Edgar Tumak

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Aggasiz BC: Agricultural Research Station, Main Barn 

Built in 1892 (background, 13A) and enlarged in 1911 (foreground, 13B), the structure is the second oldest, main barn, in the Canadian Federal experimental farm system, older than the 1913-14 main barn on the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa (now a museum).  It was built as a multi-purpose barn for one of the earliest decentralised federal experimental farms (established 1888) that were developed across Canada.  Following it's enlargement, it primarily served the needs for the dairy herd and, on occasion, the cathedral-like, heavy-timber frame interior of original building was used to host special meals where young cattle were paraded through the dining tables set up in the upper level for a veal dinner.

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CFB Cornwallis NS:  Commander's Residence (no image)

This ca. 1845 structure, was enlarged ca. 1934 when it was part of a grand private estate, and then was acquired in 1942 as the Commander’s Residence for the Commonwealth's largest naval training facility of WWII.  Built as a farmhouse, it was also used as a summer residence of the Anglican Lord Bishop of Nova Scotia in the late-19th century.

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CFB Cornwallis NS:  Guard House

Constructed between 1942-43, this structure, is the point of access to Canada's and the Commonwealth's largest naval training facility of WWII. It is a unique and imposing structure within the Canadian military's building inventory and it clearly provides a sense of arrival at the base.  It was designed by the Naval Service Directorate of Works and Buildings of the Department of National Defence.

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CFB Cornwallis NS:  Officer's Mess

Originating as the main residence of a grand summer estate, ca. 1930, for Edward P. Morse—a local who amassed a fortune in the ship repair and harbour industries of Brooklyn, NY. Due to his sudden death, it was only completed in 1943 (and enlarged) when the Royal Canadian Navy purchased the property in 1942 to establish a naval training base that became the largest such facility in the Commonwealth at the time.

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Charlottetown PEI: Former Eaton's Store

Constructed in 1955 for the Eaton's Department Store empire, the building was the first full department store of the Eaton's chain in the province, which thereby made the company truly transnational, and at the time the country's third largest employer.  It served in this capacity until 1997, when it was acquired by the federal government.  It was designed by French-born René Alexandre Cera, the Eaton's in-house interior designer and architect from 1928-60

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Elk Island National Park AB: Ukrainian Pioneer Home

Constructed to serve as a museum by the Parks Service in 1951 for the 60th anniversary of the arrival of the first Ukrainians in Canada, it is the oldest purpose-built Ukrainian museum in Canada and the only federally owned structure to commemorate Ukrainians. While many heritage purists looked askance at the building because it used non-traditional materials, the report highlighted its important cultural connection with the Ukrainian community, the requirement to use ersatz materials due to broader societal prejudices of the time (i.e. mud plaster held together with straw and dung), and the wide-ranging contributions that Peter Svarich (1877-1966) made to develop a strong Ukrainian-Canadian presence in Canada after his arrival in 1900. The report received a commendation.

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Gatineau QC: Stable, Virginia Moore Farm
Of the 6 buildings in this report, the most significant building is a stable for this former genteel estate.  It was built for prominent Ottawa businessman R.N. Slater, ca. 1910, and under a later owner donated it to the National Capital Commission green space network

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Halifax NS:  Admiral’s House (1915) and Commander’s Residence (1909) - immediate right and below

Located at 770 and 830 Young Avenue (respectively) these elite residences are located on the premiere access to Point Pleasant Park, one of the city’s most significant parks.

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Halifax NS: Nelles House (no image)
Located at 2730 Gottingen Street, and built as an elite residence in 1878.  It was designed by H.F. Busch, one of Halifax’s most prominent architects.  The structure was acquired by the military in 1941 for its location directly opposite CFB Stadacona.

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Kapuskasing ON: Federal Building

Designed in 1938, by Lucien Leblanc (a notable Ottawa architect), the structure was built as a post office for this resource town that was incorporated as a model planned town for the local vibrant forest products industry.

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Ottawa ON: Electric Railway Company Steam Plant

Constructed in 1914-15, this facility supplied the auxiliary electric power needs of Ottawa’s former streetcar system, when local hydro-electric generation was insufficient to meet system needs.

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Ottawa ON: Forintek Building  

Designed and constructed between 1956-58 as one of the many suburban campuses for the federal government in the National Capital Region at the time, it was built to serve forest products research in Canada, and continued in this capacity until 1994.  It was designed by Ottawa architect Cecil Burgess in quasi Georgian revival style, and is notable for the use of alternative interior finishes, such as poplar.

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Ottawa ON: Hydro-Electric Generating Station #2

Located on Amelia Island, in the Chaudiere Falls area of the Ottawa River between Ottawa and Gatineau, it was constructed in 1891, with major structural and mechanical refitting in 1908-09.  It is one of the oldest hydro-electric facilities in Canada still in operation, having survived the disastrous conflagration of 1900 which destroyed much of the surrounding area on both sides of the Ottawa River.

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Ottawa ON: Hangar H 11, VIP Reception Building 

Constructed in 1955, Hangar 11 is associated with the post-World War II build-up of Canada's Armed Forces to meet commitments to international military preparedness under the Charter of the United Nations and the NORAD agreements. Purpose-built to house the Avro CF-100 Canuck, it served as an Air Movement Unit for senior government officials, VIPs, and military staff and their families. Rehabilitated in 1981 and 1994 to serve as the Canada Reception Centre for visiting foreign dignitaries, it also functions as a site of official ceremonies and speeches. It is an example of a Standard Design 160' span structural steel hangar designed in the Modern industrial aesthetic. A simple and elegant engineering solution, the arched roof was designed to handle snow loading and lateral forces created by wind in severe climatic conditions, to create a large, extremely flexible work environment suited for the functional requirements of a 1950s Cold War Hangar.

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Ottawa ON: Neatby Building

The focus of this report is the 1936-38 south range of the current quadrangle.  It was designed by the Department of Public Works as the first Public Records Building.  During WWII it was expropriated by National Defence which converted much of the interior to office space. However, from 1940-48 it also housed many items of the Polish state treasury that were spirited out of the country prior to the German invasion.  Located on the grounds of the Central Experimental Farm, the building was acquired by the Science Service of the Department of Agriculture in 1947, and named after a notable director of the Science Service.

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Ottawa ON: Sir Charles Tupper Building

Built between 1955-60, as the headquarters of the Department of Public Works, the building was notable as part of the decentralisation of federal buildings to suburban campuses.  The sprawling Modernist structure was designed by the Ottawa architectural firm of Hazelgrove and Lithwick.

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Ottawa ON: Virus Laboratory (no image)

Constructed in two stages in 1952-54 and 1964-66, as part of the suburban campuses that the federal government developed in the post-WWII era in Ottawa.  It was a leading centre for viral research, and control and testing of vaccines.  As such it housed a critical component of Canada's health protection programme.  The first phase was designed by Marani and Morris of Toronto, and the second phase by George Bemi of Ottawa.

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Port Hardy BC: Airport Hangar #6 (no image)

This WWII airplane hangar (built 1943), and numerous others constructed to the same standard plan, were unappreciated until the report noted that its wood construction and strength, formed with extremely limited use of steel for the wide open span, made it not only an exemplar of wartime structural ingenuity, but early exof the Modern Movement in architecture and engineering.

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Sarnia ON: Government of Canada Building

Constructed between 1956-60 to replace an earlier facility, this Modernist building provided accommodation for the dramatically expanded activities and services of the federal government after WWII.

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Sherbrooke QC:  Federal Building

Constructed between the years 1950-54 for several federal government departments, this imposing granite-clad building, with richly coloured marble walls and terrazzo flooring for the interior, was designed by the Department of Public Works. 

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Sydney NS:  Arts & Sciences buildings

Constructed as twin opposing buildings in traditional Georgian revival style in 1956 and 1966 respectively, the buildings were built as junior college facilities for St. Francis Xavier University, and designed by the American architectural firm Larson and Larson.  The buildings were acquired by the Government of Canada in 1979, as part of its decentralisation  programme.

 

Toronto ON:  Arthur Meighen Building (no image)
Designed by architect Charles B. Dolphin for the Department of Public Works in 1950 (constructed 1951-4) to accommodate a Post Office and 10-storey, multi-purpose federal facility, it was initially envisaged as a modest 2-storey structure in 1947. It was massively augmented due to the needs of postwar WWII expansion of federal services when it was erected on St. Clair Ave. E., at that time the north end of the core area of Toronto. It was doubled in size with a comparably scaled east addition of 1957-9. The lower levels of the original building show a carry-over from the pre-war Art Deco period, particularly with the postal lobby window spandrels and mullions featuring bas-relief landscape scenes made of anodized aluminum.

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Yoho National Park BC: Superintendent's Residence

Constructed in 1929-30, the building continues to serve its original function.  The commodious structure illustrates the status of park superintendents in the large parks of the national system, and was designed by the Architectural Division of the National Parks Branch.