This web page was originally a project for FA225, a Fine Arts course at the University of Victoria. The intent was to explore an area of the fine arts, providing information for other students. I have decided to produce a page on Samuel Maclure's work in the Greater Victoria area as there are at present no web-based resources on the life and work of one of British Columbia's most famous and prodigious architects. After the completion of the course, I decided to leave the page in place as I felt it was a valuable resource.
The author is Helen Edwards who has been active in the heritage preservation movement in Victoria, B.C. for over 30 years.
Samuel Maclure was born in 1860 in New Westminster, British Columbia, the son of a Royal Engineer. He at first wanted to be an artist and studied at the Spring Garden Institute in Philadelphia. Here he studied drawing and perhaps wood and metal work. He was basically a self-taught architect who insisted on first-quality craftsmanship in his commissions. His early architectural activities have not been fully researched, but his move to Victoria in 1892 marks the beginning of the most successful years of his career. A fire in his office in the Five Sisters block resulted in the loss of many early blueprints. He was also known as a fine watercolourist.
Over the years Maclure opened offices with many other architects, notably C.C. Fox and Ross Lort. His early buildings in Victoria were one-storey, framed in wood and featuring shingles on the exterior. His largest commission was the construction of Hatley Park, now the adminstration centre of Royal Roads University. Ironically, this "Castle" was not in one of Maclure's usual styles. He employed many architectural styles while creating unique residences for unique clients. He designed homes in Queen Anne, Georgian Revival, Bungalow, and Chalet styles but is perhaps best known for his Tudor Revival and Craftsman dwellings.
In the years immediately following the turn of the 20th century, Maclure designed some of the grandest dwellings in Victoria. His buildings are designed to take advantage of their sites with magnificent gardens often as important as the structures themselves. His clients were generally well-off and entertained in a grand style. The Maclure "living hall" with a grand staircase arising from it was often surrounded by a gallery.
Maclure is known primarily for his residential architecture, with relatively few commercial designs. Although some of his buildings have been demolished, many remain due to their prominence in the neighbourhood.
Samuel Maclure designed buildings for other regions, but it is in the Victoria area that his most famous examples remain. One of his designs, the residence for lawyer Alexis Martin at 1598 Rockland Avenue, was written up in the American Craftsman Magazine in 1908 and the Canadian Architect and Builder in 1907.
To find out more on the life and work of Samuel Maclure, refer to the listing of books and archival sources.
This listing has been compiled from a variety of sources and has been verified wherever possible. Additions and deletions will be made when the results of new research become available. There is still much work to be done to verify the architects and designers of Victoria's significant heritage structures. A series of photographic images has been compiled and can be reached by clicking on the blue text. All photographs are copyright Hallmark Society.
|
Street Address |
Client D. Wilson |
Date of construction 1919 |
|
F. T. Adams |
1913-14 |
|
|
526 Beach Drive |
E. B. Halsell |
1920 |
|
644 Beach Drive |
G. C. Boyd |
1925 |
|
951 Beach Drive |
G. B. Mitchell |
1927 |
|
999 Beach Drive |
C. H. Parker |
1928 |
|
1029 Beach Drive |
J. H. Hinton |
1928 |
|
1227 Beach Drive |
H. Tyzak |
1922 |
|
1296 Beach Drive |
T. H. Laundy |
1922 |
|
1538 Beach Drive |
J.D. Helmcken |
1922 |
|
2391 Beach Drive |
R.D. Finlayson |
1913 |
|
2527 Beach Drive |
Mrs. Arthur R. Walsh |
1927 |
|
3265 Beach Drive |
Mrs. F. H. Harrison |
1929 |
|
Charles H. Gibbons |
1912 |
|
|
1005 Belmont Avenue |
Arthur Gore |
1912 |
|
Stuart A. Robertson |
1906 |
|
|
Mrs. James Baiss |
1909 |
|
|
H. Harkness |
1911 |
|
|
R.P.Butchart |
1911-25 |
|
|
Cridge Memorial Hall, Church of our Lord |
1928 |
|
|
2650 Bowker Avenue |
R. Angus |
1928 |
|
5789 Brookhill Road |
J. Oldfield |
1911-13 |
|
Cecil Roberts |
1905 |
|
|
Albert Pike |
1911 |
|
|
1912 |
||
|
620 Cook Street |
T.R. Cusak |
1911 |
|
1973 Crescent Road |
Mrs. Kate Cox |
1913 |
|
Mrs. Margaret Marsh |
1927 |
|
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1166 Deal Street |
R. Musgrave |
1911 |
|
Mrs. Dawson |
1928 |
|
|
28 Douglas Street |
W. J. Hanna |
1912 |
|
C.H. Kent |
||
|
1998 Ferndale Avenue |
C. Paterson |
1919-20 |
|
R. Ward & Co. |
1893 |
|
|
J.M. Whitney |
||
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R. Fowler |
1910 |
|
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F.C. Green |
1911 |
|
|
515 Foul Bay Road |
E. M .Tracksell |
1910 |
|
Guy Audain |
1908 |
|
|
610 Foul Bay Road |
Forbes Proctor |
1924 |
|
611 Foul Bay Road |
W. P. D. Pemberton |
1928 |
|
921 Foul Bay Road |
Mrs. Thornton Fell |
1914 |
|
925 Foul Bay Road |
N. .A. Yarrow |
1928 |
|
930 Foul Bay Road |
Lt. Col C.D. Schriber |
1914 |
|
932 Foul Bay Road |
R. Sutherland |
1913 |
|
934 Foul Bay Road |
H.T. Shaw |
1913 |
|
935 Foul Bay Road |
J.J. Shallcross |
1907 |
|
960 Foul Bay Road |
H. G. Lawson |
1914 |
|
355 Gorge Road West |
E. Hamilton |
1924 |
|
130 Government Street |
H. J. Martin |
1907 |
|
A.O. Campbell |
1912 |
|
|
1652 Hampshire Road |
J. D. Pemberton Jr. |
1911 |
|
1895 Hampshire Road |
E. McGaffey |
1913 |
|
The Honourable W.D. Nichol |
1925 |
|
|
1212 Hillside Avenue |
E. F. Lang |
1908 |
|
Mrs. L.A. Genge |
1908-13 |
|
|
T.H. Slater |
1909 |
|
|
1960 Lansdowne Road |
J.L. Dunlop |
1928 |
|
H. Gilbert |
1913 |
|
|
1711 Leighton Street |
Alex Stewart |
1925 |
|
71 Linden Avenue |
W. Upton Runnells |
1911 |
|
644 Linden Avenue |
D. Hankin |
1911 |
|
721 Linden Avenue |
G.H. Grant |
|
|
906 Linden Avenue |
Richard Hall |
1910 |
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28 Marlborough Street |
Mrs. W. H. MacInnes |
1921 |
|
941 Meares Street |
W. Christy |
1906-7 |
|
1174 Monterey Avenue |
H. Erb |
1911 |
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1025 Moss Street |
G.A. Richardson |
1912 |
|
407 Newport Avenue |
J.S. and Gladys Ballantyne |
1912 |
|
C.A. Forsythe |
1911 |
|
|
1807 Oak Bay Avenue |
John Smart |
1900 |
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2170 Oak Bay Avenue |
W.M. LePage |
|
|
C. Dickens |
1923 |
|
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964 Oakland Road |
F. C. Winkler |
1914 |
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3674 Orchard |
T.H. Laundy |
|
|
840 Pemberton Road |
Royal Trust Co |
1923 |
|
J. Harold Wilson |
1912-13 |
|
|
H. MacKenzie-Cleland |
1902 |
|
|
934 Pemberton Road |
Gerald Willoughby |
1912 |
|
1513 Prospect Place |
Florrie Rattenbury |
1925 |
|
1542 Prospect Place |
R. R. Neild |
1925 |
|
1535 Richardson Street |
Dr. W. E. Scott Moncrief |
1921 |
|
F. Nation |
1920 |
|
|
1401 Rockland Avenue |
Government of British Columbia |
1903 |
|
Herbert Bowen |
1906 |
|
|
Alexis Martin |
1904 |
|
|
1770 Rockland Avenue |
Biggerstaff Wilson |
1905 |
|
2008 Runnymede Avenue |
W.H. Kirkbride |
|
|
2027 Runnymede Avenue |
G. W. Mitchell |
1912 |
|
2031 Runnymede Avenue |
H. A. Ross |
1913 |
|
2005 Sooke Road |
Robert Dunsmuir |
1907-08 |
|
Dr. R.L. Robinson |
1912 |
|
|
J.E.Wilson |
1925-6 |
|
|
932 St. Charles Street |
R.D. Sutherland |
1913 |
|
W.F. Burton |
1901 |
|
|
943 St. Charles Street |
H.E. Beasley |
1912-13 |
|
W.C. Todd |
1908 |
|
|
1005 St. Charles Street |
Simon Leiser |
1910 |
|
1041 St. Charles Street |
Charles Fox Todd |
1907 |
|
H. Carmichael |
1911 |
|
|
920 St. James Street |
Dr. H. Rundle Nelson |
1909 |
|
1197 St. James Street |
Mrs. M. Carmichael |
1917-23 |
|
912 St. Patrick Street |
J. H. Hinton |
1926 |
|
649 Superior Street |
Robert J. Porter |
1896 |
|
Dr. J. M. Fowler |
n.d. |
|
|
1001 Terrace Avenue |
W. J. Bowser |
1912 |
|
A. W. Vowell |
1902-11 |
|
|
H. A. Munn |
1911 |
|
|
H.F. Hepburn |
1921 |
|
|
1220 Transit Road |
W. S. Terry |
1915 |
|
H.G. Knott |
1911 |
|
|
2938 Tudor Road |
G. P. Heywood |
n.d. |
|
1335-1345 Victoria Avenue |
J. M. Whitney |
1912 |
|
3130 Weald Avenue |
W. M. Le Page |
1928 |
|
1652 Wilmot Place |
H. M. Lewis |
1917 |
|
2450 Windsor Road |
C.M. Lamb |
1912 |
|
H. Gilbert |
1913 |
|
|
1121 Woodstock |
H.G. Knott |
1912 |
|
1580 York Place |
A.S. Gore |
1906-07 |
|
R.W. Gibson |
1919 |
|
|
1630 York Place |
Mrs. C. F. Armstrong |
1923-28 |
|
1695 York Place |
A. T. Goward |
1913 |
From his early days, Samuel Maclure had shown skill in the artistic field. His watercolours are avidly sought today. The scenes are executed with draftsmanlike precision, then blurred in an Impressionistic manner. Maclure must have spent many hours along the Dallas Road waterfront as his most famous works are of the scenery to be seen in this area. Windswept trees, the distant Olympic mountains, the unpredictable Straits of Juan de Fuca, and sunsets are all featured. In recent years, these works have become highly collectible, with their values rising. Most of these works are small in size. Originally framed with cedar as a backing material, they must now be reframed with museum quality mattings and frames to prevent further acid damage.
The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria has Maclure watercolours in its permanent collection.
Janet Bingham. Samuel Maclure, Architect. Ganges, B.C.: Horsdal & Schubart, 1985.
Leonard K. Eaton. The Architecture of Samuel Maclure. Victoria: The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1971.
Martin Segger. The Buildings of Samuel Maclure: In Search of Appropriate Form. Victoria: Sono Nis Press,1986.
B.C.I.M.S., Archives and Records Division
City of Victoria Archives
Esquimalt Municipal Archives
Hallmark Society Archives
Oak Bay Municipal Archives
Saanich Municipal Archives
University of Victoria, McPherson Library Special Collections
This page last updated January, 2008. For further information or comments: helen@highspeedplus.com