Chapman and Oxley
Chapman and Oxley was a Toronto based architectural firm which responsible for designing a number of prominent buildings in the city in the 1920s and 1930s. Even with the departure of Chapman, the firm's last projects appeared to be in the late 1940s.
History
The firm was founded by architects Alfred Hirschfelder Chapman (1875-1949) and James Morrow Oxley (1883-1957) in 1919.
A.H. Chapman was born in Toronto to the Chapman family whom owned Grenadier Ice Company at Grenadier Pond (in what is now High Park) and Belle Ewart Ice Company (later as Chapmans Limited).[1] Chapman apprenticed under architect Beaumont Jarvis (1864-1948). He then went to study architecture in Paris. From 1920 he was head of the family business Chapmans Limited, which sold ice and fuel in a Toronto. Chapman served as President of the Ontario Association of Architects for two consecutive periods, 1929 and 1930. Chapman retired in 1943 and died in 1949. He is buried at St. George's Church (Anglican) and Cemetery (Susan Sibbald Memorial Stone Church) in Sutton, Ontario.
Chapman's son Howard Dennison Chapman (1917-2014) formed his own fim Chapman and Hurst, which was also an architect and worked with Howard V. Walker on a number of buildings like Riverdale Hospital and restoration projects in the 1980s (Koffler Student Centre built by his Alfred H. Chapman as Central Reference Library). His other son Christopher Chapman (1927-2015) was a writer, director and cinematographer.
J.M. Oxley attended the University of Toronto as an engineering (applied sciences) student. He fought in World War I in the Canadian Expeditionary Force from 1915-1918.[2] Oxley was also president of the Mississauga Golf & Country Club from 1939 to 1940. He died in 1957.
Projects
A list of projects worked on by Chapman and Oxley:
| Building | Year | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Harbour Commission Building | 1919 | Office building | Now home to Toronto Port Authority |
| Sunnyside Bathing Pavilion | 1922 | Public pool | Still in operation |
| Palais Royale | 1922 | Dancehall | Built with Bishop |
| 330 Bay Street | 1925 | 16 storey office tower | Now named as Northern Ontario Building |
| New Government of Ontario Building | 1925-1926 | Exhibition Hall and now ballroom facility | Now Liberty Grand Building |
| Maple Leaf Stadium | 1926 | Baseball stadium | Demolished 1968 and replace with apartment buildings and gas station |
| National Building | 1926 | 12 storey office building | Demolished in 2009 to make way for Bay Adelaide Centre |
| Crosee and Blackwell Building | 1927 | Television station | Later as CFMT Building and now simply as 545 Lakeshore Boulevard West |
| Princes' Gates, at Exhibition Place | 1927 | Arch gateway | |
| Dominion Building (Toronto) | 1927 | 12 storey office tower | Home to National Cash Register; later as City Hall Annex (City of Toronto) and Ryerson Polytechnic; demolished 1977 after fire damaged the structure |
| Runnymede Theatre, Toronto | 1927 | Double screen atmospheric theatre | Closed 1998 and converted to Chapter's bookstore;[3] bookstore closed in 2013 and will become Shoppers Drug Mart in 2014. |
| Capitol Theatre, Cornwall, Ontario | 1928 | Single screen atmospheric theatre | Inner theatre designed by architect G.J. Mace; closed 1985 and demolished 1991[4] |
| Old Toronto Star Building | 1929 | Office building | Demolished 1970 and now site of First Canadian Place |
| Sterling Tower | 1929 | 21 storey office tower | Added to Toronto Heritage site in 1976 |
| The Bay's Queen Street location | 1929 | 9 storey department store addition | Houses the Arcadian Court) and Robert Simpson Complex at the rear |
| Toronto Public Library Circulating Library | 1930 | Library | Now Koffler Student Centre, University of Toronto |
| Toronto Hydro Building (Carlton Street) | 1931 | Office building | With associate Albert E. Salisbury |
| Royal Ontario Museum | 1933 | Expansion wing | |
| Holy Blossom Temple | 1938 | Synagogue | |
| Heaslip House | 1938-1939 | Office building | Built as HQ for E.P. Taylor's Canadian Breweries Limited - purchased by Ryerson University as home for radio station CRJT and now home to Chang School of Continuing Education |
| Bank of Montreal building at King and Bay | 1948 | Bank building | Demolished 1972 along with Old Toronto Star building for First Canadian Place |
A list of work by Chapman or Oxley prior to the founding of their firm in 1919:
| Building | Year | Type | Architects | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old Oakville Grammar School (291 Reynolds Street) | 1908 | School | Chapman | Later as Oakville Trafalgar High School (1946) and closed in 1993; 1942 and 1960s additions demolished after being acquired by Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital |
| Toronto Public Library Bloor-Gladstone Branch | 1911-1913 | library | Alfred H. Chapman & Robert B. McGiffen; | Renovated by Howard D Chapman 1975 |
| Toronto Reference Library - St. George Street | 1909 | Library | Wickson & Gregg and A.H. Chapman | Now Koffler Student Centre, University of Toronto |
| Carnegie Library - Dundas, Ontario | 1909 | Library | Chapman and McGiffen | Now Carnegie Gallery |
| Rosedale Presbyterian Church, Toronto | 1909 | Church | Chapman and McGiffen | Christian Education building added 1955 |
| Knox College (University of Toronto) | 1912-15 | University building | Chapman and McGiffen | |
| Toronto Public Library Dovercourt Branch | 1913 | Library | Chapman and McGiffen | |
| Carnegie Library - Barrie, Ontario | 1915 | Library | Chapman and McGiffen | Now MacLaren Arts Centre |
See also
List of other and rival Toronto architectural firms:
References
- ↑ Archives of Ontario. "Alfred H. Chapman fonds". Archeion. Archives Association of Ontario. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
- ↑ [World War I Roll of Service, 1914-1918, University of Toronto, p419]
- ↑ Runnymede Theatre
- ↑ Capitol Theatre