Tuck, Robert C., 1927-

Gothic dreams : the life and times of a Canadian architect, William Critchlow Harris 1854-1913 / by Robert C. Tuck.

Toronto : Dundurn Press, 1978.

252 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

"William Critchlow Harris (1854-1913), A.R.C.A., the brother of the P.E.I. portrait painter Robert Harris, was a talented and original High Victorian architect, trained entirely in Canada, whose work deserves to be remembered. However, as he lived and worked all his life in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Manitoba, in relative obscurity, he was quicky forgotten after his death. Only now are his exquisitely rendered elevations for churches, banks, office buildings, courthouses, libraries, and other civic and private structures—many of which were never realized—being rediscovered and assessed according to their true merit. There are two themes in the book which make Harris' story of particular interest to contemporary readers, Harris became one of the first Canadian town planners when he was commissioned to lay out the new mining town of Broughton in Cape Breton, and to design all its public and private buildings. Only a few of the buildings were actually completed before the company went bankrupt and the venture failed. Harris' second major disappointment is one common to many Canadians. Although it had been assumed for more than a decade that Harris would design the Anglican Cathedral of Halifax, a new bishop, questioning Harris' ability (since he had remained all his life in the Maritimes) secured the contract for a New York firm who proposed an inferior church, both aesthetically and technically. Harris was in turn hired by this firm as the on site architect. When the new Cathedral proved faulty, Harris was blamed. He died shortly after. This book is also a fascinating study of late Victorian Canada. With the use of generous excerpts from family letters, the author is able tor recreate the social and domestic life of the period." -- Publisher.

0919679318
9780919679313
0919679315

Harris, William Critchlow, 1854-1913.
Harris, William Critchlow.
Architects Canada Biography.
Gothic revival (Architecture) Canada.
Architects Canada Bibliography.
Architectes Canada Bibliographie.
Néo-gothique (Architecture) Canada.
Architectes Canada Biographies.
Architects
Gothic revival (Architecture)
Canada

Biographies.
Correspondence.
Bibliographies

Location: Library main canada 150773
Call No.: NA44.H317.9 T8 1978
Status: Available