When it comes to West Coast architecture, Fred Hollingsworth is a rock star. He invented the Neoteric style —affordable family housing with simple post and beam construction.
Sylvia Holland was the first registered female architect in British Columbia. After her husband died, she took her two children and moved to Los Angeles where she worked for Universal Studios and later MGM as a background artist. Walt Disney hired her as one of his first women animators.
See the full story in Sensational Victoria: Bright lights, red lights, murders, ghosts and gardens
I had a really interesting chat with Theo Halladay recently.
Last month Coastal Boats Near Sidney sold for $1.14 million, propelling E.J. Hughes into an exclusive group of 12 Canadian artists who have sold paintings for more than a million dollars.
I love his work and thought he had always lived on Vancouver Island, so I was interested in his Vancouver connection.
Fred Thornton Hollingsworth met Frank Lloyd Wright in 1951 and turned down a job to work with the legend. Instead the architect stayed in Canada and is responsible for the look of post war North Vancouver.
Most municipalities have a heritage inventory that includes houses built before 1940. Makes sense doesn’t it? When you think heritage you think old. But actually heritage can be 20 years old, and that can surprise a new home owner wanting to renovate or demolish who is suddenly hauled in front of a heritage commission.
Chances are if you live in Vancouver or Victoria you’ve either been inside a Samuel Maclure house or at least walked by one.