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Greenwood City Hall, built in 1902-3 as the
provincial government building and courthouse. It was designed
by George Dillon Curtis, an Irish-born architect who
established a practice in Nelson in 1897 and designed public
buildings there and in Rossland, Fernie, and Greenwood. (The
well-known courthouse in Rossland was in fact designed by
Curtis' future partner, John James Honeyman.) [source:
Honeyman and Curtis, by Paul Mackenzie Bennett, in "Building
the West: The Early Architects of British Columbia, ed. Donald
Luxton, to be published in 2003] The building
originally housed the gold commissioner's office, the chief
constable and the mining recorder, as well as the functions of
the county and supreme courts. There are three jail cells in
the basement, one of which was part of the original design.
The City of Greenwood bought it to use as its city hall in
1953, toward the end of the 14-year tenure of Mayor W.E.
McArthur, Sr. [Source: Greenwood Heritage Walk brochure
published by the Greenwood Heritage Society, 2001]
From Mareth Curtis-Warren, 2012: In searching for
information about my architect grandfather, George Dillon
Curtis, I came across a webpage
(http://www.michaelkluckner.com/bciw3greenwood.html) from
Greenwood BC. It mentioned him as the architect
of Greenwood City Hall, built in 1902-3. To my
knowledge, our family is not aware of this structure. It
was a great find! I was also impressed with the watercolors of
the town because George was a wonderful watercolorist and they
look very similar to his work.
And, from Donald Luxton, quoting from his book Building the
West: The Early Architects of British Columbia:
HONEYMAN & CURTIS
PARTNERSHIP 1902-1931
JOHN JAMES HONEYMAN
1864-1934
GEORGE DILLON CURTIS
1868-1940
Both John Honeyman and George Curtis practised architecture
in British Columbia for some years before entering into
business together, but it was in partnership that they
were most successful. Once established in their Vancouver
practice, they were responsible for an increasingly
prolific range of work, including many prominent churches,
public buildings, private residences, apartment buildings,
industrial structures and banks. Individually and
collectively they left a rich legacy
of sophisticated architecture now recognized in many
heritage inventories around the province.
George D. Curtis was born in Ireland on August 1, 1868; his
family had been officers in the Royal Navy for generations.
Curtis studied at London's Finsbury Technical College
from 1884-85, and for the next three years he articled with
a London firm. His brother, James, had arrived in Port
Moody in July 1886 on the first transcontinental passenger
train. George, who was studying at King's Lynn, Norfolk, in
1889 was offered a year's holiday in Canada by his father
to check up on James. George decided to stay in
Canada, taking up survey work in the 1890s. The Canadian
Pacific Railway had built a branch line to Nelson, which
had become an important West Kootenay mining supply
centre, and by 1897 George Curtis opened an architectural
practice there. He undertook various
commercial, religious, residential and
public commissions in Nelson, Rossland, and Greenwood. His
Nelson projects included Reisterer's Brewery, 1897, St.
Joseph's Catholic School, 1901, at least half a dozen
private residences, and supervision of the construction of the
Hume Hotel, designed by A.C. Ewart. His
St. Saviour's Anglican Church, 1898-1900, is a good
example of a Gothic English perpendicular parish church,
while his Cathedral of Mary Immaculate, 1898-99, is a
mature example of Roman Classicism, favoured by the
Catholic Church in Canada at the time. Modeled on La
Madeleine in Paris, the exterior features an imposing
portico and correct classical detailing while
the interior includes a Neo-Baroque tunnel vault supported
by composite columns. Although Mary Immaculate appears to
be built of solid masonry finished with marble, it is
actually made of faux-painted wood. In Greenwood,
Curtis designed a court house and public school.
On December 17, 1900, he married Agnes Bertha
Crickmay, a former nurse at Vancouver's City Hospital who
with her sister operated Nelson's first hospital.
Born in Glasgow on April 9, 1864, J.J. Honeyman was the son
of Helen Orr and Patrick Smith Honeyman, a solicitor.
After architectural studies at Heidelberg University,
Germany, he returned to Glasgow in 1883 to article with
Hugh & David Barclay. No professional connection has
yet been found between J.J. Honeyman and his uncle, John
Honeyman (1831-1914), one of the most distinguished
Scottish architects of the Victorian era. John Honeyman,
who had an abiding interest in medieval structures, had
a long and varied career in Glasgow, and in 1888 went into
partnership with John Keppie (1862-1945). One of
the draftsmen in their office was Charles
Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928), and when Honeyman retired in
1904 Mackintosh, an architect of supreme brilliance,
went into partnership with Keppie. The 1880s seems to
have been a particularly rough period for John Honeyman, as
his eyesight was failing and his work was perceived as
being old-fashioned; the partnership with the much younger
Keppie apparently saved his business. For reasons unknown,
John Honeyman never involved his nephew with the firm, but
in 1884, accepted Robert Claud Kerr as
an apprentice.
J.J. Honeyman left for Canada, and crossed the continent on
the CPR in 1889. Upon his arrival he ranched with John Baird
from 1889-92 on Ployart's Swamp, near Black Creek in
the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island. About 1891 Honeyman
established his architectural practice in Nanaimo, first
for a year in partnership with F.T. Gregg, and then
afterwards on his own. On January 12, 1892, in Nanaimo,
Honeyman married Mabel Dempster, also a Scottish immigrant.
They settled on a ranch called Tarara and
commenced their family, which eventually numbered four
daughters and one son. Honeyman enjoyed rugby football
and considered himself both a Conservative and a
Presbyterian. He was a modest man; when asked if he could
provide examples of his professional competence, he replied
"I really don't know. You might perhaps ask one of
my clients." Honeyman's commissions at this time included
the A.R. Johnstone Block in Nanaimo, 1893, a school in
Cumberland, 1895, and Nanaimo Central School, 1895-96.
Honeyman moved to Rossland in 1897, which is likely where
he met George Curtis. Honeyman's largest and best known
individual project was the Rossland Court House, which
is visually prominent from many points both in downtown
Rossland and from access routes into the city. It
was designed in 1898 but not completed until 1901 as a
result of the first contractor's inability to carry out the
task. By the time of completion the building's cost rose
from $38,500 to $58,122, proving that public works
cost overruns are by no means new in British Columbia. The
edifice featured a symmetrical front facade, corner towers
with steep bell-cast roofs, and an arched entry and window
openings. Pinkish-tan brick cladding was used above a base of
dark local granite, and the floor plan and
interior layout reflect the standardized approach to
turn of the century court house planning. The main court
room features an open timber roof, detailed cedar
panelling, and stained glass windows by Henry
Bloomfield & Sons bearing the provincial arms and those
of Sir James Douglas, the province's first governor, and
Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie, British Columbia's first
judge and subsequent Chief Justice. During his time in
Rossland, Honeyman was also busy with residential projects.
The exterior of his 1902 cottage for William Wadds featured
a gambrel roof and an imposing entrance with a large
verandah and columns, fronted by a circular driveway.
Honeyman also designed a home in Rossland, Warriston,
c.1908, for his wife's brother, Charles Dempster.
Anticipating greater opportunity on the coast, Honeyman and
Curtis both moved to Vancouver and established their
architectural partnership in 1902. An
important commission was the Kamloops Court
House, built 1907-09 and still an important downtown
landmark. They also provided the design for the Fernie
Court House in 1907. Featuring ornamental
gables, elaborate front and rear entrances and a beautiful
west window, it was completed in the spring of 1908, but
was destroyed just a few short months later in the
huge fire that devastated most of Fernie on the first day of
August. Another of Honeyman & Curtis's landmark
projects was the Vancouver Fire Hall No. 6, 1907-09,
located in the West End. At the time of its construction it
was the "only fire hall in the world completely equipped with
Auto Engines." This brick and stone building has a metal
tile roof and strong horizontal emphasis, contrasted with a
vertical hose tower. The partnership also received
a number of church commissions. St. John's Presbyterian,
1909, in the West End, was an impressive stone Gothic
Revival structure with a tall corner turret. The
First Church of Christ, Scientist, 1925, in North
Vancouver is a sophisticated structure consistent with
Christian Science's preference for classically inspired
forms. Shaughnessy Heights United Church, built
1928-30, is a beautifully proportioned stone-faced
structure reminiscent of a traditional English parish
church.
Honeyman & Curtis undertook a number of prominent
projects for the CPR. Curtis took over the supervision of
the original portion of the Empress Hotel in
Victoria when Francis Rattenbury resigned late in
1906, and continued to act in a supervisory capacity
through the ongoing expansion programme, 1909-1914,
that included two new wings and the Crystal Ballroom, all
designed by W.S. Painter. Honeyman & Curtis also
designed an addition to the Hotel Vancouver for the CPR in
1911. Major industrial projects in Vancouver included an
Imperial Rice Milling Company warehouse on Railway Street,
1911, and an office and warehouse for Canadian General
Electric, 1913. Corporate clients included the Bank
of Montreal, for whom they designed a stone-clad Temple
Bank at Main and Hastings, built 1929-30, that marked
the very end of the local use of classicism. Its columned
entrance, pedimented doorway and sculpted heraldry were
intended to invoke confidence and a timeless sense of
stability.
Most of their initial residential commissions were in
Vancouver's West End. From 1912 until 1929 their domestic work
was located increasingly in Shaughnessy Heights, Point
Grey and North Vancouver. For Matthew Sergius Logan,
lumberman and Parks Commissioner and advocate of
the Stanley Park sea wall, they designed a grand
Craftsman-style home on Point Grey Road, 1909-10. The
Shaughnessy home of industrial supplier, Bryce W.
Fleck, 1929, in the Tudor Revival style, includes
a porte-cochère, bay windows, stained glass and curved
gable above the entrance.
The firm's prosperity allowed the partners to build
substantial homes and establish vacation properties for their
families. About 1908, Curtis cleared land
outside Comox, and in 1912 built a small cottage; this
property is still owned by the Curtis family. In 1913,
Honeyman built his own home in Kerrisdale, which he
called Kildavaig after a Scottish home in which he had
once lived. By this time, Kerrisdale had become a desirable
location, "just far enough from the noise and bustle
of the city for peace and
contentment." Kildavaig stands in excellent condition
today. In 1929, he also built a cottage at Hood Point on
Bowen Island, used by succeeding generations of his
family.
An unusual home designed by Honeyman outside the Lower
Mainland was Fintry Proper, the main house for a large
estate on the west side of Okanagan
Lake. This sprawling, Tudor Revival house was built
for Honeyman's former Glasgow-era schoolmate, Captain J.C.
Dun-Waters, who arrived in the area in 1909 and recognized
the possibilities for growing fruit and hunting game — in
England, Dun-Waters had been a Master of fox hounds.
Honeyman was engaged in 1919 to build a new house for the
estate; this first house burned down during renovations in
1924, and he designed a second house to replace it, with
rich materials and spaces, including gracious
verandahs. Of particular interest was Dun-Waters's trophy
room, decorated to resemble a mountain cavern,
complete with moss-covered boulders; trophy heads hung on
the walls, while the centre-piece was a grizzly bear
mounted in a life-like pose.
Along with others in their profession, their partnership
was devastated by the Great Depression, and they had both
retired by 1931. Honeyman died at home in Vancouver on
February 18, 1934. Curtis, in ill health, retired to Comox
in 1931, and died there on September 8, 1940.
SOURCES: HONEYMAN & CURTIS
AIBC; B.C. Vital Events; Boam, British Columbia;
the Province;
the Daily News-Advertiser; CA&B; and the
City of North Van. Heritage Inventory Update,
1994. Kalman, Exploring Vancouver; Wynn &
Oke, Vancouver and Its Region; and
Kluckner, Vancouver: The Way it Was provided
valuable context and cross-references. Fernie Court House
from BCA GR-0054 Box 23 File
402. G.D. Curtis: Nelson: A Proposal for
Urban Heritage Conservation, p.95; and
Curtis's granddaughters, Bronwen Souders, Virginia, USA and
Mareth Warren, Seattle. Curtis's retirement from Richard
and Alexander Mackie, "Roughing It In the Colonies."
(The Beaver, Apr./May, 1990,
pp.6-13). J.J. Honeyman: Who's Who &
Why, 1913 Vol.3; NVMA notes from descendant Florence
Riechtel; and Jennifer Nell
Barr, Cumberland Heritage. Further information from
Mrs. Aileen McLellan, a Honeyman descendant.
For Fintry see David Falconer, "Dun-Waters
of Fintry," Okanagan Historical Society 38
(1974). Information on Honeyman's uncle, Scottish architect,
John Honeyman, is from the Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Society Newsletters No.62, 63 & 64; he is also
mentioned in many of the Mackintosh
biographies. PROJECTS: G.D. Curtis: Reisterer's
Brewery, Nelson, 1897; St. Saviour's Anglican Church,
723 Ward St., Nelson, 1888-90 (alt.); Cathedral of Mary
Immaculate, 813 Ward St., Nelson, 1898-99 (ext.);
Public School, Greenwood, 1899; St. Joseph's Catholic
School, 523 Mill St., Nelson, 1901 (ext.); Court House, 127
Government St., Greenwood, 1902-03 (ext.); Curtis Cottage,
865 Balmoral Ave., Comox, 1912, additions in 1932
(ext.). J.J. Honeyman: A.R. Johnstone Block,
Nanaimo, 1893 (demo.); School, Dunsmuir Ave., Cumberland,
1895 (demo.); Central School, Nanaimo, 1895-96 (demo.
1968); Rossland Court House, 2288 Columbia Ave., Rossland,
1898-1901 (ext.); William Wadds
Cottage, Rossland, 1902
(ext.); Warriston (Charles Dempster Res.), Rossland,
c.1908 (ext.); Kildavaig, (Honeyman Res.), 3522 W. 47th
Ave., Van., 1913 (ext.); Fintry
Proper (Capt. J.C. Dun-Waters Res.), Fintry, 1919
(dest. by fire; rebuilt 1924; ext.); Honeyman Cottage,
Bowen Island, 1929. Honeyman & Curtis: Fernie
Court House, Fernie, 1907-08 (dest. by fire 1908); Fire
Hall No.6, 1500 Nelson St., Van., 1907-9 (ext.; additions
by A.J. Bird, 1929); Kamloops Court House, 7 Seymour
St. W., Kamloops, 1907-09 (ext.); St. John's
Presbyterian Church, 1401 Comox St., Van., 1909 (dest. by fire);
Logan Res., 2520 Point Grey Rd., Van., 1909-10
(ext.); Addition to the second Hotel Vancouver, Robson
and Howe Sts., Van. 1911 (demo.); Imperial Rice Milling
Co. Warehouse, 335 Railway St., Van.,
1911(ext.); Canadian General
Electric office/store/warehouse, 1065 W. Pender St., Van.,
1913 (demo.); First Church of Christ Scientist, 185 Keith
Rd. E., North Van. City, 1925 (ext.);
Shaughnessy Heights United Church, 1550-1590 W. 33rd Ave.,
Van., 1928, additions 1930 (ext.); Fleck Res., 1296 The
Crescent, Van., 1929 (ext.); Bank of Montreal
(now Four Corners Community Savings Bank), 390 Main St.,
Van., 1929-30 (ext.).
Greenwood's
website
Greenwood
Heritage website
[Greenwood has always been one my favorite places and, for what
it's worth, Christine and I once fantasized about moving there.
I wrote the piece on Greenwood as one of Canada's 10 Most
Beautiful Towns in 2002 – the one that is referred to on a
number of the Greenwood and Boundary country websites. I really
like the area and the people. The town itself is compact, with
many interesting buildings and opportunities, both residential
and commercial, to entice a couple of fogeys like us in need of
a mid-life adventure . . . . Maybe the valley's a little too
tight and there isn't enough sun on the town in winter, but who
knows?]
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