For decades he collected and catalogued artifacts, solicited donations, interviewed early inhabitants of the young city, and wrote historical narratives.
The archives did not find a permanent home in his lifetime, but were given to the city with the condition of a dedicated building in his will within one year after his death in 1970.
In 1933, the archives moved to the temporary City Hall in the Holden Building on East Hastings Street.
[1] The current archives building, located in Vanier Park at 1150 Chestnut Street, was designed by architect Chris Blencowe in the office of McCarter Nairne and Partners.
[2][3] To minimise loss of parkland, a series of accessible landscaped platforms were created over the large storage areas; the approach to the entrance, exhibition lobby and reading room being via a glass-roofed walkway giving views to the city.