door from the garage to the master-bedroom dressing room. The basement has large areas for storage and utility, a recreation room, a workshop, and a Turkish bath. Colbourne and Noseworthy’s supplementary construction drawing from December 1963 converted the Turkish bath into a bomb or fallout shelter with reinforced-concrete-block interior walls and a dropped ceiling reinforced by two layers of four-inch concrete block, supported by a heavy wooden deck that rests on steel beams.42

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11.33 Silver Residence, St John’s, designed by Colbourne and Noseworthy, 1963; photo by Robert Mellin, 2009. 11.34 First-floor plan, Silver Residence, 1963.

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In 1965 Colbourne and Noseworthy worked on a proposed remodelling of 64 Monkstown Road in St John’s for Mr. and Mrs. A.K. Morrow (Figures 11.35, 11.36).43 This project involved the extensive modernization of a wood-frame house with a traditional mansard roof, but it was never built. The exterior was to remain largely intact using the original materials, cladding, and architectural elements. But the interior was to be enhanced by the creation of high ceilings for the principal rooms on the main floor. These high ceilings were to extend into the space of the mansard roof after the removal of the second-floor joists (Figure 11.35), a change that may have required structural reinforcement. Frank Noseworthy’s carefully crafted drawings show many details for changes to the interior and for the installation of custom built-in cabinetry. The colour interior renderings, using pastel green, purple, and brown colours, demonstrate the modern character the architects wished to achieve. Wall panelling, false beams, built-in beds and bookshelves, floating cabinets, cylinder and globe lights, delicate iron railings, and folding louvred doors hiding laundry appliances and built-in storage are all representative of mid-1960s interiors (Figure 11.35). Colbourne and Noseworthy’s partnership lasted until 1970, when Colbourne retired. His decision to retire at that time was, in part, to make way for others at a time of economic depression, and to avoid laying off staff with young families. During his retirement Colbourne enjoyed photography, painting, curling, and music.44 Reflecting on the legacy of Colbourne’s architectural-design work, one can conclude that his early 1950s projects for the MacDonald Residence, the Clouston Residence, and the Model Home for the Kinsmen, along with his design of St Michael’s and All Angels, prepared the way for modernism in post-Confederation Newfoundland. He demonstrated that both private and public clients were willing to accept modern design, and that local contractors had the ability to construct these projects.

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11.35 Drawing for renovation, Morrow Residence, St John’s, designed by Colbourne and Noseworthy, rendering by Frank Noseworthy, 1965; Frank Noseworthy archives.

11.36 Drawing for renovation, Morrow Residence; Frank Noseworthy archives.

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C h a p t e r t w e lv e

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12.1 (facing page) Angus J. Campbell in 1962; photo by Garland Studio, courtesy Rob Campbell.

Angus John Campbell (1924–2001) was one of the first post-Confederation Newfoundland architects to embrace modern architecture wholeheartedly (Figure 12.1). He began painting when he was young and continued throughout his life (Figure 12.2), and at an early age he became interested in architecture, particularly the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. Campbell felt that architects were really artists at heart.1 Angus was the son of John Campbell, a fisheries broker from St John’s, and Mary Halley, daughter of William and Annie Halley, owners of the prominent St John’s firm Halley and Company. He was born in St John’s in 1924 and grew up at 14 Topsail Road in a home built by James Hawe, his great-uncle. The house had wide porches, an expansive entrance, and many fine interior appointments. It inspired Campbell’s earliest appreciation of architecture. During the Second World War, Campbell studied at St Bonaventure’s College and delivered cables on Water Street in St John’s. He also was a well-known athlete, excelling in soccer, baseball, basketball,2 and track and field (Figure 12.3).3 Campbell formed life-long friendships with many sports-minded fellow students – Doug Eaton, Cyril Power, Myles Furlong, Ron Noah, and Earl Cowan – who went on to become active and prominent citizens of St John’s. At twenty-two, following graduation from St Bonaventure’s College, Campbell decided to become an architect and paid William Ryan a fee to apprentice. In 1948 he married Maureen O’Reilly. The Campbells lived in an apartment on Rennie’s Mill Road and eventually would have four children: Anne, Rob, Scott, and Sue. Angus had to put in long hours at the Ryan office in the Total Abstinence Society Building on Duckworth Street, and, newly married and expecting his first child, he asked Maureen to spend evenings with him in the office so they could keep each other company. Maureen remembers that she would sometimes knit in this office while waiting for her husband.4 Campbell worked for Ryan from 1945 to 1954.5 After taking a correspondence course in architecture from the International Correspondence School, with the help of George Cummings he became a registered member of the Newfoundland Association of Architects in 1956. He worked as a junior partner with Cummings from 1955 to 1966 (Cummings and Campbell, Architects and Engineers),6 in partnership with Robert Horwood and William Guihan from 1968 to 1971 (Horwood, Campbell, Guihan, Architects), and on his own from 1971 to 1994. In 1953 Campbell and his family moved to 29 Osbourne Street, to a house that he designed and built. It had a flat roof, in-floor radiant heating, and carport. The home was surrounded by expansive meadows, and impromptu track and field meets 201   A n g u s J . C am p b e l l

12.2 Painting by Angus J. Campbell, 1996; Angus J. Campbell archives.

12.3 Rear Admiral Rose, with Angus J. Campbell (right) and Geoff Stirling, after their St John’s track team won a 1945 meet against a U.S. military team from Argentina; Angus J. Campbell archives.

for all the Campbell and neighbourhood children took place there all summer long. Campbell set up a swimming pool and a homemade skating rink on his property, and he arranged ski-meets, toboggan races, and snow-football. Campbell was an enthusiastic sailor, and in the 1960s he purchased a large sailboat to use with his family.7 By the early 1960s, Cummings and Campbell had successfully obtained numerous commissions for architectural projects through Premier Joey Smallwood’s patronage, which began when Smallwood asked Cummings to design his house near Conception Bay. Cummings often lobbied Smallwood in an effort to secure projects, as seen in this 19 December 1962 letter he wrote to Smallwood concerning proposed new buildings for Memorial University: “As a follow up to the conversation we had in your office a few days ago we would like, if it is not already too late, to be considered as architects for these buildings or possibly any others that are contemplated.”8 Cummings and Campbell had an extremely busy practice. Their 1964 marketing brochure listed projects in the following categories: apartments, banks, beauty salons, department stores, drug stores, dry-cleaning plants, hotels, fish plants, medical buildings and clinics, offices, religious buildings, schools including vocational and trade schools, supermarkets, trust companies, combined warehouse/ office buildings, printing plants, recreational buildings, refrigeration buildings, and private residences. An advertisement placed by Cummings and Campbell in the 202   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

12.4 Cummings and Campbell’s sponsorship advertisement for Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province, drawing by Neville Mills, 1966; Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province.

sponsorship section of Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province (Figure 12.4) contains a collage of their work rendered by Neville Mills and featuring the Newfoundland Liquor Commission Building,9 Beth El Synagogue (Figure 12.7), Carnell’s Funeral Home (Figure 12.49), and various Memorial University buildings. Other significant St John’s works include Bowring’s Department Store and Parking Garage (Figures 8.10, 8.11), stores at Churchill Square (Figure 2.2) and at Summerville, the Medical Arts Building (Figure 8.8), an office building for Gerald S. Doyle, offices for the Eastern Trust Company, offices for the Merit Insurance Company (Figure 12.36), a refrigeration plant for Campbell’s Meat and Provisions, and a printing plant. Out-of-town projects included a medical clinic in Grand Falls, Lundrigans Office Building in Corner Brook (Figure 12.38), and Gander Drugs. Campbell was responsible for the architectural design and the production of construction documents, and Cummings, an engineer by training who was also a 203   A n g u s J . C am p b e l l

12.5 Cummings and Campbell office, St John’s, 1964, designed by Cummings and Campbell; Cummings and Campbell marketing brochure.

12.6 Cummings and Campbell office with (left to right) Aiden Craig, Ian Tulk, Roy Hannon, Dick Cook, Bill Ryan, and Angus J. Campbell (in the alcove), 1964; Angus J. Campbell archives.

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registered architect and a member of the naa, was responsible for project administration and business development for the firm. Campbell was open to experimentation with new forms and materials on his projects, and over the years he earned a reputation for his creative approach to new commissions. For some Newfoundland architects, modern architecture was just another style. For Angus Campbell, it was more of a cause. Campbell’s friend Jim Wells told me that Campbell was a fan of Ayn Rand’s book The Fountainhead, first published in 1943, and that “Angus must have read the book twenty times at least.”10 Wells said that, when it involved architecture, Campbell’s modern outlook matched that of the book’s main protagonist, Howard Roarke. Campbell kept pace with recent developments in architecture for many years after his partnership with George Cummings ended, and, in fact, long after the end of the Smallwood era. Cummings and Campbell had their offices on Argyle Street near Elizabeth Avenue (Figure 12.5). This area of town boasted modern buildings like Craig, Madill, Horwood, Abram, and Ingleson’s 1959 Imperial Oil Building (Figures 8.15, 8.16) and Cummings and Campbell’s own 1960 Beth El Synagogue, as well as the most modern residential neighbourhoods of the time. The Argyle Street office building’s exterior has curtainwall construction alternating with expanses of brick walls. Originally, Cummings and Campbell occupied only half of the main-floor area, but as they got more work they expanded.11 George Cummings had his own enclosed office, while Angus Campbell’s office was located in an alcove at the end of the drafting room since he liked working in the same open area as his draftsmen (Figure 12.6). A flexible Modernfold partition was added at a later date to provide more privacy for Campbell when required. Cummings and Campbell’s 1960 Beth El Synagogue at the east end of Elizabeth Avenue in St John’s is one of their most thoughtful and accomplished designs (Figures 12.7–12.15). Beth El was designed to replace an old, clapboarded Orthodox Jewish synagogue located in downtown St John’s. The new synagogue was to be built on Elizabeth Avenue, the main east-west street of the new east end suburbs, which included several significant modern buildings in this era. When the old synagogue was still in use, most of the Jewish population in St John’s lived in the west end. Initially, when the possibility of building a new synagogue in the east end was proposed, there was some resistance. Alison Kahn’s book Listen While I Tell You tells about the change from the old to the new synagogue:

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12.7 Beth El Synagogue, St John’s, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1960; this photo was taken shortly after the building’s completion but without landscaping; photo by Max Fleet in Angus J. Campbell archives.

The Henry Street building symbolized the first generation and the old-country ties, struggle and hard times, the past; the Elizabeth Avenue edifice represented the second generation and the New World roots, progress and affluence, the future ... More than a comment on urban renewal, perhaps it is a metaphor for what happened to the old community. The new synagogue appeared on the scene, at once a passing of an old lifetime and birth of a new. Modern and suburban, it faced the future. But while the generations changed guard and new people came in, the old community – the “family” – was quietly disappearing.12

According to Campbell, he incorporated the following symbolic elements into the synagogue’s design: the “Tree of Life” that grew in the entrance courtyard, eight steps leading to the portico that represented the eight principal holy days of the year, seven rows of portico columns that represented the seven branches of the Menorah, and window, door, and paving details that incorporated the hexagonal geometry of the Star of David, which is composed of two equilateral triangles.13 Some members 206   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

12.8 Painting of Beth El Synagogue depicting the “Tree of Life” in the courtyard, by Hans Melis, 1958; Angus J. Campbell archives.

12.9 Beth El Synagogue; photo by Max Fleet, 1958, in N. Mills’s collection.

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12.10 Courtyard in winter, Beth El Synagogue; photo by Ned Pratt, 2000. 12.11 North wall window lattice, Beth El Synagogue; photo by Max Fleet, 1958.

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of Beth El took Campbell to task for misinterpreting symbolic precedents in some of the synagogue’s features. They expressed particular concern about the “Tree of Life” that Campbell placed in the courtyard of the synagogue and that is featured in Hans Melis’s painting of Beth El (Figure 12.8). The idea of incorporating a literal “Tree of Life” (from the Hebrew Etz Chaim, which is also a common name for synagogues) as a landscape element in the courtyard may have been suggested by Campbell.14 The original design that Campbell proposed for Beth El had a dramatic peaked roof with the gable end facing Elizabeth Avenue.15 The congregation was not pleased with this, since it seemed more appropriate for a Christian church than a synagogue. The architects then suggested a single-sloped roof, high in the east and low in the west, but this was rejected in favour of the present flat-roof shape. Beth El was a building with a quiet and understated dignity typical of many early modernist projects in Newfoundland. Modest in size, and modest in its $113,000 budget,16 it had a deceptive scale that achieved an elegant and appropriate monumentality with great economy of means. The Toronto architecture photographer Max Fleet travelled to St John’s to document the project, which he believed was deserving of a Massey Medal. His black-and-white photos capture the synagogue when construction had just been completed, around 1960 (Figures 12.7, 12.9). Beth El was featured in the November 1958 issue of the R.A.I.C. Journal.17 Unfortunately, it was never submitted to the raic awards program. Campbell hinted that the reason Cummings and Campbell didn’t submit the project had to do with the difficult position Newfoundland architects found themselves in when obtaining religious work. George Cummings had done a lot of work for the Salvation Army over the years, and he wanted to keep a low profile because he anticipated future project opportunities with this denomination.18 The design for the new synagogue contrasted the front and the back of the building. The front faced a busy commercial and residential street, and to the back was low-density housing, mainly one-storey bungalows. Campbell envisioned Beth El in a park-like setting with trees behind it.19 The design for the front of the synagogue demonstrated strategies often used by Frank Lloyd Wright in his projects. These included basic rectangular or L-shaped forms; layers of low walls, planters, steps, and landscaping to create visual depth; asymmetrical, informal exteriors; extensions of a building into the landscape; and an indirect path to the front door. In Campbell’s design for Beth El, visual layers were provided by long, low concrete retaining walls with tapering planters, the courtyard’s 209   A n g u s J . C am p b e l l

entrance canopy with its slender steel columns, and the “Tree of Life” that blurs the boundary between front and back, between the urban character of Elizabeth Avenue and the rural or park-like character of the area behind the building. The approach to the synagogue led from the bright and open space of the street to the wind-protected and more intimate space of the courtyard (Figure 12.10). The view of the front doors was partially screened by the canopy, the “Tree of Life,” and a curved alcove for the rabbi’s robing room that projected into the courtyard. Wright’s possible influence might also be seen in Campbell’s design for a translucent wall at the back of the sanctuary (Figure 12.11). Wright used translucent fiberglass glazing on Beth Sholom Synagogue in Philadelphia in 1953. Beth El’s translucent fiberglass panels were supported by a lattice of mullions constructed of continuous two-inch by six-inch wood framing in a Star of David pattern. On sheet nine of the working drawings, several stars with coloured glass float in the translucent glazing of this wall (Figure 12.12).20 Campbell’s design of the synagogue was carefully crafted both in plan (Figure 12.13) and in section (Figures 12.12, 12.14). The plan defined a courtyard with main east wing and utilitarian west wing, containing an office, an instruction room, a library, and washrooms. The lobby was situated in the centre as a link between these wings. Both its front and back walls had glass doors with the Star of David pattern, permitting a view through the building to the back yard. A flexible partition, specified on the working drawings as “Modernfold” doors, allowed the main hall in the east to be used either as a sanctuary or as a banquet hall. The hall had an arc-shaped plan that expanded in width from the back of the building to the front, directing the view from the sanctuary seating to the bimah (raised platform for reading the Torah). Behind the bimah was a gently curved wall with a window in the shape of a Star of David. A lamp in the window represented the Eternal Light or ner tamid. This could be seen at night, on approaching the building from Carpasian Road. Contrasting with the open character of the lobby, the main hall had a reverent inward focus. No ground-level views were possible through the Star of David window in the south wall, through the clerestory windows of the west wall, or through the translucent north wall. The ceiling of the main hall was articulated by simple rectangular enclosures for the steel beams supporting the roof. There were seven sets of beam enclosures, corresponding with the seven branches of the Menorah. Beth El’s split-level section followed the gentle downward slope of its site towards Elizabeth Avenue. The floor of the main hall was close to ground level at the front of 210   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

12.12 East-west section/elevation detail, Beth El Synagogue, 1957; City of St John’s Archives.

12.13 Plan, Beth El Synagogue, 1957; Angus J. Campbell archives.

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12.14 North-south section, Beth El Synagogue, 1957; City of St John’s Archives.

12.15 Beth El Synagogue; photo by Robert Mellin, 2010.

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the building, but about two and a half feet below ground level at the back of the building. Steven Mannell describes the experience of entering Beth El: “The generous scale of Beth El’s automobile drop-off, crossed by an equally grand pedestrian stair, is compressed by the steps rising below the portico soffit, then released upwards in the entry court, only to be squeezed again in the vestibule. This play of compression and release is a typical Wrightian device, and delivers a sense of scale far grander than the actual size of the building and site would suggest.”21 The exterior walls of Beth El were constructed of painted concrete, and, according to the working drawings, its curved front concrete wall had a textured bush-hammered finish. The main body was painted in gray with a bold white accent, perhaps influenced by some of the two-tone, late 1950s-era cars, highlighting the top of the building against the sky. The play of shadows on the curved front wall of the synagogue changed the building’s appearance throughout the day, almost like a giant sundial. Painted plywood was used for infill and accents, such as the wide roof fascias and cornices. Floors were concrete slabs-on-grade covered with vinyl-asbestos tiles, with some ductwork placed under the floor slab in the main hall. The handrails and posts specified in the working drawings were to be from Blumcraft of Pittsburgh, a company still in business today. With hindsight, the drainage, flashing, and custom-window details of Beth El were a bit risky. Following Frank Lloyd Wright in all regards could be dangerous, since many of his buildings were prone to leaks. Wright’s apprentice, Edgar Tafel, wrote that Herbert Johnson, a wealthy client who had just occupied his new Wright-designed home, once telephoned Wright to tell him he had dinner guests and there was a leak over his dining table. Wright cheekily suggested he move the table.22 Sadly, Beth El’s maintenance problems ultimately sealed its fate, and the south wing, central link, and entrance canopy were demolished so that the synagogue could be reduced in area, and at the same time the land was subdivided for the construction of a new house (Figure 12.15). The “Tree of Life,” having fallen from grace, now stands between this house and the forlorn remains of Beth El like any other tree in the neighbourhood. While Beth El was being constructed, Cummings and Campbell completed their most significant residential project. This was the 195923 Newfoundland House, the residence of Premier Smallwood and his wife Clara on their daughter’s farm on Roaches Line, about a forty-five-minute drive from St John’s (Figures 12.16–12.26). In Atlantic Modern, Steven Mannell provides an overview of the Smallwood Residence:

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12.16 Painting of Newfoundland House by Reginald Shepherd, 1964; William Smallwood collection. 12.17 Smallwood Residence; MUN.

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12.18 Smallwood Residence today; photo by Dale Russell FitzPatrick, 2010.

Newfoundland House commands a prominent view across a reflecting pond from Roaches Line, and by its siting was a long inescapable landmark on the route from St. John’s to the summer vacation area of Conception Bay South, or cbs. Joey erected a horse statue on a promontory opposite the house,24 while a restaurant and gas station across the road provided travelers with an ideal Joey-viewing point. The house was filled with gifts of tribute to the last Father of Confederation from industrial, mining and development interests. Much of this tribute is built into the fabric of the house, including the decorative tiles above the fireplace, gifts from a U.S. talc mining operation. Smallwood intended that the house be used as a summer guest house for the premier and lieutenant-governor.25

For many contemporary architect-designed custom residential projects today, a view of the ocean is often one of the main priorities, but, as Richard Gwyn wrote, Smallwood’s ideal landscape was pastoral. “It is one of the many paradoxes of Smallwood’s character that his passion for his island has never encompassed the sea around it. The barren Grecian grandeur of Newfoundland’s coastline holds little charm for him. Instead, he talks with longing of the lush green fields of England, and it was not by happenstance that when he came to build his dream-house he built it in a valley four miles out of sight of the Atlantic.”26 215   A n g u s J . C am p b e l l

12.19 Elevation drawings, Smallwood Residence, June 1958; Angus J. Campbell archives.

12.20 Basement floor plan, Smallwood Residence, 1958; Angus J. Campbell archives.

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12.21 Main-floor plan, Smallwood Residence, 1958; Angus J. Campbell archives.

12.22 Section through chimney, Smallwood Residence, June 1958; Angus J. Campbell archives.

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Smallwood’s daughter, Clara, and his son-in-law, Ed Russell, started the farm on Roaches Line in 1951. In the early years, the family raised cattle, poultry, hogs, mink, and sheep. They grew their own hay on interconnected fields and carved pockets out of the forest to shelter the cattle. They also grew root crops. It is still a working farm today, and Premier Smallwood’s grandson Joseph Smallwood, Sr is the current owner of the Smallwood Residence, which is undergoing restoration.27 Gwyn describes his visit to the Smallwood Residence in the late 1960s when Smallwood was living there: Smallwood’s self-esteem is unconcealed: a bronze bust of the Premier stares down the steps to the library; the walls of the corridor leading to his bedroom are lined with photographs of himself in the company of such notables as Richard Nixon and Francisco Franco. Smallwood’s own nook is in one corner of the huge living room, beside a picture window where, barricaded behind stacks of books and papers, he has installed his favourite, dark-brown, reclining armchair, a draftsman’s table and light, and a battery of telephones. He spends most of his time at home there, reading, scribbling notes, barking orders into the telephone, and spinning tales to his grandchildren, who all live nearby and have unimpeded run of the house. Downstairs in his private library, a mahogany-paneled room half as large as the living room, Smallwood has stacked his books two deep.28

Smallwood approached Cummings to design his house, and Cummings’s initial idea was for a fairly conventional, two-storey structure. However, Campbell started sketching designs for the project, and he subsequently took over responsibility for the design work.29 The design became far less conventional. Premier Smallwood was very proud of his house, and, in an inscription in a book he gave to Campbell, he wrote: “Angus John Campbell – the most original and innovative architect that we have produced since I was born – and that was in 1900. Joseph R. Smallwood.”30 The Smallwood Residence is very different from other houses constructed in Newfoundland in the late 1950s. There is a bold thrust to this house, which, because of its location, form, and orientation, allowed Smallwood to keep watch over his rural domain. This aspect of surveillance is not unlike the situation Smallwood enjoyed in St John’s, where, as noted earlier, he watched over his constituents from his office high in Confederation Building.

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12.23 Main staircase to the basement, Smallwood Residence; photo by Robert Mellin, 2008.

12.24 Tiles above the living room fireplace, Smallwood Residence; photo by Robert Mellin, 2008.

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The design for the Smallwood Residence could have been influenced by many of Frank Lloyd Wright’s houses of the 1940s and early 1950s, but the second version of Wright’s design for a residence for George Jacobsen in Montreal is most similar to the Smallwood Residence. Designed in 1950, this unbuilt house was to have a hexagonal plan. Both the Jacobsen House and Newfoundland House have freestanding, triangular masonry corner piers with open breezeways behind them, eaves with raked profiles, and sloped roofs with deep eaves. The gate to the Smallwood Residence site has four pillars that came from the old post office on Water Street in St John’s. A long access road leading from Roaches Line to the house crosses through this gate and onto a small bridge over a pond. The road then makes a counterclockwise loop around the house; this loop would have been helpful for fire protection. The loop leads to the main entrance at the back of the house through the centre of a courtyard. The house is situated on a shallow peninsula at the top of a small hill. It has an arrowhead shape created by two intersecting and nearly symmetrical rectilinear wings (Figures 12.20, 12.21). The point of the arrow is oriented slightly west of north. The west wing is slightly shorter than the east wing, deferring to the path of visitors to the main entrance. Steven Mannell writes about the rumour that either Campbell or Smallwood once said that the proportional differences in these wings symbolically represented “the 51% to 49% split in the 1949 referendum vote on Confederation with Canada.”31 A large central chimney is located at the junction of the two wings (Figure 12.22). On the main floor, set back from the tip of the arrowhead and in the most prominent position in the house, is the living room. Jim Wells, the electrical contractor for the Smallwood Residence, recalls an early discussion about the living room. At the start of one meeting with his architects, Smallwood said, “Thirty by fifty,” offering no further explanation. This was followed by an interval of perplexed silence until Campbell advised that the proposed dimensions were a bit small for a house intended for a premier. Smallwood then explained that these dimensions were just for the living room.32 At the centre of the living room is a large fireplace embraced by symmetrical, angled walls with continuous banks of windows. By setting the living room back from the tip of the arrowhead, Campbell created a covered breezeway for a grade-level patio that is open on both sides. The patio, the triangular stone pier, and the cantilevered roof provide the main structural drama to the building. A beautifully crafted, 220   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

12.25 Exterior details, Smallwood Residence; photo by Robert Mellin, 2008. 12.26 Corner window details, Smallwood Residence; photo by Robert Mellin, 2008.

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symmetrical wood staircase of quarter-sawn mahogany is located opposite the fireplace (Figure 12.23). This staircase is open to the living room and leads to Smallwood’s wood-panelled library in the basement. The main floor is raised a half-level above the ground, permitting basement day lighting through long, narrow, horizontal clerestory windows. The main entrance to the house leads from a courtyard, through a set of doors, to an entry porch featuring a double-glazed window imported from Germany.33 The courtyard has a circular planter centred on the entrance-porch window and recessed into the floor. The pentagonal volume of the entrance porch is defined by glazing to the south and the masonry enclosure of the central chimney to the north, with built-in cantilevered stone shelves. As of 2008, the porch floor still had its original green and gray terrazzo with rectangular recesses for boot mats. Campbell added a dynamic, three-dimensional element to his plan by designing a dramatic ceiling for the living room. Extraordinarily large and robust vaults are made from tapered triangular plates. These vaults would overwhelm a more conventional residence, but they seem oddly appropriate and even congenial in this building. The vaults, along with the arrowhead shape of the plan, suggest the aerodynamic form of a folded paper airplane. They employ a zigzag pattern that was popular in roadside buildings like cafés and gas stations in the 1950s and 1960s. The living room has a monumental quality that is created by the folded vaults of the ceiling, the angular design, and the unimpeded views to the exterior. The breathtaking view of the living room is withheld until the last possible moment, after one rounds either corner of the fireplace in the entrance porch. Smallwood must have often looked forward to this moment when welcoming visitors to his home. The living room hearth is a modern version of the traditional inglenook, with built-in benches and recessed stone shelves. These shelves were once part of Clara’s domain in the house, and she used them to display her Lustreware collection.34 The abstract pattern of black-and-white tiles above the fireplace represents stars in the night sky (Figure 12.24). Dale Russell FitzPatrick told me that Smallwood never used the fireplace because he was afraid of the possibility of fire damage to his priceless collection of papers and books. The carpenters who built the house did, however, use the fireplace to make tea during construction. The living room has indirect lighting in custom-built valences above the windows and built-in bookshelves with deep windowsills. Built-in speakers were also installed, but apparently Smallwood never used these.35 222   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

12.27 Howard Roberts on the Smallwood Residence construction site, July 1958; Howard Roberts collection.

In the west wing, the dining room is open to the living room. Much care was given to the detailing of the mahogany wall panelling in this room and the flush door trim, without conventional projections. Smallwood may have requested this detailing after seeing the mahogany panelling in the den of his cabinet minister Neddie Spencer’s home on Rennie’s Mill road, designed a few years earlier by Ernest Steinbrink. The Smallwood Residence’s kitchen has a linear gallery layout with modern “Youngstown” kitchen cabinets made by Mullins Manufacturing in Ohio. These included a peninsula with a rounded end and open shelving. At the end of the west wing is a small maid’s room and bathroom and a utility staircase leading to the basement. Special bookshelves, some with sliding doors for storage below and others angled for display, were custom-made by the carpenters who built the house. Smallwood had so many books he had to stack them two-deep on the shelves. While travelling in England he would visit antique bookstores, and he would ship books by the crateload back to Newfoundland. Joey Smallwood was the collector, and his wife was the curator. All the books were catalogued and tagged.36 In the basement is a large, fireproof furnace room constructed of concrete and with doors lined with heavy asbestos panels. It is possible that this could have been used as a bomb shelter. Smallwood installed the latest in electronic security devices, including a “Zonalarm” system from the Edwards Company of Owen Sound, Ontario. The exterior of the Smallwood Residence has a rustic character expressed in wood and stone. Originally, large, hand-split wood shingles were used for the roofing, but today there are asphalt shingles.37 Regularly spaced stone piers subdivide the windows, and below the windows there are plywood panels with decorative battens (Figure 12.25). Indian Red stain, a favourite of Frank Lloyd Wright, is used on these panels and on wood soffits with recessed, incandescent lighting around the perimeter of the house. Another Wrightian detail used by Campbell is the use of mullionfree corner windows (Figure 12.26). Campbell allowed for these by introducing shallow setbacks along the outer walls of each wing. Smallwood hired carpenter Howard Roberts to build his house (Figure 12.27). Roberts told me the story of how he came to build the premier’s house. He had established a good name for himself in construction, and Smallwood sent word that he wanted to talk with him. Roberts was then living on Roaches Line, and the time for his first meeting with Smallwood was set for 3:00 on a Sunday afternoon.

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Knowing the Premier, you had to be on time. So I drove in Roaches Line and it was about quarter to three when I got to the house. And I stopped – I said I’m not going in at quarter to three. I waited. Until I just got to the door at 3:00 o’clock. I had to tell you that because that’s what I really did. And I comes in, and he unrolls the plans – he always called me Mr. Roberts, never Howard – and anyway, he said I’d like for you to build my house. I want you to build it and I want you to finish it. And I said, Mr. Premier, I’ll build your home. Whatever men you like, he said. When can you start it? Soon as I get the bulldozer equipment to dig out. I’ll give you a call he said. You’ll be on the payroll. Whatever you need, you’ll get, the job is yours. He was excellent – he couldn’t be better. He’d keep in touch when he was travelling.38

12.28 Carpenters for the Smallwood Residence (from left to right): unidentified, Douglas Pritchard, unidentified, Mike Norman, Jack Peddle, and Henry Roberts (Howard’s brother), July 1958; Howard Roberts collection.

Roberts hired three carpenters to work with him: Douglas Pritchet, Jack Peddle, and Mike Norman. Howard’s brother, Henry, was also part of the construction crew (Figure 12.28). The Conway brothers from St John’s did the plastering work, and the electrician was Frank Conway from Brigus (no relation to the Conway brothers). Jack Taylor constructed the chimney as well as the stone piers and did the tile work above the fireplace. The plumbing and heating for the house was by William Tiller. Roberts occasionally met Campbell in his Argyle Street offices in St John’s. The job progressed smoothly and he got along very well with the architect.39 According to Roberts, Campbell would occasionally visit the project during construction, but not that often. He told me his impression of Campbell’s design. “I didn’t know what to make of it. I used to call it the jet! I wanted to do a good job, too, so I was right into it.”40 In this project and in others he designed, Campbell frequently bypassed the age of the automobile in favour of the jet age. The floor plans of several of his buildings create the impression that they could almost take flight. Cummings and Campbell eventually designed several additional buildings in and around Smallwood’s farm on Roaches Line, including a dairy bar called the Farm House and a gas bar. Later, when Campbell partnered with Horwood and Guihan, they designed a pump house for the farm in 1966. A drawing of the dairy bar dated 9 August 1963 (Figure 12.29) shows Campbell’s characteristic angular brick piers defining the main entrance, exterior cladding of vertical wood siding, a hexagonal roof, and a curious floor plan that toned down the voluptuous form of an earlier plan dated 3 August 1963 (Figure 12.30). Elevation drawings of the dairy bar dated 29 August 1963 substituted stone for brick and included signage (Figure 12.31). The gas bar (Figure 12.32) had a rusticated stone base similar to that of the dairy bar. 224   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

12.29 Plan for a dairy bar, 9 August 1963; Angus J. Campbell archives.

12.30 Plan for a dairy bar, Roaches Line, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 3 August 1963; Angus J. Campbell archives.

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12.31 Elevation drawings for a dairy bar, 29 August 1963; Angus J. Campbell archives.

12.32 Elevations for a gas bar, Roaches Line, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 16 October 1963; Angus J. Campbell archives.

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12.33 Plan for a pump house, Roaches Line, designed by Horwood, Campbell, Guihan, 19 August 1966; Angus J. Campbell archives.

The pump house (Figure 12.33) features a low, tapered masonry wall, similar to those on many of Campbell’s buildings, capped by a gable roof. Its partially submerged stone foundation walls topped by wood superstructures are similar to those of traditional root cellars in eastern Newfoundland. Newfoundland House eventually became controversial for Smallwood. Edward Roberts, Smallwood’s executive assistant, told me that, around the time Smallwood left office in 1972, difficulties arose over contributions he had received from contractors and other companies for the construction of some parts of his house. One example is the addition of an enclosed swimming pool, which was paid for by Cheslie Crosbie’s company necco (Newfoundland Engineering and Construction Company).41 Until the late 1960s, there were no secrets about similar contributions that Crosbie and others made to Smallwood’s premises, since this was just the way things were done at the time. To defuse a possible scandal, Smallwood sold the Smallwood Residence to the provincial government for one dollar, but there was a covenant that Smallwood could still live there despite the change of ownership. During Frank Moores’s administration, Smallwood wanted the government to find an alternate use for the house as a

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museum or similar facility, but to no avail. Later still, during Clyde Wells’s administration, the government gave the house back to Smallwood, but Smallwood had no money for its necessary repairs. According to Edward Roberts, Smallwood spent most of the money he made, and his finances were in poor shape in the last years of his life. Smallwood’s son Bill Smallwood later inherited the house, and it was vacant for some years before Joe Smallwood, Sr began restoration work in 2007. In the end, this jet of a house outlasted the boundless energies of its owner. One of the last visitors to Newfoundland House when Premier Smallwood was still living there was former Newfoundland premier Brian Tobin, who wrote: “‘Take a good look, my son, for once he is gone, you’ll not soon see his like again.’ These words crossed my mind when I last visited the Honourable Joseph R. Smallwood, affectionately known as Joey, as Newfoundlanders and Labradoreans and indeed all Canadians called him during and after his time in public life. Joey was at home on Roaches Line. He was small, frail. A stroke had left him bereft of speech, and he sought the steadying assistance of walls, doors, and helpful arms as he navigated around his retreat at the entrance to Conception Bay.”42 In the late 1950s, around the time they completed their Argyle Street office building, Cummings and Campbell started to design office buildings for prominent clients. With an exterior reminiscent of the Argyle Street office building, the Medical Arts Building, designed in 1959, has curtain-wall construction alternating with solid, cast-in-place concrete walls (Figure 12.34). The curtain wall once contained small mosaic tiles in primary colours of blue, red, and yellow over a neutral beige field. It was originally a two-storey building. A third floor was added sometime in the 1960s. A flat canopy roof supported on narrow-diameter steel posts originally sheltered the main entrance. A projecting sloped wall at the front terminated in a tapered chimney, similar to the configuration of the entrance for Cummings and Campbell’s 1962 Westmount Avenue Public School project in Corner Brook (Figure 12.35). The projecting wall of the private medical clinic provides shelter from northeasterly winds and storms. After the Medical Arts Building, in 1960 Cummings and Campbell produced a graceful design for the Merit Insurance Company Building (Figure 12.36). Located on the corner of Howlett and Anderson avenues, it has a split-level entrance, and it uses curtain-wall construction alternating with concrete walls like those in the Medical Arts Building. Cast-in-place concrete walls have a large, rectangular, grid-surface pattern. Bands of translucent Pinhead Morocco glass once alternated with bands of 228   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

12.34 Medical Arts Building, St John’s, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1959, with the mid-1960s addition of a third floor designed by Cummings and Campbell: photo by Robert Mellin, 2000.

12.35 Westmount Avenue Public School, Corner Brook, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1962; Angus J. Campbell archives.

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12.36 Merit Insurance Company Building, St John’s, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1960; Cummings and Campbell marketing brochure.

transparent view windows for the glazing in the curtain walls. The fascias were originally ornamented with 8”x8” wood blocks in two ziggurat-type layers, covered by a small half-round layer. The building has a low, sweeping profile and an L-shaped plan (Figure 12.37). Its east- and south-entrance lobby doors are positioned alongside two projecting concrete-block walls with sloped ends, and these walls with sloped ends were typical design elements used by Campbell. Small, rectangular, mosaic ceramic tiles once covered the projecting walls, but these were removed in an early 2000s renovation. Low, tapered planters at the bases of both walls were also removed. Cummings and Campbell used the same tapered planter/wall design for their early 1960s Lundrigans Office Building in Corner Brook (Figure 12.38). The successful completion of Newfoundland House placed Cummings and Campbell in an ideal position to obtain further commissions from Premier Smallwood in the early 1960s. They were given the task of designing four vocational schools in Newfoundland at St John’s, Burin, Clarenville, and Seal Cove, a huge undertaking considering the size of their office and other work already in hand. All four schools are in suburban locations and all follow a similar arrangement, with the main entrance, 230   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

12.37 Plan, Merit Insurance Company Building, 1960. Angus J. Campbell archives. 12.38 Lundrigans Office Building, Corner Brook, designed by Cummings and Campbell, early 1960s; mun.

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12.39 College of Trades and Technology, St John’s, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1963; City of St John’s Archives.

12.40 College of Trades and Technology; Cummings and Campbell marketing brochure.

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12.41 Salvation Army Officers’ Training College, St John’s, designed by Cummings and Campbell, mid-1960s; Cummings and Campbell marketing brochure.

classrooms, and administration offices at the front of the building and large workshops to the rear. The 1963 College of Trades and Technology in St John’s (Figures 12.39, 12.40), situated opposite Confederation Building on the east end of Prince Philip Parkway, is adjacent to a series of linked parks. These parks were intended to connect visually with Confederation Building and Memorial University.43 The project brief for the college called for a building of 244,000 square feet to accommodate 1,000 students. The building has a V-shaped plan with the wings of the V positioned relative to each other at a 120-degree angle. This angular plan is reminiscent of the one that William Ryan’s office prepared for the Arts Building of Memorial University (Figure 7.4) in the early 1950s (when Campbell was working in Ryan’s office) and is similar to that of Cummings and Campbell’s mid-1960s design for the Salvation Army Officers Training College in St John’s (Figure 12.41). The main entrance of the College of Trades and Technology is at the centre of the V. It is symmetrically flanked by three-storey administration offices, followed by a zone of two-storey classrooms. The gymnasium and auditorium are centrally positioned behind the main entrance. Large, high-ceilinged workshops with mezzanines extend to the rear of the building. The main entrance, with its two tiers of thirteen wide, angled steps set between low planter walls, has a formal and somewhat intimidating appearance. Relief 233   A n g u s J . C am p b e l l

sculptures by Hans Melis,44 Newfoundland’s official sculptor in the 1960s and 1970s, flank the entrance walls. The windows above the entrance doors use a square-grid pattern, departing from the fenestration pattern of the rest of the front of the building. The exterior cladding of the College of Trades and Technology was brown- coloured brick, since the building’s client, Premier Smallwood, preferred to use bricks manufactured locally by one of his supporters.45 A letter from Cummings and Campbell to C.H. Conroy dated 6 October 1965 reveals problems with the quality of this brick and notes that it was deteriorating in places.46 During Premier Smallwood’s speech at the opening ceremonies for the college, as he was describing how many millions of dollars his government had spent on buildings for vocational education, the building was leaking on his head.47 The district vocational schools that Cummings and Campbell designed for Burin, Seal Cove, and Clarenville were to be occupied by the Department of Education on 1 June 1963.48 The Burin District Vocational School, 56,080 square feet in area, has a central courtyard defined by nine large one-storey workshops set on top of high earth berms and by the two-storey main entrance, classroom, and administration wing (Figures 12.42–12.44). A covered, open arcade surrounds the courtyard and connects various levels of terrain created by the elevated earth berms and a ramp to a vehicular drop-off, the main level of the courtyard, and an excavation for a service-access road below. In the courtyard, the glazing of the curtain wall extends higher than the building’s roof to provide a wind-protected courtyard for students and faculty to meet at the centre of the building (Figure 12.44). The T-shaped plans for the Conception Bay South (Seal Cove) and Clarenville district vocational schools are similar, with minor variations. The Conception Bay South District Vocational School is 36,100 square feet in area and was designed to accommodate 100 students (Figure 12.45). It has a two-storey main entrance, classroom, and administration wing constructed with a reinforced-concrete frame with infill glazing. The one-storey workshops at the back of the building have exterior cladding and glazing identical to those used for the Burin vocational school. The main entrance is reached from a vehicular drop-off ramp, and wide, floating steps lead up to the entrance doors. Correspondence in the Provincial Archives indicates there were issues with the performance of the exterior walls at Conception Bay. In a 1964 letter, government engineer C.H. Conroy wrote about “appalling conditions” caused by a curtain wall/ roof juncture problem. In 1964 a Department of Education official complained in a 234   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

12.42 Burin District Vocational School, Burin, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1963; Angus J. Campbell archives.

letter to Conroy, “On Friday past during a rainstorm I made an inspection of the District Vocational School in Conception Bay South. The conditions existing in the school were terrible. In the shop corridor and in the shops water was everywhere. It was not a fit place for staff and students to work. Water was pouring over the walls and in through the overhead doors.”49 This was an ominous development that most certainly affected Cummings and Campbell’s other vocational schools, since the detailing was similar in each one. It is possible the architects did not have full control over the construction detailing and materials, for these projects were being managed by the same company that project-managed the construction of Confederation Building and other prominent public projects in Newfoundland that had weatherproofing problems. The Clarenville District Vocational School, 38,630 square feet in area and designed for 100 students, accommodates a steep hill towards the back of the site (Figure 12.46). As a result, its one-storey workshops are on the same floor as the upper level of its two-storey entrance, classroom, and administration wing. The entrance is protected by a valley created for the vehicular drop-off, as well as by extended brick walls. These extended walls have sloped ends and act as retaining walls. The exterior cladding for the Clarenville project is brick, since it would have been unthinkable at the time not to 235   A n g u s J . C am p b e l l

12.43 Plan, Burin District Vocational School; Angus J. Campbell archives.

12.44 Courtyard, Burin District Vocational School; Angus J. Campbell archives.

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12.45 Conception Bay South Vocational School, Seal Cove, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1963; Angus J. Campbell archives.

12.46 Clarenville District Vocational School, Clarenville, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1963; Angus J. Campbell archives.

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12.47 Crosbie Building, St John’s, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1963; photo by Robert Mellin, 2009.

support the nearby Pelley’s Brick Manufacturing Plant. Some of these brick walls have a textured appearance created by bricks that project at regular intervals. Cummings and Campbell’s 1963 design for the Crosbie Building (Figure 12.47) is a departure from the repertoire of architectural elements they employed on other office buildings. The Crosbie Building almost seems as if it belongs in a more benevolent climate: the first floor of the building has a covered, open-air arcade with concrete piers, with built-in seating for visitors and officeworkers. The roof has a shallow, metal-clad Mansard edge, intersected by machicolations of concrete piers and arches that create a masculine, fortress-like character. Their 1964 design for the Chimo Office Building (Figure 12.48) postdates that of the Crosbie Building, indicating that the evolution of Campbell’s design work was not always linear. The building sits on the northwest corner of Freshwater Road and Crosbie Street and has a low, cantilevered entrance canopy supported at intervals by small-diameter round steel posts. Its entrance has wide concrete steps. The design of the entrance canopy with wide steps is reminiscent of their design for the entrance to Beth El Synagogue in the late 1950s. The Chimo Office Building used buff-coloured brick and infill masonry wall panels that seem to float free of the fenestration. Opposite the Chimo Building is Cummings and Campbell’s 1964 Carnell’s Funeral Home (Figure 12.49). Frank Lloyd Wright’s slope-roofed drafting room at Taliesin West 238   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

12.48 Chimo Office Building, St John’s, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1964; photo by Robert Mellin, 2009.

could have influenced the design of the chapel in this building, which is the most visibly prominent part of the structure when viewed from the intersection of Crosbie Street and Freshwater Road.50 The chapel has an asymmetrical gable roof with a steep slope to the north and a moderate slope to the south. The south roof has a wide eave, extending over the fully glazed exterior wall below. This exterior wall slopes inward since it is perpendicular to the roof. The roof is supported by laminated timber rafters that dramatically extend beyond the eave of the south roof over a flower garden. The side wall of the chapel, covered in an informal pattern of multicoloured Newfoundland slate, provides yet another demonstration of Campbell’s fondness for extending exterior walls beyond the main, enclosed spaces of his buildings into the landscape. A strip of narrow clerestory windows elegantly separates the sidewall from the roof. Cummings and Campbell worked on several religious buildings, including an unbuilt church in Grand Falls (Figure 12.50). Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1951 Unitarian Meeting House in Madison, Wisconsin, likely influenced the design for this church, which was featured in the Cummings and Campbell 1964 office brochure. The flared gable roof of the sanctuary and the tapered, rusticated stone base walls are almost identical to Wright’s work. The two projects have similar geometry in their floor plans, which juxtapose angular with orthogonal elements. Cummings and Campbell intended to create a wind-protected courtyard between the sanctuary and the 239   A n g u s J . C am p b e l l

12.49 Carnell’s Funeral Home, St John’s, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1964; photo by Robert Mellin, 2009.

12.50 Design for a church, Grand Falls, designed by Cummings and Campbell, early 1960s; Cummings and Campbell marketing brochure.

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residence. Beyond that, and unlike their approach to landscape on other projects in rural areas, they intended to preserve the existing topography and indigenous Subarctic flora around the church. Around the time when Cummings and Campbell were completing their work on the vocational schools, Angus Campbell designed a notable house for his partner George Cummings in St John’s. The Cummings Residence (Figure 12.51) is on the southwest side of Elizabeth Avenue adjacent to Rennie’s River, just a short distance downstream from the residence designed by Paul Meschino for the Goldstone family (Figures 5.1, 5.4–5.7). The house, built in 1964, originally had a bomb shelter under the garage and vertical cedar V-groove siding stained in an Indian red colour, the same colour as the exterior cladding currently on George’s brother Henry’s house next door.51 The signature piece Campbell used on his design for the Cummings’s Residence is a prominent masonry foundation wall terminating in a bold slope away from the building. This feature is similar to the sloped foundation walls that Cummings and Campbell used on their designs for the Conception Bay and Clarenville vocational schools. The wall provides the impression of a strong foundation, making the building seem almost to grow organically out of its site and offers the illusion that it gracefully extends beyond the enclosure of its walls into the landscape. A large, tapered masonry chimney provides a vertical contrast to the low-sloped masonry wall. For the Cummings Residence, it is likely that Campbell was influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright’s first scheme for the George Jacobsen Residence in Montreal in 1949. Similar to Wright’s design, the Cummings Residence has a butterfly roof on the front of the house and a triangular-shaped window with wooden louvres on the side facing the river (Figure 12.52).52 Campbell clearly felt that the most important view of the house was from the front corner by the river, since this is the view he included in his firm’s marketing brochure, with the following caption: “This house seems to be tied to its beautiful site which slopes away towards Rennie’s River on the east. The living room window frames a falls and its surroundings which have been the subject of many photographers and painters.”53 Cummings and Campbell’s commission to design two new mun buildings in the mid-1960s heralded a major change in Campbell’s architectural design work. He abandoned low, horizontal forms with rusticated, sloped foundation walls, and instead began to accentuate vertical forms. The Chemistry/Physics Building (Figures 12.53, 12.54) and the Arts and Education Building (Figures 12.55, 12.56) on 241   A n g u s J . C am p b e l l

12.51 Cummings Residence, St John’s, designed by Cummings and Campbell, 1964; photo by Robert Mellin, 2009.

12.52 Bay window with louvres centred on the gable end wall, Cummings Residence; photo by Robert Mellin, 2009.

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12.53 Chemistry/Physics Building at mun, St John’s, designed by Angus J. Campbell, 1965; Angus J. Campbell archives.

12.54 Main-entrance facade, Chemistry/ Physics Building at mun; photo by Robert Mellin, 2007.

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12.55 Arts and Education Building at mun, St John’s, designed by Angus J. Campbell, 1965; Angus J. Campbell archives.

12.56 Main-entrance facade, Arts and Education Building at mun; photo by Robert Mellin, 2007.

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12.57 Sectional drawing of the lecture rooms, Arts and Education Building at mun; pa.

mun’s campus in St John’s were both designed by Campbell around 1965, soon after the partnership of Cummings and Campbell had dissolved. The buildings’ angular orientation in relation to Prince Philip Drive may reflect the influence of contemporary architects who were experimenting with angular building placement, such as Le Corbusier and his 1964 Carpenter Center at Harvard. Both mun buildings have front entrances oriented to the west, which makes them more prominent when driving in an easterly direction towards Confederation Building. Unlike some of the older mun buildings, both have vehicular drop-off roads that can be accessed from a secondary road parallel to Prince Philip Drive. The Chemistry/Physics Building and the Arts and Education Building have similar exterior detailing, featuring regular bays created by thin, vertical, metal-clad piers 245   A n g u s J . C am p b e l l

that wrap onto the roof. Between each pier, a rectangular panel of buff-coloured brick floats in a field of dark, tinted glass. The main differentiating features of the front facades are the treatments of the walls above the main-entrance doors. For the Chemistry/Physics Building, the main-entrance wall has a grid pattern of windows similar to that of the College of Trades and Technology but with the addition of a central infill panel displaying mun’s crest (Figure 12.54). For the Arts and Education Building, this entrance wall has a large, sculptural relief (Figure 12.56). The Chemistry/Physics Building has a courtyard similar to that at the Burin District Vocational School. The area where the courtyard opened to the north was known as the Breezeway, and there was a small café by that name in this location.54 The Breezeway, now closed off by a masonry wall, opened to a paved plaza with reflecting pools, a bridge, planters, and wide steps around its perimeter. Portions of the ground floor of the building feature an arcade made of angular precast concrete elements. The Arts and Education Building, now called the G.A. Hickman Building, is the smaller of the two buildings. Its main lecture rooms with sloped floors are stacked on top of each other at the north end of the main entrance wing, and their floor construction used precast concrete T sections (Figure 12.57). Campbell associated with Horwood and Guihan in 1966, and he took a project for the Carbonear Hospital with him from his partnership with George Cummings (Figures 12.58–12.62). After many delays, construction of the hospital began in 1971. Campbell devised an innovative floor plan with a hexagonal grid that would permit views from beds in single- and double-occupancy rooms and from windows in shared washrooms. Full-scale mock-ups of the hospital rooms were constructed in the garage behind the offices of Horwood, Campbell, and Guihan on King’s Bridge Road in the east end of St John’s. Hospital furniture and equipment was set up, and live models dressed as nurses and patients tested the comfort, efficiency, materials, ergonomics, day lighting, and artificial lighting of the rooms (Figures 12.59, 12.60). Campbell wrote about his design in an article for the 1969 construction issue of Canadian Hospital. He described the efficiency of the plan and the possibilities of enhancing the relationship between nursing stations and patient rooms and of combining rooms to make larger wards (Figure 12.61). He claimed that the overall building shape evolved from the patient’s room, and that his design addressed issues commonly faced by hospitals with semi-private rooms. Campbell described the mock-up of the rooms in the two-bed ward:

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12.58 Carbonear Hospital, St John’s, designed by Horwood, Campbell, Guihan, rendering by N. Mills, 1967; Angus J. Campbell archives.

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12.59 Full-size mock-up of a semi-private patient’s room for Carbonear Hospital, constructed behind Horwood, Campbell, Guihan’s offices on Kings Bridge Road, 1967; Angus J. Campbell archives. 12.60 Full-size mock-up for Carbonear Hospital; Angus J. Campbell archives. 12.61 Typical room plans, Carbonear Hospital; Angus J. Campbell archives.

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12.62 Typical upper-floor plan, Carbonear Hospital; Angus J. Campbell archives.

The architects’ studies on the two-bed ward were based on a full scale mock-up complete in every detail and subjected to critical appraisal from administrators, doctors, nurses, hospital personnel, etc., besides the client. Whilst certain small changes were made as a result of helpful suggestions, it otherwise received 100% acceptance. This was especially so from a number of non-professional types who saw this room and who were familiar with the standard hospital wards. The décor, including carpets, washable fabric on walls, interchangeable lighting and t.v. for each patient and controlled from bedside, warmer wood finishes in the furniture, plus the greater separation and degree of privacy from the other patient, and the fact that neither occupant can be cut off from the corridor or the window at any time, all combine to make it a very pleasant room and should contribute toward the well-being of the patient.55

The angular nature of the plans for the rooms formed the overall triangular geometry of the building. Service rooms, vertical circulation, utility shafts, treatment rooms, offices, a glass-enclosed tv viewing area, and primary and secondary nursing stations are placed at the core of the building (Figure 12.62). Five semi-private rooms with

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flexible partitions are arranged along the exterior walls, flanked by a private room at each end of the corridor. Four-bed wards are placed at each corner of the triangular floor, with a central shared washroom by the exterior wall in each ward. Campbell’s design for the Carbonear Hospital continued his exploration of vertical form that first became evident in Cummings and Campbell’s mid-1960s buildings for Memorial University. In Campbell’s work, there is a clear evolution of form from low-rise buildings influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright, which emphasized the horizontal, to higher buildings with a vertical thrust. The early low-rise buildings required careful handling of site and topography and were dependent on the introduction of visual layers like low, rusticated walls with sloped ends that served as mediating elements between buildings and their sites. In the mun buildings and especially in his design for the Carbonear Hospital, Campbell put aside his long-term stylistic preoccupation with Wright. In the Carbonear Hospital, Campbell reached beyond considerations of function and cost to address the qualitative and therapeutic aspects of hospital design, even publishing an article in Canadian Hospital. Already well known in Newfoundland for his architectural design work, Campbell, by the end of the Smallwood years, was beginning to establish a practice grounded in design research. After 1971, he practised independently for over twenty years, taking on many public and private commissions.

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Chapter thirteen

Conclusion

13.1 (previous page) Premier Smallwood (left) visiting an exhibit for the new World Trade Center in New York City, early 1960s; mun.

Modern architecture in the Smallwood era did not have a particular character or style. Although Frederick A. Colbourne’s and Angus J. Campbell’s buildings showed consistency of design and detail, on the whole a fairly diverse collection of buildings was constructed in Newfoundland in the 1950s and 1960s. It is impossible to represent the collective nature of modern architecture in Newfoundland. Consider, for example, the Pope Residence in Grand Bank (Figure 5.14), which followed a 1963 plan from Chatelaine magazine and could have been constructed anywhere in North America. However, if I had to use just one word to describe modern architecture in the Smallwood era, it would likely be “eclectic.” Some buildings constructed in Newfoundland in this era are more closely tied to particular architectural design precedents than others, and often to more than one precedent. But usually these buildings transform or synthesize precedents, or else the particular circumstances of site, climate, materials, and program in Newfoundland ensure changes to their design and construction. A question to consider in probing the eclectic nature of Newfoundland’s modern architecture is whether the province’s architects were really that interested in fundamental modern principles. If they had been, it would not be unreasonable to expect more evidence of design and tectonic consistency. Of course, the same question could be asked about architects elsewhere in North America. There is a tendency for the impact of the original, bold creative idea of a movement to dissipate in casual replication of a style, and this was certainly the case in some of the modern buildings in Newfoundland. Although some buildings were highly original, originality was not the main preoccupation of Newfoundland’s architects. A good example is Angus Campbell’s design for the chapel of Carnell’s Funeral Home in St John’s (Figure 12.49), a building that may have been influenced by the design of the drafting room of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West. While similarities between the projects seem likely, Campbell added features to his project that Wright would never have used at Taliesin West. Some of these responded to the climate, site, and program of Newfoundland. Wright’s drafting room was just one part of the overall site plan for Taliesin West. Its many buildings, collectively, were just as important as the individual buildings Wright and his apprentices designed there over many years. Not so Carnell’s Funeral Home, which is just one building in an office and commercial zone in suburban St John’s. In American Glamour and the Evolution of Modern Architecture, Alice T. Friedman examines the connections between modern architecture of the 1950s and 1960s and 252   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

fashion, film, television, car culture, consumer culture, and art through the country’s obsession with glamour. Her use of the term “glamour” suggests another way of understanding Newfoundland’s eclectic modern architecture. “The value of the term ‘American glamour’ is that it suggests an approach and set of aspirations rather than a style … Like early twentieth-century Manhattan, postwar America had no allencompassing architectural manifesto to which we can refer, and there is no theory of American ‘Glamourism’ to which we can turn. What I can offer here is, instead, an analysis of a group of modern buildings and experiences linked by a common thread of enthusiasm and optimism.”1 Enthusiasm and optimism certainly characterized Newfoundland’s modern architecture in the Smallwood years. However, many of the examples of modern architecture that I have presented here are not spectacular and could even be described as background buildings or, in Friedman’s words, “contextual modernism.”2 In the 1950s and 1960s, Newfoundland’s architects practised at a time when there was little or no protection of the territory and prerogative of local architects, either from mainland architects or from engineers or local draftsmen practising architecture. Pursuing modern architecture could have been risky in the conservative atmosphere of what was until 1949 a British dominion. There was some resistance, even among enlightened clients, to the acceptance of all that modern architecture entailed. Graham Rennie’s early 1950s design of the Ewing Residence is a good example (Figure 5.8). The exterior was influenced by the modern character of architect Paul Meschino’s 1949 design of the Goldstone Residence (Figure 5.1), but the interior remained as traditional in layout as many of its neighbouring nineteenthcentury Victorian mansions. There was, however, probably less resistance in Newfoundland to modern architecture in the 1950s and 1960s than there is today. After the Second World War, many clients actively sought architects who were designing modern houses, as opposed to the present-day preference for historical styles. Private companies building automobile dealerships, supermarkets, and motels all thought they had a better chance of attracting customers with something new and different. The popular acceptance of modern roadside architecture on the mainland started to percolate across Atlantic Canada to Newfoundland just a few years before the completion of the Trans-Canada Highway. Allan Hess describes the influence of modern roadside architecture: “The commercial strip itself generated a fresh, appropriate architecture that spoke the common design language of the public streets, understood by a wide cross-section 253   C o nc l u si o n

of the population. They [coffee shops] were Modern architecture, but they were also widely popular; a rare combination in the history of Modernism, where critics and architects were often wary of commerce and popular taste.”3 Premier Smallwood relied upon modern architecture as a clear demonstration of progress. His enthusiasm, reinforced by the federal government’s acceptance of modern architecture, naturally extended to the projects of crown corporations and municipalities. As France Vanlaethem has written, in Canada “modern architecture was placed at the heart of the federal government’s cultural policy during the 1950s and 1960s.”4 Following Newfoundland’s entry into Confederation, both the province and the federal government grappled with issues of social modernization and identity. Friedman writes about the concerns of the post-war era, and of people’s faith in the power of institutions in a time of anxiety about nuclear war and the spread of communism: “What had defined American culture in the postwar decades was a profound confidence in the power of institutions – political, cultural, and architectural – to create systems that could change lives for the better, and a belief in the power of design to create environments for modern life that would foster both individual development and community engagement.”5 The deeper significance of Newfoundland’s modern architecture is to be found in this context, beyond preoccupations with architectural style. The issue of Confederation is still debated in the province today. Although the subject in recent years has not been as prominent or newsworthy as Quebec’s possible separation from Canada, there are still many Newfoundlanders who remember the events of the late 1940s with regret. In her article “Beaver Lake Stories and the Paradoxical Syntagma of Modern Heritage,” Cynthia Hammond writes about the significance of the Beaver Lake Pavilion in Mount Royal Park, Montreal. She describes this building as “an important locus for reflection on the critical connections it summons between architecture, heritage, patrimoine, nation, memory, and identity.”6 Newfoundland’s modern architecture represents a similar locus for reflection in an unprecedented era of social, political, economic, and cultural transformation. Hammond’s article focuses on the paradoxical issue of “modern heritage,” but she manages to transcend this issue by celebrating subtle nuances of architecture and place over endless academic heritage-conservation debates. This has been my priority while researching Newfoundland’s modern architecture. Every building has a story to tell and is potentially significant if it manages to arouse curiosity. Hammond writes: “The discourse of heritage remains anchored in oddly simplistic 254   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

articulations of collectivity and significance, which might not be a problem if not for the fact that the sites and buildings labeled ‘heritage’ are often more complex than such articulations can allow. The risk is that heritage practice is framed, that is, defended and rationalized in terms that are insufficient to the actual nuances of a place. And it is an interesting question: what, if not collective identity, origins, and memory, should motivate the restoration of such locations?”7 What particularly interested me in writing this book was the opportunity to explore Premier Smallwood’s influence on Newfoundland’s architecture and cultural landscape – a perspective from the “top down” in terms of representation and decision making in the province. Smallwood was born in the small, central Newfoundland town of Gambo, but he did not grow up there. Rather, he grew up in St John’s and later lived and worked in both rural and urban Newfoundland. Except for his charisma, his deceptively informal manner, and his ability to relate to the concerns of rural Newfoundlanders, little else in his personal ambitions and proclivities was typical of outport Newfoundland. Smallwood instead had a somewhat formal appearance, exuded paternalistic authoritarianism, and held a belief that education, technology, and industrialization were the surest paths to progress and fulfillment. Still, he relied on rural Newfoundland for long-term, grass-roots support. Smallwood often ignored the egalitarian aspect of traditional life in outport communities. His plans for progress frequently overshadowed concern for the common good of local residents and for their way of life, so powerfully attached to land and sea. Having completed this research, I am surprised by how disconnected Smallwood was from the traditional values of small, face-to-face Newfoundland communities. As Richard Gwyn and others have written, there were major differences between Newfoundland’s outports, even between those in close proximity to each other in particular regions of the province, a fact that reminds me of the need to refrain from attempts to simplify and stereotype. In the early days of his career, especially through his popular broadcast The Barrelman, Smallwood gradually developed a broad base of popular support.8 Once in power, although well intentioned, he often proposed questionable ideas for development and progress that usually met with little or no resistance. He carefully controlled and monitored all those he surrounded himself with in government, and he rewarded political supporters involved with private enterprise who inevitably became highly dependent on and even addicted to his patronage. Smallwood habitually acted on whims, especially when travelling outside 255   C o nc l u si o n

the province. He proposed industrial and development schemes and cajoled esteemed “experts” in many different fields, including those in the architecture, planning, and engineering professions, to take up residence in Newfoundland. Smallwood was not always consistent in his promotion of modern architecture for new buildings, as is evident in the Colonial-style student residences designed by North Carolina architects Larson and Larson for Memorial University. Nor was he a purist when it came to the selection of materials. Modern architecture or not, he was determined to incorporate large quantities of dull-brown brick in new buildings in the province, mainly to ensure that his local brick-making political supporters could stay in business. Still, he was interested in learning about the latest developments in modern architecture on his frequent trips outside Newfoundland, as in his visit to the exhibition of the model and drawings for the World Trade Center in New York City (Figure 13.1). At various times during his years as premier, Smallwood sought advice and consulting services from many prominent Montreal architects such as McGill University professor John Bland and A.J.C. Paine and the firms of Lawson and Betts; Dobush, Stewart, Bourke (later affiliated with Holtshousen); Durnford, Bolten, Chadwick, and Ellwood; Bélanger, Roy, and Blanchette; Sandy and Blanche van Ginkel; and arcop. Smallwood or his representatives also sought advice from the internationally renowned engineer Ove Arup, Harvard professor and founder of the Bauhaus and the Architects’ Collaborative Walter Gropius, landscape architect Gordon Culham, distinguished Nova Scotia architect Keith L. Graham, Toronto architect John B. Parkin, and many others. However, by the early 1960s, Smallwood began to place a good deal of his trust in the St John’s firm of Cummings and Campbell. The number of high-profile projects they completed is impressive. The long-term leaseback arrangements Smallwood devised for public buildings such as Confederation Building, the buildings for Memorial University, and the vocational training schools were controversial. Smallwood was convinced of the need to boost progress in the private sector, and he did not seem too concerned about long-term fiscal prudence. For example, the Holiday Inns constructed in Newfoundland in the 1960s were built with taxpayers’ money by Smallwood’s close friend Arthur Lundrigan on a cost-plus fee basis. In their first years of operation they suffered substantial operating losses.9 Smallwood typically rewarded his political supporters, like electrical contractors Arthur Noseworthy and Joe Ashley, with untendered construction contracts. It is 256   N e w f o u n d l an d M o d e r n

no surprise that he and many other politicians in this era linked political fundraising with post-election rewards.10 Even Smallwood’s personal construction activities were controversial, such as his proposal to donate his own house to the province for posterity. And it was not just Smallwood’s house but also the nearby Russwood Poultry, operated by Smallwood’s son, that aroused suspicion. This is because Russwood Poultry was the major shareholder in a government-sponsored company, Newfoundland Farm Products.11 Smallwood’s interest in accelerating progress in Newfoundland sometimes made strange connections and detours, as in the European contacts he made while establishing his ambitious program of industrialization in the early 1950s. In the two decades following Confederation, Smallwood was steadfast in his belief that the best practitioners in architecture were to be found outside the province. This almost translated into the wholesale rejection of the members of the Newfoundland Association of Architects on two separate occasions. The first instance was Smallwood’s attempt in the early 1950s to import Drs Steinbrink and Thormahlen from Germany and to make them solely responsible for the “in-house” design of all government buildings. The professional expertise of these architects may not have been Smallwood’s only consideration. His ambitions for Newfoundland’s cultural landscape must also be considered. In his book I Chose Canada, Smallwood included in the chapter “Dreams That Didn’t Come True” a replica of a German town. “I had a plan to duplicate in Newfoundland the little town of Rothenburg in Germany. This is a very ancient town, quaint beyond words, where large quantities of attractive toys are made. My thought was that the existence of a replica of this, or possibly some other German town, peopled by Germans who operated hotels, restaurants, taverns, shops, and the like, would attract to Newfoundland each year thousands, or possibly even scores of thousands, of German tourists from the United States and across Canada.”12 In the early 1950s Smallwood thought he could convert Newfoundland’s industries into exemplars of German technology and efficiency. The second instance of Smallwood’s interference with the naa was the ultimatum he issued to them either to admit his protégé T. Porteous Bolton as a registered member or to face the very real possibility of having the Architects’ Act revoked. In new construction completed just before and after Newfoundland’s entry into Confederation, modern architecture created the appearance of a radical shift from tradition to modernity. In fact, apart from building features and planning developments obviously influenced by the automobile, the link between Newfoundland’s 257   C o nc l u si o n

modern and traditional architecture was maintained through decorum, a commonly accepted sense of appropriate building form and detailing for architecture in the public realm since the time of Vitruvius. For those who grew up in pre-Confederation Newfoundland, visits to the bank, to the post office, to department stores like The London, and even to doctor’s offices involved a sense of occasion. Just after Confed­ eration, Newfoundland’s modern architecture maintained this sense of propriety and decorum.13 An aesthetically less obvious, but perhaps more fundamental, shift in Newfoundland’s architecture took place when postmodernism took hold. This shift represents a dramatic loss of decorum that shows no sign of abating. A good example is the recent renovation of the Holiday Inn at the junction of Portugal Cove Road and the Prince Philip Parkway in St John’s (Figures 13.2, 13.3). Smallwood and his architects sought to ensure that the appearance of the Holiday Inn on this prominent site would be compatible with its prominent neighbours, Confederation Building and the College of Trades and Technology. The basic design of the building exhibited a restrained modernism. The 2008 renovation, done in a postmodern style that obliterated the original modern design features, makes no attempt to maintain decorum. It may be just a matter of time before the modern features of the Holiday Inn, and other extant modern buildings that have been postmodernized, are reinstated, should any of these buildings manage to survive. Newfoundland’s modern architecture from the 1950s and 1960s is disappearing at an alarming rate, obliterating the physical evidence of one of the most interesting periods in the province’s history. I hope this book will provide renewed appreciation for an architecture that once rather courageously symbolized Newfoundland’s future.

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13.2 Holiday Inn, St John’s, designed by Boigon and Heinonen, mid-1960s; mun.

13.3 Renovation of Holiday Inn, St John’s, 2010; photo by Robert Mellin, 2011.

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A pp e n d i x History of the Founding of the NAA, 1958 by William J. Ryan 1

In the final months of 1948, when it was certain that confederation with Canada would be completed by Newfoundland in 1949, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, through its president, the late Dr. A.J. Hazelgrove, fraic, invited the Newfoundland architects to form themselves into an association as a component society of the Royal Institute. The invitation from the Royal Institute was contained in a wire to architect William J. Ryan, who was a member of the Institute at that time, and to Robert F. Horwood and H. Graham Rennie, who were associates of the Royal Institute of British Architects. In compliance with this invitation, which would further the interests of architecture and architects in Newfoundland, meetings were held in St. John’s at the residence of William J. Ryan for the purpose of drafting a constitution and proposed legislation for the incorporation of the Newfoundland Association of Architects. When legislation was drafted by a group of architects, together with legal council and the assistance of the Nova Scotia Association of Architects, it was presented to the Commission of Government of Newfoundland, but was not enacted in 1948 because of the change of Government to take place on March 31, 1949, when Newfoundland would become the Tenth Province of Canada. The Commission form of Government felt that any such legislation should be enacted by the Provincial Legislature after March 31, 1949. It is interesting to note, and indeed of historical significance, the names of the architects in Newfoundland in 1948, and the names of the architects who drafted the necessary documents for the formation of the Newfoundland Association. They were as follows: F.A. Colbourne, R.F. Horwood, ariba, John E. Hoskins, T.A. Lench, William D. McCarter, F.P. Meschino, mraic, H. Graham Rennie, ariba, and William J. Ryan, mraic. It was on the tenth day of November 1949 that a certificate of Registry of Society was issued by the Registrar of Industrial and Provident Societies for the province of Newfoundland, and the Newfoundland Association of Architects Limited was registered under “The Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1919” and Amendments thereto. An inaugural dinner was held in St. John’s, Nfld. on Saturday evening, December 10, 1949. The first president of the association was William D. McCarter with R.F. Horwood as vice-president and William J. Ryan as honorary secretary-treasurer. For close to seven years after its registration, the association endeavored to have legislation enacted by the Honorable House of Assembly for the Province of Newfoundland to govern the practice of Archi­tecture in Nfld. and Labrador, and it was not until May 10, 1956, [that] the Newfoundland Architects’ Act was passed.2

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N o t e s

Chapter one   1 Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities.   2 For example, the houses known as “Painted Ladies” on Nob Hill in San Francisco, California.   3 Mellin, Tilting.   4 The title of this book might more properly include the full name of the province, Newfoundland and Labrador, but most of the examples of early modern architecture I include are from the Newfoundland part of the province and date from the period prior to the official name change on 6 December 2001 to Newfoundland and Labrador.   5 Nicholas Herder, grandson of Frederick A. Colbourne, the architect of the Clouston Residence and the Model Home for the Kinsmen, told me that one of the most remarkable aspects of Newfoundland’s modern architecture from this period is that it has become practically invisible to long-term residents of the province. Correspondence with Nicholas Herder, 2010.   6 Readers may question if my critical treatment of Smallwood is fair. However, during the course of my research I heard many stories about the dire circumstances of individuals, families, and even entire communities who were not political supporters of Smallwood. A conversation I had in 2009 with Edward Roberts confirmed that my portrayal of Smallwood was appropriate. Also, Richard Gwyn, Smallwood’s biographer, read an early version of the manuscript for this book, and he had no objections.   7 Gwyn, Smallwood: The Unlikely Revolutionary, 268–9.   8 Neary’s “Party Politics in Newfoundland, 1949–1971: A Survey and Analysis” convinced me of the merits of limiting the period of my study. Neary discerns three distinct periods for Newfoundland’s post-Confederation political history. “A first period obviously began with the completion of confederation and the accession to power in St. John’s of Joseph Roberts Smallwood. A second period can be said to have started with the Progressive Conservative victory in the federal general election of 1957 – an event which drastically altered the realities facing Smallwood and the Liberal party. A third period, it could be argued, began with the sweeping Conservative victory in Newfoundland in the federal election of 1968, the first Conservative electoral victory in the province’s post-Confederation history. Running through these periods there is a common theme: the continuing erosion of the traditional, staple, subsistence, outport economy of Newfoundland by the forces of urbanism and industrialism” (205).   9 Correspondence with Richard Gwyn, 2010.

Brian Tobin in Callahan, Joseph Roberts Smallwood, viii. Callahan, Joseph Roberts Smallwood, 115. Mellin, Tilting. I am indebted to Professor Steven Mannell for suggesting that I clarify this point. 14 Gwyn, Smallwood, 277. 15 Semour, “St. John’s Gets the ‘New Look,’” 5. I am indebted to Jo Shawyer for sharing this article with me. 16 Shawyer and Sharpe, “Building a Wartime Landscape,” in Occupied St  John’s. 17 Symonds, hfnl Report, “The Architecture and Planning of the Townsite Development Corner Brook 1923–5.” 18 This is similar to the concept of “serial vision” that Gordon Cullen wrote about many years later in his popular 1961 book The Concise Townscape. 19 Early plans for Cobb’s house types are in The Rooms Provincial Archives (hereafter pa), binder mg15, 1–9. 20 Symonds, “The Architecture and Planning of the Townsite Development Corner Brook,” 6. 21 Callahan, Joseph Roberts Smallwood, 117. 22 Telephone conversation with Blanche van Ginkel, 2010. The Fermeuse project file number (van Ginkel Associates) is a.18 [Fermeuse: Regional Planning], dated 1961–68. 23 Project file a.18, van Ginkel Associates. 24 Telephone conversation with Blanche van Ginkel, 2010. 25 Many construction materials and components were imported, however, and until the early 1970s architectural hardware and chimney pots were as likely to come from England as from the North American mainland. 26 The construction industry had highly skilled artisans like the Conway brothers, who specialized in traditional plasterwork for several generations. Even in the mid-1980s, I was able to hire the Conway brothers to restore plaster mouldings at my house in the west end of St John’s. Long past the customary age of retirement, the brothers arrived on the job wearing spotless white overalls, shirts and ties, and newsboy caps. At the end of the day, long after I thought their work had achieved perfection, they took out their reading glasses and small artists’ paintbrushes to touch up nearly microscopic defects. 27 Memorial University Archives and Special Collections Division (hereafter mun Archives), W.E. Brown to Premier J.R. Smallwood, folder 3:04:003, Smallwood Papers Collection no. 75. 10 11 12 13

28 The term “mainland” refers to out-of-province North American origins or destinations, and the term “mainlander” can be derogatory in Newfoundland discourse. 29 Mellin, “Modernism in Newfoundland,” 18–21. 30 Mannell, Atlantic Modern. 31 Interview with Derek Drummond, Montreal, 2010. 11

Part One   1 See www.heritagefoundation.ca/docs/Memorial_University_ College_Report.pdf (accessed 2010).



Chapter two

  1 Interview with Frank Noseworthy, St John’s, 2008.   2 In 1988 architect William MacCallum beautifully restored this building, which won a Southcott Award and an American Society for State and Local History Award that same year. It is currently a museum of pharmacology called Apothecary Hall.   3 Ryan articled with St John’s architect Tom Lench. Angus Campbell, who worked in Ryan’s office before he became a registered architect, told me that there were six German architects working in St John’s after the Second World War and some of these architects were working for Ryan in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Interview with Angus Campbell, St John’s, 2000.   4 Interview with Frank Noseworthy, St John’s, 2008.   5 According to Helen Miller of the City of St John’s Archives, the wooden T.A.S. building that previously occupied this site was destroyed in a fire on 26 October 1946.   6 For a concise overview of the considerable effect of Second World War on Newfoundland, see Patricia O’Brien’s entry on the war in the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, 5: 628–34.   7 Meaney, “St John’s,” 23.   8 At the time of writing (2011), there are plans to redevelop the Fort Pepperrell area, and the wartime buildings will probably be demolished.   9 Brendan Murphy was a member of the naa Registration Board when my credentials for membership were examined in 1978. 10 Frank Noseworthy told me, “McCarter was an architect and engineer from England. He did a lot of private houses, then commercial work, and then he realized there was a great opportunity for building fish plants in Newfoundland. He had a company called the Clayton Construction Company. ‘Mac’ [McCarter] was the architect, Clayton was the engineer, and Clayton was responsible for building fish plants. A tragic fire occurred in one of these plants, and Clayton died

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19 20

21 22 23

in the fire but McCarter continued with the business. Fred Colbourne joined McCarter, and then the firm of McCarter and Colbourne was formed. McCarter devoted most of his time to the construction end of it, not the architecture, but McCarter was a superb draftsman. He did the Rourke Residence in Harbour Grace in the late 1930s, and it was well designed.” Interview with Frank Noseworthy, St John’s, 2008. pa, gn73/2/B, box 106, bsj61, vol. 1. The East Fire Station was completed in 1948 and opened in 1949. It included a provision for horses. Concrete Products (Nfld) was the contractor, and the drawings for the building were produced by the Newfoundland government’s Department of Public Works. pa, gn73/2/B , box 83, bsj100. See also pa, binder rgi-85, 4591–2. The Central Fire Station, constructed by the American Bridge Company in 1937, was demolished soon after the construction of The Rooms complex on the site of Fort Townshend. pa, binder rgi-85, 617–20. Semour, “St John’s Gets the ‘New Look,’” 8. I remember seeing in the early 1970s similar accordion-like concrete folds between windows on a grocery store on or near George Street in downtown St John’s, but I am not sure if Colbourne designed this grocery store. pa, Drawing for a Proposed Solarium, Signal Hill, June 1947. Discovery Day celebrates Giovanni Caboto’s discovery of the island portion of Newfoundland. I am indebted to James Candow for sharing information on the solarium for Signal Hill. See Candow, The Lookout: A History of Signal Hill. Interview with Mary Devine, Morrisburg, Ont., 2009. mun Archives, Fourth Draft of the St John’s Housing Corporation Report, December 1961, Smallwood Papers Collection no. 75, folder 3.07.027. For an in-depth analysis of the Commission of Enquiry and the St John’s Housing Corporation, see Shrimpton and Lewis, “Policy Making in Newfoundland during the 1940s.” According to Chris Sharpe and Jo Shawyer, only five of these reports have been found although there are references to six reports. Plan from the Fifth Interim Report of the Commission of Enquiry on Housing and Town Planning in St John’s, January 1944, 48. In 1934 the British government ended responsible government and appointed a commission to revive Newfoundland’s economy and balance its budget. See http://www.heritage.nf.ca/law/ commission_gov.html (accessed 2011). Dunfield obtained Searles’s release from Colonel Beretta. Commission of Enquiry, Fifth Interim Report, 26. Ibid., 43.

262   N o t e s t o Pa g e s 1 5 – 3 5

24 25 26 27 28

29

30

31 32

33 34 35   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8

Ibid., 46. Ibid., 26. Ibid., 27. mun Archives, Smallwood Papers Collection no. 75, folder 3.07.027. Chris Sharpe generously shared his archive of drawings for the different house types in Churchill Park, and Chris Sharpe and Jo Shawyer provided invaluable suggestions for enhancing my text on the development of Churchill Park. I am indebted to Chris Sharpe, Jo Shawyer, and Gerald Pocius for providing a transcript of a 1999 telephone interview with Paul Meschino. In the summer of 2000, Meschino returned to St John’s for the first time in about fifty years. I, together with Chris Sharpe and Jo Shawyer, was able to interview him on videotape, and we visited his houses in Churchill Park as well as the Goldstone Residence on Rostellan Street. Searles was responsible for the design of many of the heavy concrete beams used as the main carriage beams for the first-floor structures in the Churchill Park houses. Steel beams, like those planned for the construction of the West Fire Station, could have been in short supply. According to Jo Shawyer and Chris Sharpe, Dunfield was fascinated by concrete and thought it was the building material of the future. Concrete block was used for many foundation walls for the houses in Churchill Park. Interview with Paul Meschino, St John’s, 2000. This agency was administered for a time by the former Natural Resources Department but mainly by the Department of Fisheries and Cooperatives. Information from Chris Sharpe and Jo Shawyer, 2010. Joe and Louise Doyle, interview with the author, St John’s, 1995. Interview with Paul Meschino, St John’s, 2000. See the Goldstone Residence in chapter 5. CHAPTER THREE naa Archives, St John’s. Ibid. The Newfoundland Architects’ Act was legislation governing the practice of architecture in Newfoundland. Report of the president of the naa for the year ending 4 June 1956. Gwyn, Smallwood, 158–9. mun Archives, Smallwood Papers Collection no. 75, folder 3.04.005. Ibid. Ibid.

  9 Ibid., Thormahlen to Smallwood, 22 March 1952. 10 An naa council first discussed the application of T.P. Bolton, town planner, for membership in the naa at its 17 September 1962 meeting. naa Archives. 11 At this meeting, Ernest A. Steinbrink proposed to invite Premier Smallwood as guest speaker for the next annual general meeting and his motion was accepted (naa semi-annual meeting minutes, 30 September 1964). At its 26 January 1966 semi-annual meeting, the naa proposed honorary membership for Premier Smallwood. In 1966 Frank Noseworthy was president and T.P. Bolton was vice-president. Premier Smallwood’s acceptance is recorded in the naa council meeting minutes of 4 May 1966 (naa Archives). Smallwood was unable to attend the 1966 annual general meeting because he was on vacation. He was made an honorary life member in his office in Confederation Building on 9 October 1967 (naa Archives). 12 According to Angus Campbell, Steinbrink designed the German navy’s U-boat bunkers at Brest during the Second World War. Interview with Angus Campbell, St John’s, 1999. 13 naa Archives, semi-annual meeting minutes, 30 September 1964, 2. 14 mun Archives, Smallwood Papers Collection no. 75, folder 3.04.005. In a 20 October 1969 letter to Premier Smallwood, Bolton betrayed his client Craig Dobbin: “Finally, Sir, there is something I ought to mention. About a month ago I was flying to Halifax, and Craig Dobbin went to some lengths to get me to sit with him. At first he was a little cagey, then he began to speak about the forthcoming Election for the Leadership of the Liberal Party, and eventually he, in no uncertain terms, told me that Crosbie had everything in the bag [John Crosbie challenged Smallwood’s leadership of the Liberal Party in 1969], and urged me not to be a fool by coming out on your side; and further, that he had presented a cheque for $500.00 to Crosbie to help with his campaign. When this man comes to you, next time, creeping for favours, no doubt you will remember this. Fight on, Mr. Premier, victory is close at hand!” 15 mun Archives, Smallwood Papers Collection no. 75, folder 3.04.005. 16 Interview with Frank Noseworthy, St John’s, 2008. In 1966 Bolton had ten architects on staff, as well as a civil engineer, architectural assistants, and a perspective artist/interior designer. Of the ten architects, seven were from India, one from Iran, and one from England. mun Archives, Smallwood Papers Collection no. 75, folder 3.04.005. 17 The minutes of the 9 April 1970 council meeting record: “In the absence of Mr. Bolton, the Chair Elect would chair the meeting.”

263   N o t e s t o Pa g e s 3 6 – 4 8

The minutes of the 4 September 1970 council meeting record: “Much discussion was held re T.P. Bolton and his absence from the province.” 18 The nominating committee proposed Bolton for president in its 1969 report. naa Archives. According to Charles Cullum, “there were a lot of architects who came and went, thinking that their future was in Newfoundland. They waited here five years or so and then found it was not that easy and left. One of them [Bolton] left [for the airport] in the trunk of his car. The police were after him, and they were very, very close on his tail. He made it to the airplane at the last minute, and never came back.” Jim Wells, an electrical contractor who was active in Newfoundland in the decades following Newfoundland’s entrance into Confederation, told me that Bolton later came back to St John’s for just a day to meet with his lawyers, wearing a beard as a disguise, and that someone recognized him (interview with Jim Wells, St John’s, 2009). Clare Coffey, the information officer of the Royal Institute of British Archi­tects (riba), confirmed that Bolton was elected to membership in the riba in 1936 and that he was a graduate of the University of Liverpool. 19 Interview with Angus Campbell, St Philips, Nlfd, 1999. 20 Today I sense a renewed appreciation for education grounded in experience. 21 naa Archives, annual general meeting minutes, 30 May 1950, 1. 22 naa Archives, council minutes, 13 June 1957. 23 naa Archives, President’s Report, annual general meeting, 15 January 1958, 3. 24 naa Archives, 1968. 25 naa Archives, W.B. Guihan, president, semi-annual meeting minutes, 13 June 1963, 2. In a meeting on 1 April 1964, naa council objected to cmhc doing its own architectural-design work on Newfoundland projects from its mainland office. naa Archives. 26 naa Archives, semi-annual meeting minutes, 1964, 2. 27 naa Archives, 1959. 28 Douglas Shadbolt, director of the School of Architecture at the Nova Scotia Technical College in Halifax, voiced his opposition to teaching architectural subjects at mun at the naa’s 31 January 1963 annual general meeting in St John’s. naa Archives. Later that year, the naa sponsored a National Research Council (nrc) technical session presented by R.F. Legget, director of the Building Research Division. 29 naa Archives, 1966. 30 naa Archives, President’s Report, 1963. 31 naa Archives, President’s Report, 1962. 32 naa Archives, 1961. The design of these buildings was very conservative and was influenced by residential enclaves at other universities.

33 Bill MacCallum told me that John Paddon did the working drawings for these buildings, which used the “Larson System” of brick waterproofing. According to MacCallum, the “Larson System” was a transitional system used for masonry walls that appeared during the evolution from mass masonry to cavity-wall technology. Overlapping bituminous felt membranes were tied into interlocking brick courses, with a header for every six courses of brick. Interviews with Bill MacCallum, St John’s, 2008 and 2010. 34 For example, at the 22 July 1964 council meeting of the naa, a member of the association was taken to task over an advertisement in the Newfoundland Churchman, which violated item 6 of the Code of Professional Conduct of the Architects’ Act. naa Archives. 35 naa Archives, 1968. 36 naa Archives, 12 November 1949, meeting minutes, 1. 37 naa Archives, 1969. Steinbrink designed the interior of the office used by Smallwood in St John’s before Confederation Building opened. pa, binder rgI-85, rg4.4, 270–81. See also pa, rg4.4, 41/83, 277–81. Steinbrink drew full-size door-trim details for this office. 38 Gwyn, Smallwood, 167–8. PART TWO   1 Smallwood, ed., Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province. Many Newfoundland residents, especially those who had opposed Confederation, would have resented or at least questioned this title.   2 The Smallwood government planned the “Come Home Year” celebrations to entice expatriate Newfoundlanders to return to the province to celebrate Newfoundland’s distinctive culture. See: http://www.heritage.nf.ca/arts/policy.html (2010).   3 Smallwood, ed. Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province, 5.   4 Ibid.   5 Interview with Edward Roberts, St John’s, 2009.   6 Smallwood, ed. Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province, 3.   7 Ibid., 6.   8 Gwyn, Smallwood, 335.   9 Callahan, Joseph Roberts Smallwood, 161. 10 Ray Guy, “Sunshine All the Way,” 7 June 1966, reprinted in The Smallwood Years, 61–3. 11 Patronage was not unusual for a Canadian province in this era, but Smallwood was particularly blatant in rewarding his supporters from business and industry. 12 Callahan, Joseph Roberts Smallwood, 106.

264   N o t e s t o Pa g e s 4 8 – 5 9

CHAPTER FOUR 1 Smallwood, ed., Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province, 30. 2 John McNeil of Lundrigan’s was involved in the design-build construction of such hospitals as Gander, Grand Falls, and St Anthony. Interview with Bill MacCallum, St John’s, 2008. 3 Rowe, A History of Newfoundland and Labrador, 517. 4 St John’s architect Bill MacCallum told me that one of his first jobs before he became a registered architect involved coordination work for concrete-reinforcing bars on the nurses’ residence known as Southcott Hall on Forest Road. Interview, St John’s, 2008. 5 pa, rg54.2: 1–1566, nos. 1–10. 6 Interview with Brendan Murphy, St John’s, 2008. 7 These are described in an entry under “Hospitals” in Smallwood, ed., Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, 2: 1071. 8 Drouin-Brisebois, Christopher Pratt: All My Own Work, 94–5. 9 Smallwood, ed., Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, 2: 1056. 10 Parkin wrote to Smallwood again on 21 May 1971: “You may recall the writer, as I had both the privilege of travelling to Newfoundland with you some time ago in a Department of Transport aircraft with our mutual friends, Jack Pickersgill and John Turner, and meeting with you in your offices in Confederation Building.” mun Archives, Smallwood Papers Collection no. 75, folder 3.04.005. CHAPTER FIVE 1 By the early 1990s, all the original porch roofs and bay windows on Livingstone Street had been removed to reduce maintenance. 2 Interview with Edward Roberts, St John’s, 2009. Drawings of the Elizabeth Towers bathroom vanity details dated 1967 are in the pa, mg13, 72/83/119. 3 The zigzag roof type was common throughout North America in the 1950s and 1960s, especially in roadside architecture. For examples from Cincinnati, Ohio, see http://cincinnatimodernation.blogspot. com/2009/07/zig-zag-roof-scavenger-hunt.html (accessed 2010). 4 mun Archives, Smallwood Papers Collection no. 75, folder 3.07:027. 5 Wells, Frank Moores: The Time of His Life, 93. 6 Paul Meschino decided not to continue his architectural practice in St John’s and moved back to Toronto shortly around the time the Goldstone Residence was completed. There he established a successful architectural practice and designed many large projects in Canada and the United States. 7 Interview with Brendan Murphy, St John’s, 2008. 8 Ibid.

9 On the Mosk Residence, Neutra painted the clapboards silver to simulate metal cladding. It is not clear if Meschino was aware of this building. 10 Interview with Paul Meschino, St John’s, 2000. According to Meschino, Joe Goldstone did not think much of cars and refused to have a garage or carport. “Even though he was a very wealthy man, he had a very modest car.” 11 Meschino used vertical vent panels with louvres on many of his houses for Churchill Park. 12 According to Barbara Lamprecht, the design work for this residence first appeared as Case Study House no. 6 in 1946. Neutra used these vents to avoid using screens on operable windows that would disturb the view. Lamprecht, Richard Neutra 1892–1970, 71. 13 http://www.jetsetmodern.com/keckarticle.htm (accessed 2010). 14 I am indebted to Viki O’Dea for providing me with a brief history of the house and for permitting me to take photographs in the summer of 2006. 15 Telephone conversation with Justin Mellor, 2009. Mellor’s parents purchased the house from Spencer. According to a 2009 interview with Brendan Sullivan in St John’s, when Spencer decided to sell his house, he interviewed prospective buyers to determine their political affiliations, refusing to sell to non-Liberals. 16 Interview with Brendan Sullivan, St John’s, 2009. 17 Smallwood, ed., Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, 5: 260. 18 Interview with Brendan Sullivan, St John’s, 2009. 19 I am indebted to Richard Symonds for sending me information on these Corner Brook houses (July 2001, unpublished article). 20 Telephone conversation with Randell Pope, 2009. 21 Smallwood, ed., Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, 2: 1085. 22 Interview with William MacCallum, St John’s, 2008. 23 List of projects with dates and firm names in Robert Horwood’s archives. In an entry under “Hotels and Motels” in the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, 2: 1086, the date of the Kenmount Motel is given as 1958 and it is described as the first modern motel in the St John’s area. 24 Rowe, A History of Newfoundland and Labrador, 502. The entry under “Hotels and Motels” in the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, 2: 1086, states, “This planned summer of celebration and re-acquaintance would extend from 15 June to 15 September 1966, and would, it was thought, place a considerable burden on the Province’s hotel and motel industry.” 25 mun Archives, Smallwood Collection no. 75, file 3:04:005.

265   N o t e s t o Pa g e s 6 0 – 8 7

CHAPTER SIX   1 See Mellin, Tilting, 35. To this day there is much regret in the community of Tilting about the loss of the old church.   2 Smallwood, ed., Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province, 58.   3 Robert Horwood’s architectural firms were Rennie and Horwood (1947–57); Craig, Madill, Horwood, Abram, and Ingleson (1959–62); Horwood and Guihan (1962–68); Horwood, Campbell, Guihan (1968–71); and Horwood, Guihan, Cullum (1971–75). Interview with Robert Horwood, Ottawa, 2000.   4 Roman Catholic Archives, St John’s, “Story of the Cathedral,” in Souvenir of the Official Opening, The Cathedral of the Most Holy Redeemer and of the Immaculate Conception, Corner Brook, Newfoundland, 9 September 1956, 9–12. See also Smallwood, ed., Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, 1: 384.   5 Netsch worked for the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. See the June 1955 issue of Progressive Architecture (P/A News Report), 89–92.   6 Telephone conversation with Keith L. Graham, 2009. At one time, Graham’s family hoped he would become an Anglican priest since he was knowledgeable about the liturgy of the Anglican Church.   7 I did not have an appointment to visit this church to take photographs the day I visited, and I was very lucky that the janitor, who was close to the door, heard me knocking and kindly let me in. He is sitting in the front pew to the left in my photo of the interior.   8 http://www.stmarythevirgin.ca/churchhistory.htm (accessed 2010).   9 Smallwood, ed., Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, 3: 394. 10 Ibid.   1   2   3   4

CHAPTER SEVEN Smallwood, ed., Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province, 66. Ibid., 82. Ibid., 99. There were additional advantages to some smaller, local schools, especially at the elementary school level. In Tilting on Fogo Island, the rural community with which I am most familiar, the community maintained its own sizeable elementary school and high school long after Confederation and always emphasized educational achievement. Students could walk to school or row across the harbour in fair weather to it, and it is easy to imagine the congenial atmosphere this created for young students.   5 mun Archives, Smallwood Collection no. 75, folder 3.09.033.   6 Ibid.

  7   8   9 10 11

mun Archives, Smallwood Collection no. 75, folder 3.09.034. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. At this time, Ryan was very busy with the design of twenty-four post offices for the eastern region of Newfoundland. 12 A.J.C. Paine also worked with architects Lawson and Betts, Montreal, on Memorial Stadium (not affiliated with Memorial University) on King’s Bridge Road in St John’s around 1952. 13 W.J. Ryan to Premier Smallwood, mun Archives, Smallwood Collection no. 75, folder 3.09.034. Ryan wrote to Premier Smallwood again on 30 January 1956, in response to Smallwood’s request for a complete report on Ryan’s involvement with the mun project. In his letter, Ryan requested an explanation for why his architectural-design work for mun had been condemned, and he submitted an invoice for his work to date totalling $25,000. Ibid. 14 Paine’s letterhead at the time was: A.J.C. Paine, M.E.I.C., F.R.A.I.C., Sun Life Building, Montreal 2, Quebec. 15 pa, box 120, item 80c. 16 mun Archives, Smallwood Collection no. 75, folder 3.09.034. 17 Ibid. 18 Interview with William MacCallum, St John’s, 2009. 19 Rowe, A History of Newfoundland and Labrador, 514. 20 In the 1990s mun relaxed the requirement to use brown brick on the new Janeway Children’s Hospital addition to the brick-clad Health Sciences Complex. 21 mun Archives, Smallwood Collection no. 75, folder 3.09.035. 22 Ibid. 23 Smallwood, ed., Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, 1: 131. Sir Christopher Barlow’s entry reads: “Architect. Born Gosport, England. Educated Eton, England; McGill University, Montreal. Barlow, the seventh Baronet of a title created in 1803, worked for such firms as Ross and McDonald, Dobush and Stewart, and Webster until he came to Newfoundland in 1966. In 1974 he began Barlow and Associates, an architectural firm, in St. John’s. Barlow was involved in the designing of the Arts and Culture Centres in Corner Brook, Gander, and Grand Falls as well as the Royal Trust Building in St. John’s, the Marine Sciences Research Laboratory in Logy Bay and the Sir Richard Squires Building in Corner Brook. In 1981 Barlow and Associates joined with other companies to form the Bay Group.” 24 mun Archives, Smallwood Collection no. 75, folder 3.04.003, Holtshousen, Dobush, Stewart, Bourke, Holtshousen, Architects and

266   N o t e s t o Pa g e s 8 9 – 1 0 6

Consultants, Carter Building, Argyle Street, St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Smallwood, 22 August 1966. 25 Mannell, Atlantic Modern, 83. 26 pa, gn73/2/b, box 63, bl11/1/4. There is a good colour rendering of the project in gn73/2/b, box 63, b/l/1, vol. 2, from the Department of Public Works. 27 pa, gn73/2/b, box 63, bl11/1/4. 28 Ibid. 29 Ibid. 30 Mannell, Atlantic Modern, 83. 31 Ibid. Mannell notes that these porthole windows pivoted horizontally. 32 Ibid. 33 I am indebted to Professor Shane O’Dea for this information. 34 List of Projects, Horwood and Guihan, 1965. 35 Telephone conversation with Keith L. Graham, 2009. 36 Ibid. 37 Richard E. Bolton, Michael Ellwood, and Jeffrey J.F. Aimers (cac McGill accession no: 11:05). See also pa, binder mg1-mg31, 4.01.008. 38 Charles Cullum told me that William Guihan worked intensively on this project. Interview with Charles Cullum, St John’s, 2008. 39 Durnford’s involvement is listed in the exhibition brochure for Mannell’s Atlantic Modern. 40 Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador Building Report – St Bride’s College, Littledale, by Deborah O’Rielly, 15 December 2006 (pdf file). 41 Place Bonaventure was constructed between 1964 and 1967. 42 Callahan, Joseph Roberts Smallwood, 174. 43 Apparently, sustainability is not on the school board’s agenda. The school’s special emphasis on the arts as part of its curriculum may change to sports. 44 The stadium in St John’s was called Memorial Stadium. It opened in 1954 and was converted into a supermarket in 2006. 45 Pinsent, “Let’s Build a Stadium!” 11, 12. 46 Rowe, A History of Newfoundland and Labrador, 524. 47 www.nfld.com/nfld/tourism/bowring/history.htm (accessed 2011). Landscape architect Frederick G. Todd from Montreal consulted on Bowring Park in 1913. See pa, binder mg91. 48 An article on pages 68–69 of the July 1960 issue of Canadian Architect on Bowring Park indicates that the van Ginkels were commissioned for this project in 1958. The article presents a brief description, a colour site plan, and several ink drawings proposing modern designs for different amenities in the park.

49 Professor Annmarie Adams wrote a biographical entry for Blanche Lemco van Ginkel in the Canadian Encyclopedia, stating that the firm of van Ginkel Associates “is well known for their Modernist design projects, particularly Bowring Park in St. John’s, influential studies of Old Montréal and Manhattan, and the initial planning of EXPO 67.” Canadian Encyclopedia, cd-Rom Version, 1998. Professor Lemco van Ginkel studied at McGill and Harvard. She taught there as well as at the Université de Montréal and the University of Pennsylvania, and she was dean of architecture at the University of Toronto. Daniel van Ginkel studied at the Elkerlyc Academy of Architecture and Applied Art, Lage Vuurse, Netherlands, practised in Amsterdam, and was a member of ciam (International Congress of Modern Architecture) and later Team X (see http://www.team10online.org/ [accessed 2011]). He and his wife started van Ginkel Associates in Montreal in 1957. Source: thecanadianencyclopedia.com. 50 When van Ginkel Associates visited St John’s to work on the bridge project in the late 1950s, the partners were referred to as “the architects from Canada.” In our interview, Blanche Lemco van Ginkel initially denied having much to do with the design of the bridge, but when I showed her copies of correspondence it was apparent that she was intensively involved. Interview with Blanche Lemco van Ginkel, Toronto, 2009. 51 Interview with William MacCallum, St John’s, 2010. When he was a student at the Technical University of Nova Scotia in Halifax in 1964, MacCallum discussed the pedestrian bridge with visiting professor Sandy van Ginkel. 52 I was not able to find information on Fasido, but his name is on the working drawings of the pool complex. 53 William MacCallum worked on a different version of the preliminary design for this building when he was with Horwood and Guihan. CHAPTER EIGHT   1 For a concise overview of Smallwood’s plans for industrialization, see www.heritage.nf.ca/law/industries.html (accessed 2010).   2 mun Archives, Smallwood Collection no. 75, folder 3.07.012.   3 Ibid.   4 Interview with William MacCallum, St John’s, 2009.   5 Interview with Paul Chafe, St John’s, 2009. Chafe’s 2009 thesis project for his Dalhousie University master’s degree in architecture is titled “Re-Develop or Perish: The Adaptive Reuse of an Industrial Rubber Boot Factory in Holyrood, Newfoundland and Labrador.” See also www.heritage.nf.ca/law/timeline.html (accessed 2010).

267   N o t e s t o Pa g e s 1 0 7 – 3 1

  6 Valdmanis and Smallwood parted company when Valdmanis was arrested in 1954 for taking kickbacks from cement and gypsum plants. See http://www.heritage.nf.ca/law/valdmanis.html (accessed 2010).   7 Gwyn, Smallwood, 177.   8 Ibid., 202.   9 mun Archives, Smallwood Papers Collection no. 75, folder 3.08.176–9. 10 Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, Fall 2005 Heritage Building Designations Summary, 2. 11 Interview with Angus J. and Maureen Campbell, St Philips, Nlfd, 2000. 12 Cummings and Campbell’s portfolio of projects. 13 www.vitrolitespecialist.com. Black Vitrolite was also used on a commercial building designed by Frederick Colbourne at the corner of Rawlins Cross in St John’s. 14 According to a list of projects I obtained from Robert Horwood, the architects were commissioned to design this building and also the Kenmount Motel on Elizabeth Avenue in 1959. 15 “[oaa headquarters’] exposed white steel frame, infilled with buff brick and glass, gave the sense of a floating volume, linking it to Mies’s Farnsworth house completed three years earlier. The white frame became a Parkin hallmark.” Freedman’s “Introduction” to The New Spirit, 13. CHAPTER NINE   1 Charles Cullum supervised the development of the Department of Transport Building when he was the architect for the Atlantic Region of the federal Department of Public Works.   2 The curtain-wall exterior is similar to that of some of Robert Horwood’s later projects.   3 Alan C. Elder as quoted by MacDonald, “An Airport That Time, Happily, Forgot,” 56.   4 Alan C. Elder as quoted in ibid.   5 Information sheet, Gander Airport, 2008 (author unidentified). Lockhead was later director of the School of Arts, Regina College, University of Saskatchewan.   6 I am indebted to Adam Leith Gollner for sharing his research on Gander Airport. For further information on the airport, see his article “When the Going was Good.”   7 Castro invited Smallwood to Cuba, and Smallwood flew there in 1974 with media mogul Geoff Stirling in Stirling’s private jet. The film Waiting for Fidel documents Smallwood and Stirling’s futile attempts to interview Castro. Michael Rubio was the director of the film, which

subsequently influenced many documentary filmmakers. Smallwood was always interested in socialism. Throughout the film, he argues with Stirling, defending socialism and the policies of the Castro government. Many feel, however, that Smallwood betrayed his socialist ideals during the International Woodworkers of America (iwa) strike in February 1959. This strike involved workers in the pulp-and-paper industry in Newfoundland, and it ended when Smallwood effectively broke the union, passing legislation that removed the iwa’s bargaining rights. Neither the Liberal Party of Canada nor Prime Minister John Diefenbaker supported Smallwood’s drastic action, and the federal government refused to send additional police to the province during the strike. See www.gfwadvertiser.ca/index. cfm?sid=171453&sc=291 (accessed 2010).   8 MacDonald, “An Airport That Time, Happily, Forgot,” 56.   9 The involvement of Lawson, Betts and Cash as well as Paine is confirmed in a letter from P.J.F. Greenacre to Premier Smallwood, 3 August 1967, mun Archives, Smallwood Papers Collection no. 75, folder 3.04.005. CHAPTER TEN   1 Designed with exterior cladding in concrete by Sir Christopher Barlow in conjunction with Lundrigan’s, Corner Brook.   2 pa, gn73/2/b, box 110, bsj/92, v2.   3 Paine was also working on the first four Memorial University buildings (Library, Arts and Administration, Science, and the Gymnasium) and on the Customs Building in St John’s (later named the Sir Humphrey Gilbert Building) at about this time. He also worked on the General Hospital, the Waterford Hospital, and the Corner Brook Sanitorium. pa, box 120.   4 According to Edward Roberts, these leaseback arrangements offered questionable long-term benefits, either economically or for the pro­vince’s credit rating. Interview with Edward Roberts, St John’s, 2009.   5 pa, gn73/2/b, box 113, bsj/92/27/2. According to documents in the pa, Hanson and Hanson, of Newark, N.J., signed an agreement to construct Confederation Building on 21 January 1958. A similar agreement was signed to construct the early Memorial University buildings, with the addition of the provincial firm Whitney-Hanson.   6 Callahan, Joseph Roberts Smallwood, 13.   7 Byrne, “Commemorative Integrity Statement, Confederation Building,” unpublished manuscript produced for the Department of Transportation and Public Works in 2008. I was a member of the steering committee for this document.

268   N o t e s t o Pa g e s 1 3 1 – 4 5

  8 Heritage Planning Files, City of North Vancouver, and http://www. flickr.com/photos/bobkh/378732331/ (accessed 2010).   9 Ibid. 10 In a letter from Philip Greenacre to Premier Smallwood, architects Betts, Beauvoir, Cash, and Greenacre claimed they were active in the province in association with Paine since 1955, citing work on the following projects: the three original buildings for Memorial University (Arts, Physical Education, Science), the Bank of Montreal on Water Street, the Sir Humphrey Gilbert Building, the Grand Falls Cathedral, Memorial Stadium in St John’s, Smallwood High School in Wabush (Labrador), and the Stella Maris Cooperative store in Corner Brook. Greenacre became a partner in the late 1960s, so this claim relates more to the activities of the predecessor firm of Lawson, Betts, and Cash. In the letter, Greenacre wrote that Premier Smallwood encouraged Betts and Cash to set up an office in Corner Brook. Betts and Cash partnered with Greenacre, and the name of their Corner Brook firm was Betts, Beaudoin, Cash, Greenacre. mun Archives, Smallwood Papers Collection no. 75, folder 3.04.005, P.J.F. Greenacre to Premier Smallwood, 3 August 1967. 11 On the Toronto Sun Life project, he was a consultant to John B. Parkin Associates. 12 naa Archives, St John’s, 1959. 13 In my interview with Edward Roberts, he characterized Confederation Building as “Stalinist.” Interview with Edward Roberts, St John’s, 2009. 14 St John’s architect Bill MacCallum told me that buff-coloured Shaw brick from Lance, Nova Scotia, was used for the construction of Confederation Building. Interview, St John’s, 2008. 15 Vancouver City Hall opened on 4 December 1936 and was designed by architects Townley and Matheson. With his connection to Vancouver, A.J.C. Paine would certainly have known about this building. According to the Vancouver City Council’s web page, the building’s style “stands at a transitional point between the vertical, highly ornamented Art Deco style and the simpler, more horizontal Moderne.” See http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/mayorcouncil/cityhall. htm (accessed 2010). 16 Byrne, “Confederation Building,” 2008, 12. 17 Goodridge was born in St John’s in 1901, was educated in England, taught in India, and was official artist to the Royal Indian Navy. He returned to Newfoundland in the last part of the Second World War and became a professor of geography at mun. pa, bsj/92/15. 18 Ibid. 19 Byrne, “Confederation Building,” 2008, 8.

20 www.gov.nf.ca/aboutnl/confed.htm (accessed 2010). 21 A more detailed description of this mural can be found in Smallwood, ed., Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, 1: 561. 22 Whitney-Hanson had their offices in the Woolworth Building on Water Street, St John’s. 23 pa, gn73/2/b, box 110, bsj/92, vol. 4, no. 95. 24 Callahan, Joseph Roberts Smallwood, 15. 25 Telephone conversation with Keith L. Graham, 29 July 2009. 26 mun Archives, Smallwood Papers Collection no. 75, folder 3.04.003. 27 Ibid. Documents in the pa indicate that the architects were hired around 1963/64 and the drawings were ready in 1965. 28 Richard J. Stoker, manager of programming at the Arts and Culture Centre, told me that Smallwood saw a castle-like convocation hall in Portugal and wanted a similar design for the Arts and Culture Centre. Interview with Richard J. Stoker, St John’s, 2010. 29 Barbara Lambert, article in the Ottawa Citizen, 4 October 1969, 37. Photocopy in mun, Smallwood Papers Collection no. 75, folder 3.04.018. 30 Ibid. 31 Callahan, Joseph Roberts Smallwood, 16. 32 mun Archives, Smallwood Papers Collection no. 75, folder 3.04.018. 33 Interview with Charles Cullum, St John’s, 2008. 34 Smallwood, ed., Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, 1: 80. 35 “Of the sixty-nine people on board, thirty-two died instantly and five died later in hospital.” Display case information sheet, Arts and Culture Centre, Grand Falls–Windsor. 36 www.westland.net/expo67/map-docs/czech.htm (accessed 2010). 37 Display case information sheet, Arts and Culture Centre, Grand Falls–Windsor. 38 See Murray, “Culture and Conflict among the Caribou.’ 39 mun Archives, Smallwood Papers Collection no. 75, folder 3.04.019, Smallwood government press release, 17 October 1967. 40 mun Archives, Smallwood Papers Collection no. 75, folder 3.04.018. 41 Andrew Waldron, “Manitoba Theatre Centre, 174 Market Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba,” Journal of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada, 35, no. 2 (2010): 63–80 at 75. CHAPTER ELEVEN   1 Once when he was a student, he received a perfect grade on an art exam when asked to draw the Union Jack because he drew it fluttering in the breeze rather than as a static object. I am indebted to Frederick Colbourne’s daughters, Wendy, Diane, Karen, and Roma, for providing information on their father in interviews and e-mails from 2007 to 2010.

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  2 E-mail from the Colbourne family, 2008.   3 Ibid.   4 McCarter started a construction company called Clayton Construction. Interview with Frank Noseworthy, St John’s, 2008.   5 Of the buildings described in this chapter, Noseworthy recalled working on Holland Hall, St Michael and All Angels, the Model Home for the Kinsmen, and the Clouston Residence.   6 E-mail from the Colbourne family, 2008.   7 mun Archives, Smallwood Papers Collection no. 75, folder 3.04.005.   8 Telephone conversation with Vaughn MacDonald, 2009. Vaughn MacDonald began living in the house when he was already at university. Since the house was sold two years after his father passed away in 1972, Vaughn did not spend much time there. He used a bedroom on the east side, located between his parents’ bedroom and the kitchen, and he remembers Colbourne’s built-in cabinets, incorporating a desk and a bed, as well as numerous shelves.   9 Telephone conversation with Vaughn MacDonald, 2009. According to Vaughn, his father later entered into partnership with Dr Harry Roberts, and they subsequently opened several pharmacies around the city. 10 Ibid. 11 Simon Lono was the roofing contractor. Ibid. 12 Interview with Frank Noseworthy, St John’s, 2008. 13 According to Frank Noseworthy, another executive of Terra Nova Motors occupied the house behind the Clouston Residence, on Rostellan Street. This house was also designed by Colbourne. It had a flat roof and was extensively renovated in the 1990s, with the addition of a pitched roof. Ibid. 14 These were later removed when repairs to the roof were made. Originally, there were six other skylights with similar lighting details as well. 15 The 1953 film The Mullinaires, showing a chorus of kitchen salesmen singing about the virtues of Youngstown kitchen cabinets, is in the Prelinger Archives at www.archive.org/details/prelinger, or www.archive.org/details/Mullinai1953 (accessed 2010). 16 Interview with Frank Noseworthy, St John’s, 2008. 17 Ibid. 18 Ibid. 19 Interview with James Randell Gushue, St John’s, 2008. 20 Second prize was a 1954 Consul four-door sedan with a heater and a defroster, deluxe options at the time, from George G.R. Parsons Ltd, the Ford automobile dealer on Kings Road. The Parsons building is

a streamlined, modern structure. It is currently the premises for an ice-cream parlour and grocery store, and many of the original exterior features of the building remain. 21 Interview with Frank Noseworthy, St John’s, 2008. 22 Ibid. 23 Ibid. 24 Although Frank Noseworthy worked on some of the architectural details, Colbourne did most of the design work on this church himself. Interview with Frank Noseworthy, St John’s, 1999. The title blocks of the working drawings show that they were prepared by Frederick A. Colbourne, Muir Building, St John’s, in 1954 and 1955. 25 On sheet eighteen, Colbourne specifies oakum and mastic caulking to seal exterior door frames to concrete walls. Oakum was commonly used for caulking wooden boats in Newfoundland. 26 Nevitt, St. Michael and All Angels, 1885–1985, 7. 27 J.P. Luscombe, “Opening of New St. John’s Church on Sunday, 30 September 1956” (Unpublished manuscript, 1956), 2. 28 The contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers for the church were: J.L.E. Price and Company (exterior building envelope), R.J. Miller (interior carpentry and finishing), Snowlight Ltd (lighting and electrical), C.A. Hubley Ltd (heating and air conditioning), Globe Furniture Company Ltd (pews and kneelers), G.H.R. Bishop and C.A. Hubley Ltd (plumbing), Ernest Clouston Ltd (sheet-metal work), John Conway (plastering), Delphis Cote Ltd (roofing and flashing), Colour Craft Ltd (painting), J. Green (masonry), Graham Day (pa system), Modern Marble Terrazzo and Tile of Newfoundland Ltd (floors), and Lester Goulding representing Casavant Frères Ltd (pipe organ). 29 When one approaches a building designed by Wright, these low canopies provide a sense of intimacy and serenity that distinguishes his work from that of many other architects. 30 Architect Angus Campbell was undoubtedly aware of this project and could have been influenced by it when preparing his flat-roof design of the Beth El Synagogue on Elizabeth Avenue in St John’s. 31 E-mail from the Colbourne family, 2008. 32 Interview with Frank Noseworthy, St John’s, 2008. The Conway brothers also did the plastering for Premier Smallwood’s private residence on Roaches Line designed by Angus Campbell. 33 Colbourne used Roman brick for his fireplaces in the Model Home for the Kinsmen and also for the MacDonald Residence. 34 E-mail from the Colbourne family, 2008. 35 Construction documents in the archives of St Michaels of All Angels.

270   N o t e s t o Pa g e s 1 7 1 – 9 4

36 Unfortunately, most of the glass block was removed from these buildings over the years. 37 Caudill, Toward Better School Design. This book went beyond the technical aspects of school construction to address the quality of the educational experience, as well as exterior and interior environmental factors that should be considered in school design. The modern school projects he presents in his book look strikingly contemporary today. Caudill included photographs of new schools using “directional glass blocks” on pages 14, 62, and 196. The earliest example, on page 14 (photo 18), dates from 1949. Architects involved with school design today have rediscovered Caudill’s proposals for day lighting and passive ventilation. 38 Interview with Frank Noseworthy, St John’s, 2008. 39 According to Noseworthy, Cummings and Campbell were so busy designing other vocational schools that they could not handle all the work, and Cummings asked Colbourne if he would be interested in taking on the design of the Bell Island vocational school. Ibid. 40 Ibid. 41 Frank Noseworthy began working with Fred Colbourne in 1956. Noseworthy recalled that his partnership with Colbourne started when there was a lot of work being done on the vocational schools in the province. Ibid. 42 The list of equipment that accompanied the drawing for the fallout shelter included beds, cooking vessels, disposable cups and plates, knives, forks, and spoons, can openers, paper towels, a kerosene cooker and kerosene lamp, an electric lamp with batteries and spare bulbs, a flashlight, ten gallons of kerosene (two in the shelter, and the rest in the basement), matches, a garbage can (two if no waste water run-off was possible), garbage bags, a toilet (with two weeks’ supply of polyethylene bags), a shovel, crowbar, axe, pocket knife, whistle, pliers, fire extinguisher, battery radio (and spare batteries), clock, hand basin, and string. 43 The Morrow Residence is now situated in a protected Heritage Conservation Area. The architect for the original house was probably Graham Rennie, since this house is very similar to a house he designed for the O’Dea family at the end of Winter Place in St John’s. 44 E-mail from the Colbourne family, 2008. Chapter Twelve 1 Interview with Angus and Maureen Campbell, St Philip’s, Nlfd, 2000. 2 Campbell was inducted into the Newfoundland Basketball Home of Fame. Interview with Rob Campbell, St John’s, 2008.

3 Sullivan, “A Painterly Architect,” R5. 4 Interview with Maureen Campbell, St Philip’s, Nlfd, 2008. 5 Interview with Henry Cummings, St John’s, 2009. German-born architect Wilhelm Jenny and draftsman William Brown, who later became a registered architect, also worked in Ryan’s office at that time. Interview with Angus and Maureen Campbell, St Philip’s, Nlfd, 2000. 6 Maureen Campbell told me that George and Angus had different priorities, and that Angus felt overworked. Interview, Maureen Campbell, St Philip’s, Nlfd, 2008. George Cummings’s father was involved with construction in St John’s, and he and George’s brother Henry worked on some Cummings and Campbell projects in the 1950s, including Beth El Synagogue. 7 Interview with Rob Campbell, St John’s, 2009. 8 mun Archives, Smallwood Papers Collection no. 75, folder 3.04.003. 9 Gwyn, Smallwood, 395–6. Richard Gwyn describes the scandal that erupted in 1972 over government buildings for nine liquor stores. It was revealed that the government was renting these stores from four private shareholders at exorbitant rates, and that one of the shareholders was Premier Smallwood. 10 Interview with Jim Wells, St John’s, 2009. Wells was the electrical contractor on many buildings designed by Cummings and Campbell, and he and Campbell were good friends. 11 Interview with Jeff Cummings, son of Henry Cummings, St John’s, 2009. Rob Campbell told me that the office was equipped with Knoll furniture. Interview with Rob Campbell, St John’s, 2009. 12 Kahn, Listen While I Tell You, 178–80. 13 Interview with Angus and Maureen Campbell, St Philip’s, Nlfd, 2000. 14 Rosenak, Tree of Life, Tree of Knowledge, 110–11. 15 Interview with Henry Cummings and his son Jeff Cummings, St John’s, 2009. 16 Interview with Angus and Maureen Campbell, St Philip’s, Nlfd, 2000. 17 R.A.I.C. Journal, serial no. 399, 35, no. 11 (1958): 421. 18 Interview with Angus and Maureen Campbell, St Philips, Nlfd, 2000. 19 This vision was lost in the late 1990s as a result of the construction of two-storey homes on lots immediately behind the synagogue. 20 Unfortunately, the translucent wall had to be substantially repaired a few years after the building was completed because of maintenance and leakage problems. 21 Mannell, Atlantic Modern, 71. 22 Tafel, Frank Lloyd Wright, 258.

271   N o t e s t o Pa g e s 1 9 4 – 2 1 3

23 Prints of drawings for the residence in the mun Archives are dated June 1958 and titled “Russwood Ranch.” 24 Smallwood’s carpenter Howard Roberts installed the statue. Interview with Howard Roberts, Mount Pearl, Nlfd, 2008. 25 Mannell, Atlantic Modern, 75. 26 Gwyn, Smallwood, 205. 27 Interview with Dale Russell FitzPatrick (Smallwood’s granddaughter), St John’s, 2008. 28 Gwyn, Smallwood, 278–9. 29 Interview with Maureen Campbell, St Philip’s, Nlfd, 2008. 30 Angus Campbell archives. 31 Mannell, Atlantic Modern, 75. 32 Interview with Jim Wells, St John’s, 2008. 33 Interview with Howard Roberts, Mount Pearl, Nlfd, 2008. 34 Interview with Dale Russell FitzPatrick, St John’s, 2008. 35 Interview with Howard Roberts, Mount Pearl, Nlfd, 2008. 36 Interview, Dale Russell FitzPatrick, St John’s, 2008. 37 The roof’s fairly shallow pitch and resulting complex drainage could have exposed the house to leaks in strong winds. Special flashing was required at the intersection of the chimney with the roof where the wings joined, since the chimney blocked roof drainage. According to carpenter Howard Roberts, there were no leaks when he finished the construction of the house, despite this tricky intersection. Interview with Howard Roberts, Mount Pearl, Nlfd, 2008. 38 Ibid. 39 Roberts also constructed Angus and Maureen Campbell’s residence in St Philips, Nlfd. 40 Interview with Howard Roberts, Mount Pearl, Nlfd, 2008. Roberts’s jet comparison corresponds with my own impression of the house as a large, folded paper airplane. 41 Edward Roberts told me that, when he was Smallwood’s executive assistant, he wrote most of the replies to letters received by Smallwood. He would occasionally stay in Newfoundland House overnight, if work required this, but Smallwood always drove back to St John’s alone, since this was his private time to think. Smallwood typically drove himself to St John’s and back until his eyesight was compromised by an operation. Interview with Edward Roberts, St John’s, 2009. 42 Brian Tobin in Callahan, Joseph Roberts Smallwood, vii. 43 See Byrne’s “Commemorative Integrity Statement, Confederation Building.” 44 Melis was an artist from the Netherlands who came to St John’s in the early 1950s. He passed away alone in an apartment in St John’s when

he was in his early fifties. Interview with Maureen Campbell, St Philip’s, Nlfd, 2008. 45 Pelley’s Brick Manufacturing Plant at Pelley’s Island near Clarenville, later Pelley-Shaw. 46 pa, box 135, bsj/126, vol. 4, item 31: Cummings and Campbell to C.H. Conroy, 6 October 1965. R.E. Whitten did an inspection of the brick for Cummings and Campbell, and in his opinion the brick was mw (moderate weathering) grade and not the required sw (severe weathering) grade. 47 Interview with William MacCallum, St John’s, 2008, and telephone conversation with Keith Graham, 2009. 48 pa, gn73/2/b, box 135, bc2/12, vol. 2. 49 pa, gn73/2/b , box 82, bs24/1, item 119. 50 Mannell, Atlantic Modern, 71. Design features present in Taliesin West, such as extending exterior walls with sloped ends, low-tapered walls forming planters, wide steps, and spatial intervals of compression and decompression, are also evident in Campbell’s designs for many other buildings. 51 Cummings and Campbell designed both of the houses adjacent to the George Cummings Residence, but they are fairly conventional by comparison. 52 See the Canadian Centre for Architecture (cca) article “Frank Lloyd Wright and Quebec,” www.cca.qc.ca/en/collection/5-frank-lloydwright-and-quebec (accessed 2010). 53 Cummings and Campbell, Architects and Engineers, firm brochure, 1964. 54 Interview with Dr John McNicholas, St John’s, 2009. 55 Campbell, “Design for Flexibility in a 2-bed Ward for Newfoundland Hospital,” 56. Chapter Thirteen   1 Friedman, American Glamour, 6.   2 Ibid., 213.   3 Hess, Googie Redux, 18–19.   4 Vanlaethem, “The difficulté d’être of the Modern Age,” 151–71.   5 Friedman, American Glamour, 228–9.   6 Hammond, “Beaver Lake Stories,” 61.   7 Ibid., 65–6.   8 This fifteen-minute, six-night-a-week radio program first went on the air in 1937 and was sponsored by F.M. O’Leary Ltd for nearly seven years. Smallwood, ed., Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, 1: 134.

272   N o t e s t o Pa g e s 2 1 3 – 5 5

Wells, Frank Moores, 93. Ibid., 93–4. Ibid., 94. Smallwood, I Chose Canada, 359. The number of German firms represented in Smallwood’s industrial program of the 1950s is remarkable. For a complete listing, see the entry “New Industries” in Smallwood, ed., Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, 4: 44–6. 13 In On Architecture (Book One), 29, Vitruvius wrote about the grounds for decorum: “Décor demands the faultless ensemble of a work composed, in accordance with precedent, of approved details. It obeys convention, which in Greek is called thematismos, or customs or nature.”   9 10 11 12

APPENDIX   1 naa Archives, St John’s, Newfoundland.   2 At the time of incorporation, the naa enrolled as members: F.A. Colbourne, Michael J. Downey, William J. Ryan, T.A. Lench, R.F. Horwood, W.D. McCarter, H.G. Rennie, John E. Hoskins, George W. Cummings, L.W. Hopkins, Angus J. Campbell, William E. Brown, Brendan E. Murphy, and Cyril J. Congdon, Ernest A. Steinbrink, and Francis Dove. naa Archives, Presidents Report (T.A. Lench), 1962.

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B i b l i o g rap h y

Adams, Annmarie. “Blanche Lemco van Ginkel.” Canadian Encyclopedia, cd-Rom, 1998. Browne, William J. And Now … Eighty-Seven Years a Newfoundlander: Memoirs of William J. Browne, P.C., Q.C., LL.D., Volume II 1949–1965. St John’s: Dicks and Company 1981. Byrne, Allan. “Commemorative Integrity Statement, Confederation Building.” 2008. Unpublished manuscript. Callahan, William R. Joseph Roberts Smallwood: Journalist, Premier, Newfoundland Patriot. St John’s: Flanker Press 2003. Campbell, Angus J. “Design for Flexibility in a 2-bed Ward for Newfoundland Hospital.” Canadian Hospital, 1969 Construction Issue, 46, no. 5 (1969): 56–7. Canadian Centre for Architecture (cca). “Frank Lloyd Wright and Quebec,” www.cca.qc.ca/en/collection/5-frank-lloyd-wright-andquebec (accessed 2010). Candow, James. The Lookout: A History of Signal Hill. St John’s: Creative Publishers 2011. Caudill, William. Toward Better School Design. New York: F.W. Dodge 1954. Crosbie, John C., with Geoffrey Stevens. No Holds Barred: My Life in Politics. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart 1997. Cullen, Gordon. The Concise Townscape. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold 1961. drouin-brisebois, josée. Christopher Pratt: All My Own Work. With an Introduction by Jeffrey Spalding. Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre 2005. Freedman, Adele. “Introduction.” In Rhodri Windsor Liscombe, The New Spirit: Modern Architecture in Vancouver, 1938–1963. Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre 1997. Friedman, Alice. American Glamour and the Evolution of Modern Architecture. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press 2010. Gollner, Adam Leith. “When the Going was Good.” New York Times, Travel Section, 20 March 2005. Guy, Ray. The Smallwood Years. Portugal Cove-St Philips, Nlfd: Boulder Publications 2008. Gwyn, Richard. Smallwood: The Unlikely Revolutionary. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart 1972. Hammond, Cynthia. “Beaver Lake Stories and the Paradoxical Syntagma of Modern Heritage.” Architecture and Ideas (Experimental Modernism), 8 (2009): 61. Hess, Alan, Googie Redux: Ultramodern Roadside Architecture. San Francisco: Chronicle Books 2004.

Izenour, Steven. “Foreword” (1985). Alan Hess, Googie Redux: Ultramodern Roadside Architecture. San Francisco: Chronicle Books 2004. Jacobs, Jane. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Toronto: Random House 1984. Kahn, Alison. Listen While I Tell You: A Story of the Jews of St. John’s, Newfoundland. Social and Economic Studies no. 35. St John’s: ISER 1987. Kalman, Harold. A Concise History of Canadian Architecture. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2000. Lamprecht, Barbara. Richard Neutra 1892–1970: Survival through Design. London: Taschen 2004. MacDonald, Nancy. “An Airport That Time, Happily, Forgot.” Maclean’s, 23 April 2007. Mannell, Steven, ed. Atlantic Modern: The Architecture of the Atlantic Provinces, 1950–2000. Halifax: TUNS Press 2004. Meaney, Ted. “St. John’s.” Atlantic Guardian, 1, no. 2 (1945). Mellin, Robert. “Modernism in Newfoundland.” Canadian Architect, 45, no. 3 (2000): 18–21. – Tilting; House Launching, Slide Hauling, Potato Trenching, and Other Tales from a Newfoundland Fishing Village. New York: Princeton Architectural Press 2003. Murray, Irena. “Culture and Conflict among the Caribou: Geopolitics and the Czechoslovak Pavilion at Expo ’67.” Cold War Modern Symposium, 4–5 January 2007, http://artsresearch.brighton.ac.uk/events/ cold-war-modern-symposium (accessed 2010). Neary, Peter. “Party Politics in Newfoundland, 1949–1971: A Survey and Analysis.” In Newfoundland in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries: Essays in Interpretation. Toronto: University of Toronto Press 1980. Nevitt, Joyce. St. Michael and All Angels, 1885–1985. St John’s: Jesperson Printing, 1985. O’Rielly, Deborah. “Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador Building Report – St. Bride’s College, Littledale, December 15, 2006.” Perlin, A.B., ed. Newfoundland in 1964: The Newfoundland Record Special Issue. St John’s: Creative Printers 1964. Pinsent, Douglas. “Let’s Build a Stadium!” Atlantic Guardian, 7, no. 10 (1950). Pottle, Herbert L. Newfoundland; Dawn without Light: Politics, Power & the Sea People in the Smallwood Era. St John’s: Breakwater 1979. Rand, Ayn. The Fountainhead. New York: Signet 1993. Rosenak, Michael. Tree of Life, Tree of Knowledge: Conversations with the Torah. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press 2003.

Rowe, Frederick W. A History of Newfoundland and Labrador. Toronto: McGraw Hill Ryerson 1980. – The Smallwood Era. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson 1985. Semour, Eric A. “St. John’s Gets the ‘New Look.’” Atlantic Guardian, 4, no. 6 (1948). Shawyer, Jo, and Christopher Sharpe. “Building a Wartime Landscape.” In Steven High, ed., Occupied St John’s: A Social History of a City at War, 1939–1945. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press 2010. Shrimpton, Mark, and Jane Lewis. “Policy Making in Newfoundland during the 1940s: The Case of the St. John’s Housing Corporation.” Report for cmhc External Research Program 1983. Smallwood, Joseph R., ed. Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador. 5 vols. St John’s: Harry Cuff 1981–94. – I Chose Canada. Toronto: Macmillan 1973. – ed. Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province. St John’s: Newfoundland Government Publication 1966. Sullivan, J.M. “A Painterly Architect” (Angus Campbell obituary). Globe and Mail, 17 October 2001, R5. Symonds, Richard. “The Architecture and Planning of the Townsite Development, Corner Brook 1923–5.” Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (hfnl) Report. Tafel, Edgar. Frank Lloyd Wright: Recollections by Those Who Knew Him. New York: Dover 1993. Thoms, James R., ed. Call Me Joey. St John’s: Harry Cuff 1990. Vanlaethem, France. “The difficulté d’être of the Modern Age.” Journal of Architecture, 9 (June 2004): 151–71. Vitruvius. On Architecture. Cambridge: Loeb Classical Library 1934. Waldron, Andrew. “Manitoba Theatre Centre, 174 Market Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba,” Journal of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada, 35, no. 2 (2010): 63–80 at 75. Wells, Janice. Frank Moores: The Time of His Life. Toronto: Key Porter Books 2008.

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Index

Aalto, Alvar, 7, 18, 62, 179 Adams, Thomas, 10, 11 Adelaide Motors, 133 advertising, 51 Affleck, Raymond, 156 A-frame, 94, 95 Aldrich, Frederick, 107, 109 Alward and Gillies, 98 American Aerated Water Company, 30–2, 64, 137, 171–2 American culture, 254 Anglican Church, 91–4, 110, 170–1, 189 Anglican School Board, 170 Angus and Associates, H.H., 62 apprenticeship, 24, 44, 170–1 Architects’ Act, 44–6, 257, 260 Architects’ Collaborative (tac), 101 Architects in Co-partnership (arcop), 113, 154–5, 256 architectural education, 14, 21, 44 architecture; animation, 109; character, 252; contextual modernism, 253; decorum in, 258; diversity of design, 252; glamour in, 253; historical styles, 253; and institutions, 254; modern, 7–9, 13–16, 57, 59, 252, 254, 256; modern heritage, 254–5; postmodernism, 258; precedents for, 14, 15, 252; and progress, 254; projects, 24; resistance to modern, 253; roadside, 253–4; rural, 9; schools, 14; traditional, 21, 24; urban, 9; vernacular, 8 Argentia, 10 Argyle Street office building, 134, 205, 224, 228 Art Deco, 21, 26, 31, 137, 150 Arts and Administration Building (mun), 99, 101–2, 104, 203, 228–9, 233 Arts and Culture Centres, 106, 152, 154–61 Arts and Education Building (mun), 99, 102, 203, 228–9, 233, 241, 244–6 associate architects, 44, 63, 154, 175

Atlantic Modern (book and exhibition), 15, 18, 107, 213 Auto Man, 133 automobiles, 57–8, 131, 133–6, 257; dealerships, 133, 135; entrance canopy, 190; and street patterns, 32; underpass for, 37, 85 Avalon Mall, 17, 129, 137 Avalon Peninsula, 10 Ayre’s Supermarket, 137–8

character, 98; deterioration of, 234; L.E. Shaw Company, 130, 193; mural, 156–8; Pelley-Shaw, 130, 156; Roman, 186, 193 Brigus garage, 136 Brookfield Ice Cream Factory, 137, 139 Brown, William E., 14, 18, 44, 82, 83, 166 Brutalism, 163 Burin District Vocational School, 234–6, 246 butterfly roof, 241 Byrne, Allan, 148–50, 152

Bannerman Park, 120 Barlow, Sir Christopher, 106, 108, 160–1 Barrelman, The, 255 Bélanger and Roy, 62–3 Bélanger, Roy, Blanchette, 59, 256 Beth El Synagogue, 7, 15–16, 18, 89, 203, 205–13, 238 Beth Sholom Synagogue, 210 Betts, Randolf C., 104, 145, 148–9, 152, 256 Bishop Abraham Junior High, 172 Bishop’s College, 172, 194 Blackhall School, 172 Bland, John, 148, 256 Blumcraft, 213 Boigon and Heinonen, 85, 86–7, 259 Bolton, Ellwood, and Aimers, 17, 113–14 Bolton, T. Porteous, 17–18, 46–8, 68, 97, 104, 113–14, 148, 257 bomb (fallout) shelters, 50, 82, 183, 196, 223, 241 Booth Memorial High School, 64 Boston City Hall, 162 Bowater’s Newfoundland Pulp and Paper Mills, 130 Bowring Park, 118, 120–5; pedestrian bridge, 123–5 Bowring’s, department store, 134, 136, 203; parking garage, 134, 136, 203 brick, 105–6, 256; Aaron Smith and Sons, 129; C. and M. Pelley Brick Factory, 129–30, 238;

Cabot, John, 152 Callahan, William, 6, 11, 13, 18, 58–9, 117, 148, 156 Campbell, Angus J., 14–18, 24–5, 100–1, 106–7, 127, 134, 136–8, 154–5, 165–7, 200–50, 252, 256 Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (cmhc), 49, 70 Canadian Hospital, 246, 250 Canadian National Railway (cnr), 123, 125 Candow, James, 32 Carbonear, 14 Carbonear Hospital, 246–50 Carnell’s Funeral Home, 127, 203, 238–40, 252 Carver, Humphrey, 38 Case Study House program, 82 Castro, Fidel, 145, 268 Cathedral of St John the Baptist, 24 Caudill, William, 194 cbc Radio, 26 Charles, Jean, 170 Charles S. Curtis Memorial Hospital, 63 Chatelaine, 82, 83, 252 Chemistry/Physics Building (mun), 241, 243, 245–6 Chimo Office Building, 238–9 chocolate manufacturing, 131 Churchill Park, 9, 11, 18, 34–42, 68, 70, 74, 81, 85, 178; apartments, 37; cooperatives, 41–2; economy, 41; house types, 38; planning, 35

Churchill Square, 24, 37, 68, 85, 134, 137, 183, 203 Churchill Square apartments, 68 Civil Service Building, 148. See also Confederation Building Clarenville District Vocational School, 234–5, 237–8, 241 Clouston, Donald, 179 Clouston Residence, 179–83 Cobb, Andrew Randall, 10–11 Cochius, Rudolf, 120 Cochrane’s Pond, 13 Colbourne, Frederick A., 4, 17–18, 24, 30–2, 44, 49, 64, 81, 117, 166, 165–99, 252, 260 Colbourne and Noseworthy, 196–9 Cold War, 50, 161 College of Fisheries, Navigation, and Marine Engineering and Electronics, 97 College of Trades and Technology, 50, 85, 117–18, 152, 232–4, 246, 258 Come Home, Newfoundlander, 58 Come Home Year (1966), 57–9, 85 commerce, 57, 128, 129–41, 131, 134, 137, 141 Commission of Enquiry on Housing and Town Planning in St John’s, 35, 148 competitions, 52 Conception Bay South (Seal Cove) Vocational School, 234–5, 237, 241 concrete, 26, 31, 82, 133–4; bents, 94–5; block, 81; cement for, 131; character, 64, 98; detailing, 190–3; pedestrian bridge, 122–5 Confederation, 4, 11, 21, 44–5, 254; education since, 97–8; pre-Confederation, 32; progress since, 57–9; Smallwood’s role in, 45 Confederation Building, 21, 85, 104, 106, 117, 148–53, 162, 218, 233, 235, 245, 256, 258; mural, 152–3 Conroy, C. Harry, 51, 101, 109, 152, 234, 235 Conservatives, 175 construction, 13, 14, 26, 48; components, 14

continuing education, 50 Conway, John, 192, 224 cooperatives, 41 Corner Brook, 10–12, 18, 50, 80–2, 85, 90–1, 106, 118, 130–1, 137–8, 143, 154, 160, 172–3, 203, 228–31 Corner Brook Arts and Culture Centre, 106 Cornwall Theatre, 30–1, 171, 173 cotton mill, 131 Coughlin College, 110 Craig, Madill, Horwood, Abram, and Ingleson, 85–6, 90, 139–40, 143, 205 Crosbie, Cheslie, 227 Crosbie, John C., 13 Crosbie Building, 238 Culham, Gordon, 110, 148, 256 Cullum, Charles, 68, 141, 159–60 cultural landscape, 8, 13 Cummings, George W., 24, 37, 43–4, 46–7, 59, 62–4, 68, 78, 85, 90, 106–7, 134, 136–8, 154–5, 166–7, 201–6, 209, 213–14, 218, 224–6, 228–35, 237–42, 245–6, 250, 256 Cummings, Henry, 241 Cummings and Campbell, 44, 59, 62–4, 106–7, 134, 136–8, 154–5, 201–6, 209, 213–14, 224–6, 228–35, 237–42, 245, 250–6; offices, 204–5. See also Argyle Street office building Cummings Residence, 241–2 Curtis, L.R., 45, 47 dairy bar, 224–6 Daly, Paul, 82–4 denominational colleges, 110 denominational schools, 118 design-build, 24–5, 48 diapolyecran, 160–1 Division of Cooperatives, 41 Dobbin, Craig, 48 Dobush Stewart Bourke, 106, 108, 256 Dobush, Stuart, Burke, and Barlow, 160

278   I N DEX

Downey, Michael J., 91 Doyle, Gerald S., 203 Doyle, Joseph and Louise, 41 draftsmen, 31, 48, 172, 175, 205, 253 Drummond, Derek, 17 Duckworth Building, 26 Duffus and Romans, 99 Dumaresque, Phillip J., 98 Dunfield, Sir Brian, 11, 18, 35, 38, 42 Durnford, Bolton, Chadwick, and Ellwood, 97, 256 Eames, Charles and Ray, 143 economic development, 129 education, 14, 57, 96–7, 99, 101, 103–4, 118, 234, 241, 244, 245–6 Edwards Company, 223 Elder, Alan C., 143 Elizabeth Towers, 8, 18, 47, 68–9 engineering, 24, 35, 38, 49–51, 123, 256 Engineering Services, 13 Ewing, Sylvia and Edgar, 76–7 Ewing Residence, 76, 253 exhibitions, 15, 50, 160, 256 Expo ’67; Czech pavilion, 156, 159, 160–2; Yugoslavian pavilion, 159–60 Fairn, Leslie R., 98 Fasido, A., 127 federal public works, 57, 142–6 Fermeuse, 13 Fieldian Gardens, 172 First United Church, 172–3 FitzPatrick, Dale Russell, 215, 222, 272 Fleet, Max, 206–9 Fleming and Smith, 61 Fletcher, Norman C., 101 Fogo Island, 5–6, 18, 89 Forest Pond, 13 Fort Pepperrell, 28–9, 35, 38, 95 Fountainhead, The, 205

Frecker, G.A., 101 Friedman, Alice T., 252–4 G.A. Hickman Building (mun), 246 Gambo, 255 Gander, 58, 85, 118, 143–5, 154, 159–60, 203 Gander Airport, 143–5 Gander Arts and Culture Centre, 160 gas bar, 224, 226 General Hospital, 62–3, 65, 68, 90, 130, 149, 154 Germany, 77–8, 131, 222, 257; architects from, 45–6. See also Steinbrink, Ernest A. Giant Mart, 137 Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, 152 glass block, 66, 81, 90, 97, 137, 194–6 Goldstone, Joe, 70–1 Goldstone Residence, 68, 70–6, 85, 184, 241, 253 Gollner, Adam Leith, 145 Goodridge, Harold B., 152–3 Govan, Ferguson, Lindsay, Kaminker, Langley, and Keenleyside, 62 Govan, Kaminker, Langley, Keenleyside, Melick, Devonshire, Wilson, 63 Government Centre, Corner Brook, 106 Gower Street, 5 Grace General Hospital, 62–3, 65, 90 Grace Maternity Hospital, 64. See Grace General Hospital Graham, Keith L., 32, 44, 68, 76, 89, 91–2, 110, 112–13, 154, 194, 253, 256, 260 Grand Bank, 82–3, 143, 159, 252; United Church, 89–91 Grand Falls, 15, 18, 46, 58, 118, 154, 159–61, 170, 203, 239–40; church, 15, 239, 240–1; city hall, 46 Gropius, Walter, 99, 101, 256 Guihan, William, 25, 44, 46, 49–50, 85, 110–11, 114, 126–7, 159–60, 201, 224, 227, 246–8 Guy, Ray, 58 Gwyn, Richard, 4, 6, 8, 18, 44, 53, 58, 131, 215, 218, 255

Gymnasium Building (mun), 99, 104 gypsum, 131 Hammond, Cynthia, 254 Hazelgrove, A.J., 44, 99, 260 Health Sciences Centre, 6, 18, 62, 66, 105, 137 heritage conservation, 16, 146, 258; maintenance, 16 Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (hfnl), 10, 16 Hess, Alan, 253, 272, 274 Hickman Motors, 133, 135 highways, 57 Holiday Inns, 85–7, 256, 258–9 Holland Hall, 171, 195–6, 270 Holtshousen, Peter, 50, 106–10, 256 Holy Heart of Mary High School, 118–19 Holy Redeemer Cathedral, 89, 91 horses, 28, 31, 135, 262 Horwood, Campbell, Guihan, 25, 201, 227, 246–8 Horwood, Robert F., 14, 18, 25, 32, 33, 44, 47, 68–9, 85–6, 90, 94, 99, 110, 113–14, 118–19, 126–7, 139–40, 143, 159–60, 166, 201, 205, 224, 227, 246–8, 260 Horwood and Guihan, 85, 110, 114, 126–7, 224, 246 Horwood Lumber, 14, 18, 94 Hoskins, John E., 24, 26–7, 44, 118–19, 166, 260 hospitals, 6, 59, 62–5, 68, 90, 130, 149, 154, 189, 246–50 Hotel Newfoundland, 17 housing, 10–11, 36–42, 67–87, 175–87, 196–8, 213–24, 227–8, 241–2, 253; Buckmaster’s Circle, 70; Goodview Street, 68–9; Livingstone Street, 68–9; precedents, 38; social housing, 68–70 Imperial Oil Building, 85, 139–41, 205 industrialization, 6, 8, 59, 130–1, 256 industry, 57, 128–41, 131, 134, 137, 141 infirmary for St John’s, 46 279   I N DEX

inglenook, 222 Institution (Christopher Pratt painting), 64 International Correspondence School (ics), 167, 170, 201 Jacobs, Jane, 4 Jacobsen Residence (Montreal), 220, 241 Janeway Child Health Centre, 6 Jerrett, Eric, 90–1 jet age, 224 Johnson, Herbert, 213 Johnson, Philip, 106 Kahn, Alison, 205 Kahn, Louis, 14, 123, 156 Kallman, McKinnell, and Knowles, 162 Keck and Keck, 76; Sloan Residence, 76 Kenmount Motel, 85–6 Kinsmen, 172, 183–7, 198; Model Home for the, 172, 183–7, 189, 198 Kirke, Sir David, 152 knitted clothing, 131 Lambert, Barbara, 156 Larson and Larson, 51, 256 Larson System, 106 Latvians, 95 Lawson and Betts, 256 Lawson, Betts, and Cash, 104, 145, 148–9 leaseback financing, 104, 148, 256 Le Corbusier, 7, 14, 64, 82, 113, 134, 245; La Tourette, 113; Radiant City, 8; regulating lines, 82; Villa Schwob, 82 LeMarchant Road, 28, 31, 64, 137, 189–90, 193 Lench, Thomas A., 24, 44, 50, 260 Liberal Party, 53, 175, 263, 265, 268 Library Building (mun), 99, 101, 103–4, 116 linear parks, 152, 233 Lockhead, Kenneth, 143–4 London, New York, and Paris (department store), 71 Lundrigan, Arthur, 256

Lundrigan’s, W.J. Ltd, 59, 160, 256; office building, 203, 230–1 Luscombe, J.P., 189–90 Lutheran Church, 89, 94–5 MacCallum, William, 15–16, 27, 104, 123, 130 MacDonald, Ellwood, Vera and Vaughn, 175–9 MacDonald, Nancy, 145 MacDonald Residence, 145, 149, 172, 175–9, 183, 186, 198 machinery, 131 Macintosh, Charles Rennie, 173 MacPherson Academy, 171, 173 Madill, H.H., 141 Mannell, Steven, 15, 18, 107, 109, 213, 220 Marine Sciences Research Laboratory (mun), 15, 18, 106–10; phylarium, 109. See also Ocean Sciences Centre Marquise, 10 Masonic Temple, 9 McCarter, William D., 20, 28, 30–1, 44, 48, 64, 170–5, 190, 260 McCarter and Colbourne, 30, 31, 64, 172–4, 190 McEvoy, John T., 109 McGill University, School of Architecture, 17, 148 McGinnis, Walsh, and Kennedy, 91 Meaney, Ted, 28 Medical Arts Building, 203, 228–9 Melis, Hans, 207, 209, 234 Memorial University (mun), 6–7, 14–15, 21, 34, 36, 39, 49–51, 62, 66, 74, 86, 97–113, 130–3, 137–8, 140, 148, 150, 152, 202–3, 231, 233, 241, 243–6, 250, 252, 256, 259; campus development, 97–106, 113; student residences, 256 Memorial University College, 21. See also mun Memorial University Medical School, 6, 66 menorah, 206, 210 Merit Insurance Company Building, 228, 230–1 Meschino, Paul, 14, 17–18, 38–9, 41–2, 44, 68, 70–1, 74–6, 81, 139, 184, 241, 253, 260

military bases, 32; Argentia, 10; Fort Pepperrell, 28–9, 38 Millbrook Mall, 137–8 Mills, Neville, 85, 130, 203, 207, 247 Minimum Syllabus Program, 48 Modernfold doors, 81, 181, 205, 210 Moore, Charles, Sea Ranch, 110 Moores, Frank, 227 Morrow Residence, 198–9 motels, 85; Holiday Inn, 86–7, 258–9; Kenmount Motel, 85 Mullins Manufacturing Company, 181, 223 Murphy, Brendan, 28, 44, 64, 71, 166 Narrows, The, 149 Neary, Peter, 6 Netsch, Walter, 92 Neutra, Richard, 7, 14, 18, 71, 74, 76; Mosk Residence, 71; Wilkins Residence, 76 Nevitt, Joyce, 189 New Brunswick, 15 Newfoundland Association of Architects (naa), 14, 21, 24, 43–4, 46, 48–53, 149, 166–7, 170, 201, 205, 257, 260; advertising regulations, 51–2; public relations, 49–50; quality of architecture, 50–1 Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province, 56–9, 62–3, 68, 70, 85–6, 89–90, 97, 118, 129–30, 143, 148, 154, 203 Newfoundland Engineering and Construction Company, 148, 227 Newfoundland Farm Products, 257 Newfoundland House, 6, 8, 15, 18, 152, 202, 213–28, 230 Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Architects (nlaa), 16. See also Newfoundland Association of Architects (naa) Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation (nlhc), 13, 52 Noftall, Michael and Regina, 186 Normal School, 21, 103, 149 280   I N DEX

Noseworthy, Frank, 24, 26, 44, 48, 50, 167, 171, 173, 175, 178, 181, 183, 190, 194–6, 198–9 Noseworthy Residence, 82–4 Nova Scotia, 15 Nova Scotia Association of Architects (nlaa), 260 nuclear war, 82, 254 nurses’ residences, 68, 130 Obermaier, Dan, 76 O’Brien, Ronald, 134 O’Brien’s Fruit Store, 171, 174. See also Orange Bowl Ocean Sciences Centre (mun), 106. See also Marine Sciences Research Laboratory O’Dea, Christopher, 82 O’Dea, Viki, 77 O’Mara, Peter, 26 Ontario Association of Architects (oaa), 139, 141 Orange Bowl, 173, 174–5. See also O’Brien’s Fruit Store O’Reilly, Maureen, 201 outbuildings, 224, 226–7 outports, 4, 7, 8–9; regional differences, 255 Ove Arup and Partners, 121, 123–4, 256 Paine, A.J.C., 28, 97, 103–4, 106, 145, 148–50, 256; background, 21 Parkin, John B., 9, 18, 49, 66, 139, 148, 162, 256 parks, 118, 120–7 Parsons, Robert C., 91 Paton College, 51 Pelley, Malcolm, 129, 130, 156 pew rents, 189 pharmacy, 26 Physical Education Building (mun), 101, 103 Pittsburgh Plate Glass, 137 places of worship, 15, 17, 18, 57, 88–95, 105, 189–90, 192–3, 209, 239–41 planning, 10–11, 13; Garden City, 10, 18, 38; new towns 13; street patterns, 32; zoning, 11

Plan for a Park, 120–3 plywood, 85, 178, 183–4, 213, 223 Pope, Randell, 82–3, 252 Pope Residence, 82–3, 252 post office, 143, 145–6, 220, 258 Pratt, Christopher, 64–5. See also Institution Pratt, Ned, 30, 64–5, 191, 208 prefabricated houses, 82 Prince Edward Island, 15 Prince Phillip Place, 47 Prismasteel furniture, 143 progress, 6 Provincial Building, 106. See also Confederation Building provincial and municipal public works, 57, 148, 147–63, 149, 153 public health, 57, 61–2 public relations committee, 49–50 pump house, 224, 227 Pycha, Vladimir, 160–1 Queen’s College, 92, 110, 112–13, 154 radiant heating, 133, 190, 201 R.A.I.C. Journal, 209 Rand, Ayn, 205, 274 Rankin Newfoundland Company, 99 recreation, 57, 96–7, 99, 103, 118–27 Red Cross Memorial Hospital, 64 registration (professional), 24, 167, 260 Rennie, H. Graham, 32–3, 44, 68–9, 71, 74, 76–8, 99, 118–19, 173, 179, 201, 223, 241, 253, 260 Rennie and Horwood Architects, 32–3, 69, 99, 118–19 Repa, Miroslav, 160–1 resettlement, 6, 8, 11 R.J. O’Brien General Store, 134, 136 Roaches Line, 6, 8, 77, 152, 213, 215, 218, 220, 223–8 Roberts, Edward, 57, 68, 227–8 Roberts, Howard, 205, 223–4

Roberts, Jack D., 81 Roberts Residence, 80, 82 Roman Catholic Church, 17–18, 24, 110, 113 root cellars, 227 Rose, Rear Admiral, 202 Rosicrucians, 183 Rowe, Frederick, 62, 118 Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (raic), 44, 46, 48, 52, 99, 166, 209, 260 Royal Bank Building, 171–2 Royal Trust Building, 9 Russell, Edward, 218 Russwood Poultry, 257 Ryan, William J., 17–18, 26–7, 29, 44, 46, 48, 50–1, 99–104, 201, 204, 233, 260 Salvation Army Church, 24, 62, 64, 89–90, 209, 233 Salvation Army Citadel, 90 Salvation Army Grace General Hospital, 62, 64, 66, 68, 90 Salvation Army Officers’ Training College, 233 Saunders and Howell, 14 Savoie, Maurice, 156, 158 Scarpa, Carlo, 192 schools, 18, 24, 34, 44, 58, 64, 90, 97–8, 117– 18, 130, 194–5, 202, 230, 234–5, 241, 256 Science and Engineering Building (mun), 97, 99–101, 104 Scott, Arthur B., 175 Scott, Sir Gilbert, 24 Screech, 194 Searles, A.E., 35–6, 38, 42 Second World War, 9–10, 13, 28, 32, 34, 131, 133, 143, 163, 201, 253 Seymour, Eric A., 9 Sharpe, Christopher, 10, 18, 38–9, 40, 74 Shawyer, Jo, 10, 18, 74 Shepherd, Reginald, 214 Sheppard Case Architects, 127 shoe manufacturing, 131 shopping malls, 128–9, 137–8 281   I N DEX

Signal Hill, 32 Signal Hill Visitor Centre, 126–7 Silver Residence, 196–7 Sir Humphrey Gilbert Building, 9, 18, 145 Sir Richard Squires Memorial Park, 118 Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, 28 Smallwood, Clara, 218, 222 Smallwood, Joseph R., 4, 6, 7–8, 10–11, 13–15, 17–18, 36, 42, 44–8, 52–3, 57–9, 66, 68–9, 77–8, 87, 95, 97–9, 101, 103–6, 110, 117–18, 129–31, 145, 152, 154–6, 159–62, 167, 175, 202, 205, 213–24, 227–8, 230, 234, 250, 252–8; influence, 5–7; and the naa, 257; patronage, 255; planning vision, 13 Smallwood, William, 214 Smallwood Residence. See Newfoundland House Smith, W. George, 80–1 Smith Residence, 80, 82 smoking room, 82, 84 Solarium for Signal Hill, 32 Spencer, Edward S., 77–9, 81, 223 Spencer Residence, 77–9, 81 stadium, 32, 52, 118–19 Star of David, 206, 210 St Bride’s College, 15, 110, 113–17 steel, 31, 72, 78, 94–5, 141, 150, 160, 181, 190, 194, 196, 210, 228, 238 Steinbrink, Ernest A., 44–7, 49–50, 52, 77–8, 94, 166, 223, 257 Stirling, Geoff, 202 St James United Church, 89–90 St John’s, 4–6, 8–11, 13–14, 16–17, 20–1, 24–39, 41–2, 63, 68, 99, 116, 119, 125, 127, 133–4, 139, 152, 199; slum clearance, 32; suburbs, 9, 10, 32; urban form, 32 St John’s Arts and Culture Centre, 154–8 St John’s City Council, 49 St John’s City Hall, 9, 147–8, 162–3 St John’s College, 110–11 St John’s Housing Corporation, 34, 41, 69 St John’s Housing Corporation Report, 34

St John’s Metropolitan Board, 11 St John’s train station, 133 St John Wilson, Colin, 98 St Mary’s College, 172 St Mary the Virgin Church, 89, 91–3 St Michael and All Angels Church, 30, 171–2, 189–94, 190, 193–4 St Michael’s Anglican School, 30, 32, 171 Stokes, Catherine, 183 stone, 98 Summerville, 137 Superior Rubber plant, 130–3 Supreme Court, 47 Sydney Opera House, 123 Symonds, Richard, 10–11, 81 Tafel, Edgar, 213 Team X, 123 Templeman, Muriel, 175 Terra Nova Motors, 171, 179 Terra Nova Park, 118 terrazzo, 137, 143, 222 textiles, 131 Theakston, H.R., 98 Thormahlen, Dr, 45–6, 257 Tilting, Fogo Island, 5–6, 18, 89; Dwyer Premises, 5 Tobin, Brian, 6, 228 Tooton’s, 17 Total Abstinence Society Building, 26, 29, 201 Townley and Matheson, 151 Trans-Canada Highway, 6, 57–8, 129, 253 Trask Foundry, 14 Tree of Life, 206–7, 209–10, 213, 271, 275 Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 94–5

Valdmanis, Alfred A., 95, 131 Vancouver City Hall, 150–1 van der Rohe, Mies, 15, 18, 139, 181 van Ginkel, Blanche Lemco, 13, 120, 123 van Ginkel, H.P. Daniel, 120, 123 van Ginkel Associates, 13, 120–1, 123, 256 Vanlaethem, France, 254 Vardy, Oliver L., 8, 18, 47, 68–9 Victoria Park, 120; swimming pool, 125–6 Vitrolite, 137, 268 Vitruvius, 258 vocational schools, 97, 117–18, 130, 195, 230, 234–5, 241, 256 Vocational Schools Assistance Agreement, 117 Wells, James, 205, 220 Wells, Janice, 69 West Fire Station, 20, 28, 31 Westmount Avenue Public School, 228–9 Whitney-Hanson, 106, 148, 152 wood: mahogany, 28, 77–8, 218, 222–3 World Trade Center, 252, 256 Wright, Frank Lloyd, 7, 14–15, 18, 38, 41, 74, 181, 186, 190, 201, 209–10, 213, 220, 223, 238–9, 241, 250, 252 Youngstown cabinets, 181, 223 zigzag roof, 68, 90, 222 Zonalarm, 223

United Church, 24, 89–91, 95, 110, 172–3 United Nail and Foundry, 14 United States, 10, 14, 18, 28, 48, 106, 257; popular culture, 28 urban form, 8, 9

282   I N DEX