BADGLEY, Sidney Rose (1850-1917), a prolific architect of churches in Canada and later in the United States, was born in Ernestown, Ont. on 28 May 1850, and was educated in common schools and at the Grantham Academy, St. Catharines. He served an architectural apprenticeship with Richard C. Windeyer of Toronto from 1871 until early 1875, and commenced his own practice in St. Catharines later that same year. It was during this period that many of his most original ecclesiastical works in Canada were completed. After moving to Cleveland, Ohio in 1887 he continued to receive commissions from church authorities from Canada, but the quality and consistency of design varies from the reserved and unprepossessing St. Stephen's Church, Winnipeg (1903) to the audacious and creditable scheme for Westmount Methodist Church, Montreal (1913). During his early Canadian career it was recognized '...that he has quite revolutionized modern church architecture' by departing from standard cruciform plans and devising asymmetrical compositions of tower, portico, assembly hall and Sunday school, an arrangement best shown in his striking design for St. John's Presbyterian Church, Cornwall, Ont. (1888-89). He held an open mind regarding the stylistic influences that developed in the architectural world at the turn of the century, and capably prepared plans in the newly emerging Beaux-Arts style for the St. Catharines Public Library (1903-04).
In 1887 he took up residence on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio, residing just a few blocks away from the Canadian industrialist Hart Massey who commissioned Badgley to design Massey Music Hall, Shuter Street, Toronto (1893-94), the landmark music auditorium with a comparatively austere brick and stone facade and elaborate Moorish interior renowned for its superb acoustics. His career flourished in Cleveland where his best works included Pilgrim Congregational Church (1893), Woodland Avenue Methodist Church (1895), and the Epworth Memorial Church (1899; demol.). In 1896 he published an illustrated monograph of his Canadian and American work entitled An Architectural Souvenir Consisting of Some of the Work Done During Twenty Years by S.R. Badgley, a copy of which is held in the Cleveland Public Library. A detailed commentary on this book appeared in The Daily Standard [St. Catharines], 4 Sept. 1896, 2, and this 64 page self-promotional publication was printed in a edition of 1,000 copies. In 1899 he published Some Modern Churches, illustrating his own designs for ecclesiastical buildings. In 1903 he formed a partnership with William Nicklas, his chief draftsman who had joined the office in 1897, and they worked together until Badgley's death at Wickcliffe, Ohio on 28 April 1917. He was buried at Victoria Cemetery, St. Catharines, Ont. (obituary in St. Catharines Standard, 30 April 1917, 1; and 2 May 1917, 5; biography in H. Morgan, Canadian Men and Women of the Time, 1898, 38-9; illustrated works in the Ohio Architect, xx, July 1912, 14-39; H. Withey, Biographical Dictionary of American Architects, 1956, 30)
S.R. BADGLEY (works in Canada)
ST. CATHARINES, ONT., Niagara Street Methodist Church, 1875 (Daily Times [St. Catharines] 27 Sept. 1875, 3, col. 2, descrip.)
ST. CATHARINES, ONT., parsonage for St. Paul Street Methodist Church, 1876-7 (Christian Guardian [Toronto], 17 Oct. 1877, 334, descrip.; Souvenir of St. Paul Street Church, St. Catharines, c. 1900, 30, 32)
ST. CATHARINES, ONT., Welland Avenue Methodist Church, 1877-78, still standing in 2023 (Christian Guardian [Toronto], 9 Jan. 1878, 14, descrip.; Women's Standard [St. Catharines], 23 May 1895, 10; Methodism in the City of St. Catharines -Centennial Anniversary 1816-1916, illus.; E. Julian et al, St. Catharines: Our Built Heritage, 2005, 15, illus.)
PERTH, ONT., Methodist Church, (Globe [Toronto] 18 March 1878, 2, t.c.)
MERRITTON, ONT., Connor House Hotel, 1878 (Thorold Post, 3 May 1878, 4; E. Julian et al, St. Catharines: Our Built Heritage, 2005, 109, illus.)
ST. CATHARINES, ONT., Oille Fountain, Courthouse Square, King Street at James Street, 1878, still standing in 2023; donated by Mayor Lucius S. Oille (S. Badgley, An Architectural Souvenir, 1896, illus.)
JORDAN STATION, ONT., addition and extensive alterations to the Methodist Church, 1878 (Jordan Station United Church 100th Anniversary 1859-1959, 4, illus.)
ST. CATHARINES, ONT., Grantham Methodist Church, 1879-80, (Grantham United Church 1879-1979, 11, illus.)
HUNTINGDON, QUE., Methodist Church, 1880-81 (Canadian Gleaner [Huntingdon], 3 March 1881, 1, descrip.; H. Bergevin, Eglises Protestantes, 1981, 100, illus.)
THOROLD, ONT., major additions and alterations to Methodist Church, 1881 (Thorold Post , 29 April 1881, 3, descrip.)
BEAMSVILLE, ONT., Methodist Church, 1884 (Christian Guardian [Toronto], 23 Jan. 1884, 30-31)
KINGSTON, ONT., Queen Street Methodist Church, 1886, burned 1919; rebuilt by Joseph Power (Daily British Whig [Kingston], Special Number, Dec. 1886; Kingston, Buildings of Architectural and Historical Significance in Kingston, iv, 1977, 63-64, illus.; Jennifer McKendry, "The Queen Street Methodist Churches of 1864 and 1886, Kingston, Ontario" in Journal of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada, xxxviii, No. 1, 2013, 41-45, illus. & descrip.; biog. Jennifer McKendry, Architects Working in the Kingston Region 1820-1920, 2019, 13-14, illus. & descrip.)
LINCOLN COUNTY INDUSTRIAL HOME, near St. Catharines, Ont., 1886 (Globe [Toronto], 3 April 1886, 14, t.c.)
NIAGARA FALLS SOUTH, ONT., Methodist Church, 1888 (Christian Guardian [Toronto], 5 Dec. 1888, 772)
CORNWALL, ONT., St. John's Presbyterian Church, 2nd Street, 1888-89 (S. Badgley, An Architectural Souvenir, 1896, illus.)
OTTAWA, ONT., St. Paul's Presbyterian Church, Daly Avenue at Cumberland Street, 1889; still standing in 2023 (Ottawa Daily Citizen, 21 Dec. 1889, 6, descrip.; Andrew Waldron, Exploring the Capital: An Architectural Guide to the Ottawa-Gatineau Region, 2017, 76-7, illus. & descrip.)
MERRICKVILLE, ONT., Methodist Church, 1889-90 (Rideau Record [Smith's Falls], 30 Jan. 1890, 1, illus. & descrip.)
WATERLOO, ONT., St. James Methodist Church, King Street at William Street, 1890 (C.R., i, 12 April 1890, 1)
MONTREAL, QUE., West End Methodist Church, Canning Street at Coursol Street, 1891 (Gazette [Montreal], 30 June 1890, 2, descrip.; Christian Guardian [Toronto], 8 April 1891, 212, descrip.)
MONTREAL, QUE., Centenary Methodist Church, Charon Street at Wellington Street, Point St. Charles, 1893-94 (S. Badgley, An Architectural Souvenir, 1896, illus.)
(with George M. Miller) TORONTO, ONT., Massey Music Hall, Shuter Street at Victoria Street, 1893-94; renovated and restored 2019-2022; still standing in 2023 (Globe [Toronto], 15 June 1894, 2; W. Dendy & W. Kilbourn, Toronto Observed, 1986, 137-40, illus.; dwgs. at NAC, MG32, A1)
PAKENHAM, ONT., Presbyterian Church, 1897 (Inland Architect [Chicago] xxviii, Oct. 1896, 30)
ST. THOMAS, ONT., Central Methodist Church, Wellington Street at Moore Street, 1897, (St. Mary's Journal, 11 June 1900, 3, illus.)
WINDSOR, N.S., Methodist Church, 1898 (Hants Journal [Windsor], 7 June 1899; 25 Oct. 1899, descrip.; dwgs. at Hants County Historical Society)
BRANDON, MAN., First Methodist Church, Lorne Avenue at Eighth Street, 1898 (C.A.B., xii, Jan 1899, 5)
WINNIPEG, MAN., St. Stephen's Church (later Ralph Connor's Church), Portage Avenue at Spence Street, 1902-03, demol. 1981 (Winnipeg Tribune, 5 March 1902, 7; C.A.B., xvi, July 1903, illus.; N. Bingham, A Study of the Church Buildings in Manitoba, 1987, 265, illus.)
MUSKOKA, ONT., summer residence for A.T. Crossley and J.E. Hunter, Evangeline Island, 1900 (L. Lundell, Old Muskoka: Century Cottages and Summer Estates, 2003, 128-31, illus.)
CLINTON, ONT., Wesley Methodist Church, Victoria Street at King Street, 1901-02; burned 1928 except for tower, which was incorporated into the new church on the site (Clinton New Era, 28 Feb. 1901, 1; and 13 March 1902, 4, illus. & detailed architectural descrip.)
ST. CATHARINES, ONT., Carnegie Library, Church Street, won in a competition from nearly 30 sets of plans submitted because Badgley offered to provide his plans free-of-charge, and City Council accepted this offer, 1903-05, demol. 1977 (Daily Standard [St. Catharines] 24 May 1902, 3; and 3 Jan. 1905, 1, illus.; M. Beckman, The Best Gift, 1984, 39-40, 125, illus.; E. Julian et al, St. Catharines: Our Built Heritage, 2005, 146, illus.)
KITCHENER, ONT., Trinity Methodist Church, Frederick Street at Church Street, 1904-05; demol. 1958 (Berlin News Record (Kitchener), 29 March 1904, 1)
CALGARY, ALTA., Central Methodist Church, 7th Avenue at First Street West, 1904-05 (They Gathered at the River, 1975, 86-88)
REGINA, SASK., Methodist Church, 1906 (Regina Standard, 17 Jan. 1906, 11)
SUDBURY, ONT., St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Larch Street, 1910; demol. 1970 (Sudbury Star, 4 June 1910, 4, illus. and descrip.)
WESTMOUNT, QUE., Westmount Methodist Church, Sherbrooke Street West at Roslyn Avenue, 1913; still standing in 2023 (C.R., xxvii, 21 June 1913, 46; 27 Aug. 1913, 61, illus.; City of Westmount, Westmount: A Heritage to Preserve, 1991, 59, illus.)
S.R. BADGLEY (works in the United States)
CLEVELAND, OHIO, Epworth Memorial Methodist Church, East 55th Street, 1891-93; demol. (E. Johannesen, Cleveland Architecture 1876-1976, 1979, 53, illus.)
CLEVELAND, OHIO, Pilgrim Congregational Church, West 14th Street, 1894 (E. Johannesen, Cleveland Architecture 1876-1976, 1979, 52, illus.)