Francis Rattenbury And British Columbia

Yorkshire-born Francis Mawson Rattenbury (1867-1935) emigrated to British Columbia as a young architect in 1892. Within months of his arrival in Victoria he launched his brilliant, if abbreviated, career by winning an international competition to design the legislative buildings. While his life was marred by controversy, scandal and, in the end, tragedy, Rattenbury's architecture had an enduring impact on the Canadian landscape and his commercial ventures were important to the economic development of the West. Richly illustrated with over 200 drawings and photographs, Francis Rattenbury and British Columbia is the first major critical study of a Canadian architect in the context of his times. Using unpublished primary sources, including his recently discovered private letters, the authors document Rattenbury's professional career and the evolution of his architectural style. Detailed descriptions are given of some of his most famous projects, notably the legislative buildings and the Empress Hotel in Victoria. Besides working on a number of government commissions, Rattenbury became chief architect for the Canadian Pacific Railway and designed "chateau-like" buildings for C.P.R. hotels in the Rockies, Vancouver, and Victoria. Other projects such as the Vancouver and Nanaimo Courthouses and Bank of Montreal branches set the pattern for institutional architecture in British Columbia. His buildings not only drew attention to the growing importance of the province, but also lent dignity and character to its major centres. Filled with the vigour and confidence of the imperial age, Rattenbury initiated a number of commercial ventures. These included the founding of a transportation system to the Yukon goldfields and extensive land speculations. As the authors point out, these investments were perhaps not undertaken solely for monetary gain but reflected Rattenbury's firm belief in the future of British Columbia and his desire to play an active role in its growth. Unfortunately, his entrepreneurial adventures involved heavy financial losses, among which were ruinous lawsuits involving the provincial government. This pioneering work on Western Canadian architecture will serve as a valuable design source for both the specialist and lay reader. It also includes an important account of the part played by major Canadian companies and government patronage in the development of British Columbia. This professional biography reveals new facets of Rattenbury's life and character which have been the subject of both public and literary controversy.

The story of Francis Rattenbury, designer of some of BC's greatest landmarks, whose life was marred by failure and infidelity and ended in bloody murder, scandal, and suicide.

Is there such a thing as British Columbia culture, and if so, is there anything special about it? This is the broad question Dr. Maria Tippett answers in this work with an assured “yes!” To prove her point she looks at the careers of eight ground-breaking cultural producers in the fields of painting, aboriginal art, architecture, writing, theatre and music. The eight creative figures profiled in Made in British Columbia are not just distinguished artists who made an enduring mark on Canadian culture during the twentieth century. They are unique artists whose work is intimately interwoven with British Columbia’s identity. Emily Carr portrayed BC’s coastal landscape in a manner as unique as her lifestyle. Bill Reid’s carvings, jewellery and sculpture stand as a contemporary interpretation of his reclaimed Haida heritage. The name Francis Rattenbury is less known than The Empress Hotel in Victoria, one of many prominent BC buildings he designed, while Arthur Erickson’s modern architectural contributions are recognized worldwide. Martin Allerdale Grainger’s experience in the BC woods in the early days of hand-logging inspired him to write one of the undisputed classics of BC fiction, Woodsmen of the West. Jean Coulthard struggled for respect as a female composer during the 1920s and 1930s in British Columbia but eventually proved her extraordinary musical talents internationally. George Woodcock left Britain in 1949 to forge his career as an influential author, editor, mentor and tireless promoter of literary scholarship in the province, while playwright George Ryga, the son of Ukrainian immigrants, exposed the anguish and reality of life for Native women in our cities with his 1967 play, The Ecstasy of Rita Joe. Featuring images of the artists and their works, Made in British Columbia presents a history of the treasures found in our galleries, concert halls, theatres, museums, libraries and streetscapes, and explores the legacy of a cultural tradition as unique as the place that nurtured it.

Glamorous young wife Alma Rattenbury takes her chauffeur as a lover and their scandalous relationship leads to a murder most foul. The 1935 murder of architect Francis Mawson Rattenbury, famous for his design of the iconic Parliament Buildings and Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia, and the arrest and lurid trial of his 30-years-younger second wife, Alma, and the family chauffeur, George Percy Stoner, her lover, riveted people. Francis and Alma had moved to Bournemouth, England, after the City of Victoria had ostracized them for their scandalous, flagrant affair while Francis was married to his first wife. Their life in Bournemouth was tangled. Francis became an impotent lush. Deprived of sexual gratification, Alma seduced George, previously a virgin who was half her age. They conducted their affair in her upstairs bedroom with her and Francis’s six-year-old son in a nearby bed, “sleeping,” she said, and the near-deaf Francis in his armchair downstairs in a drunken stupor. The lovers were tried together for Francis’s murder at the Old Bailey Criminal Court in London, resulting in intense public interest and massive, frenzied media coverage. The trial became one of the 20th century’s most sensational cases, sparking widespread debate over sexual mores and social strata distinctions.

Revealing a little-known chapter in the history of Victoria, British Columbia, The Birdcages, the province’s first legislative buildings, were built 1859-1864, the formative, tumultuous time of the Gold Rushes. Constructed on the site of the present Legislature, they were built amid controversy and derided for their style. The brainchild of Governor James Douglas, they resembled, according to journalist/politician Amor de Cosmos, “something between a Dutch toy and a Chinese pagoda.” Readers will discover how civil servants and politicians felt about them as a workplace and what the general public thought about them as civic architecture. The career of their designer, the mysterious Hermann Otto Tiedemann, one of Victoria’s vivid early “characters,” is recounted as are the contributions of local contractors and tradesmen. The site of events of national importance until their demise in 1898, the Birdcages reflected the history, character, and heritage of Victoria and played an important role in the developing political traditions of the province and the young Dominion of Canada. A place for political demonstrations and community celebrations, the House of Assembly was where the MLAs debated joining Confederation, granting the vote to women, and excluding Asian immigrants. Based on personal memoirs and letters, government documents, photographs and plans, this book will interest both students and adults, history buffs and professional historians.