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Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 25
Gothic Revival in Canadian Architecture
by Mathilde Brosseau
Conclusion
Perhaps because it initially embodied the new anti-classical spirit
better than any other style, the Gothic Revival became enormously
popular during the 19th century. The ties between English-speaking
Canada and England made its adoption inevitable. Having appeared in the
first quarter of the 19th century, the style naturally had its greatest
initial effect on eastern Canada. Nevertheless, we have seen that the
religious and educational architecture of the Prairies and the West
Coast were not unaffected by the fashion, in these parts of Canada,
however, the romantic aspect prevailed over the movement in favour of
structural rationalism embodied by churches falling under the influence
of the powerful Cambridge Camden Society. During the second half of the
19th century, the Gothic Revival moved toward a picturesque approach to
architecture. In so doing, it broke free of the restrictions often
imposed by excessive faithfulness to archaeological models and produced
a new wave of buildings marked by a freedom of form that led to quite
exuberant visual effects. Despite their often astonishing formal
achievements and high degree of colour and variety, these buildings of
the High Victorian Gothic phase also show a depletion of inspirational
resources resulting from over-emphasis on the silhouette at the expense
of a more rational approach with spatial arrangements based on a
well-articulated plan. Well aware of this lack of equilibrium, many
architects of the late 19th century turned to the teachings of the
Ecole des Beaux-Arts as a means of correcting the situation
without rejecting the practice of renewing past styles that had almost
entirely dominated 19th century architectural production. By adapting
the Beaux-Arts tradition to the Gothic Revival repertoire, a
number of American and Canadian architectural firms managed the feat of
extending the influence of the Gothic Revival through to the first
decade of the 20th century particularly in the religious and
educational sectors.
Our study closes with this last echo of the Gothic Revival. However,
it should not be considered that the Neo-Gothic style totally vanished
from the Canadian architectural scene. On the contrary, it has lived on,
often as an acquired cultural reflex, especially in religious
architecture. Nevertheless, it was never again to be part of an
organized formal system, as it had been when under the influence of the
Cambridge Camden Society, the High Victorian Gothic style or the
Neo-Gothic style in the Beaux-Arts manner. The functional system
of forms that followed was to reject all influences from the past and
aim only toward a conception of architectural space based on optimum use
of modern materials and technology.
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