Gothic Revival architecture in Canada
The Gothic Revival era lasted longer and was more thoroughly embraced in Canada than in either Britain or the United States, only falling out of style in the 1930s.
Throughout Canada, many of the most prominent religious, civic, and scholastic institutions are housed in Gothic Revival style buildings.
In the 18th century, a growing spirit of Romanticism and interest in the Medieval past led to a revival of Gothic styles in Britain.
One of the first major Gothic Revival structures in Canada was Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, which was designed in 1824 by the Irish-American James O'Donnell.
As early as the late 18th century, certain Gothic elements had appeared in a church in Nova Scotia, though the Georgian and Neo-classical styles remained dominant for several decades.
As in much of the English speaking world, the lancet windows and buttresses of the Gothic Revival style soon became permanently associated in most people's mind with ecclesiastical buildings.
The spandrils of the arches, and the spaces between window-arches and the sills of the upper windows, are filled up with a quaint description of stonework, composed of stones of irregular size, shape and colour, very neatly set together."
In most towns in Ontario, and also in many parts of the newly settled west and the Maritimes, elaborate High Gothic churches were built.
Two important examples of a mix between Gothic and Romanesque styles are University College in Toronto and the British Columbia Parliament Buildings.
The Scottish baronial style was employed by Chief Dominion Architect David Ewart to create a number of castle like structures in Ottawa.
Cast iron allowed stronger structures with thinner supporting walls to be built, while some recreated gothic forms in brick, rather than the traditional stone or wood.
Canadian Confederation occurred in 1867, and subsequent years saw a large construction programme as the government and civil service established itself in Ottawa and across the country.
This includes a highly vertical emphasis on the structure; ornate decorations on the gables, often incorporating classic Gothic trefoil forms; and lancet windows and door frames.
Gothic Revival architecture continued to be one of the most important building styles well into the 1940s, though often in highly modified and original forms.
Just before the First World War Toronto saw work begin on three of its best known neo-Gothic structures, Casa Loma, the CHUM-City Building, and Hart House.
Despite the half a century that had elapsed since the first parliament was built, the Gothic Revival style was still the obvious choice to the Canadian Government.
The federal government continued building in the Gothic Revival style, of which long serving Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King was a strong supporter, for several decades.
As the federal government expanded, two major civil service office buildings were built in the Gothic style just to the west of Parliament Hill in the 1930s.
Gothic Revival finally almost completely disappeared after the Second World War, as Canada embraced Modern Architecture and the International Style.
The rise of postmodern architecture, with its interest in history and place, has seen the occasional reintegration of Gothic Revival styles.
