Thomas Seaton Scott: Canada's First Chief Architect
Date
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The varied career of Thomas Seaton Scott (1826-1895) includes his formative years in Britain, a grand tour of Gothic architecture in Italy and Germany in 1850, the design of small and monumental railway stations for the Grand Trunk Railway and Canadian Pacific, and numerous churches—including St. Bartholomew in Ottawa and erecting Christ Church Cathedral in Montreal. His ten years as Chief Architect at Public Works (1871-1881) saw a brief flourishing of Second Empire style and his personal responsibility for buildings such as Ottawa's Drill Hall, the West Block Mackenzie Tower, completion of the Library of Parliament, the Parliament Hill Summer House, and the first Supreme Court.
Speaker(s)
David Jeanes has been interested in Thomas Seaton Scott's career for the last 20 years, including original research to correct some earlier negative assessments of Scott and his influence. He has personal experience of Scott's railway, church and government architecture and has studied the architect’s 1850 sketchbooks.