BARBER, Hiram Robert (1843-1914) was active in Oshawa and the Durham County region from 1872 until 1881 where he specialised in the design of churches and school buildings [Whitby Chronicle, 3 April 1879, 3, advert.). He is likely the same 'Mr. Barber of Oshawa' who submitted an entry in the competition for the Stratford High School in 1877, but his design was not premiated and McCaw & Lennox were declared winners (Stratford Beacon, 5 Oct. 1877, 2). According to the Hamilton Evening Times of 18 August 1894, page 4, he claimed to have “.....33 years of experience as an architect and draftsman”, and thus starting his career about 1860. By 1894, he had “....participated in 12 architectural competitions, out of which he received 10 places” as a finalist, including as a winner of prize money in the important competition for the Toronto City Hall (won by E.J. Lennox). He moved to Toronto in 1883, opened an office there, and later executed several commissions in Hamilton. Barber maintained his own office in Toronto until 1906 when he joined the Board of Education, at first as a draftsman, and from 1909 as a staff architect and Inspector of Manual Training and Domestic Science schools in Toronto. He retired in 1913 and died in Toronto on 17 July 1914 (obituary in the Toronto Star, 18 July 1914, 2; inf. Stephen Otto, Toronto)
(with Henry Langley) OSHAWA, ONT., Machine Made Hat Co., factory, 1872 (Globe [Toronto], 20 March 1872, 4, t.c.)
OSHAWA, ONT., major addition to the Bible Christian Church, 1873 (Ontario Reformer [Oshawa], 28 Feb. 1873, 3, t.c.)
OSHAWA, ONT., residence for J.A. Gibson, Lloyd Street at Simcoe Street, 1873 (Ontario Reformer [Oshawa], 21 March 1873, 2, t.c.)
EAST WHITBY, ONT., Union School, S.S. No. 4, 1873 (Whitby Chronicle, 15 May 1873, 4, t.c.)
PORT PERRY, ONT., Town Hall, 1873-74 (North Ontario Observer [Port Perry], 6 Nov. 1873, 2)
PORT PERRY, ONT., High School, 1873-74 (North Ontario Observer [Port Perry], 15 Jan. 1874, 2)
OSHAWA, ONT., Centre Street Methodist Church, 1874-75 (Globe [Toronto], 11 May 1874, 4, t.c.; 28 April 1875, 4, t.c.)
WHITBY, ONT., Roman Catholic Separate School, 1874-75 (Whitby Chronicle, 24 Dec. 1874, 2, t.c.)
WHITBY, ONT., Whitby House Hotel, Dundas Street West, for Joseph Bandel, 1875; burned December 1879; rebuilt 1880 (Whitby Chronicle, 11 Feb. 1875, 3, t.c.; 22 Jan. 1880, 3, t.c.)
WHITBY, ONT., 'Lakeview', a residence for John Rice, Brock Street North near Rossland Street, 1875 (Whitby Chronicle, 18 March 1875, 3, t.c.)
PORT PERRY, ONT., commercial block for James Holden and W.H. Laidley, 1876 (Whitby Chronicle, 16 March 1876, 3, t.c.)
MANILLA, ONT., freight & grain house at Manilla Station on the Whitby & Port Perry Railway line, 1876 (Whitby Chronicle, 26 Oct. 1876, 3, t.c.)
WHITBY, ONT., residence for G. Young Smith, Mayor of Whitby, Dundas Street West at King Street, 1877; demol. 1958 (Whitby Chronicle, 7 Dec. 1876, 2, t.c.)
PORT PERRY, ONT., residence for Joseph Bigelow, Cochrane Street, 1877 (Port Perry Star, 13 Aug. 1980, 9, illus.)
ASHBURN, ONT., a manse for a church, 1878 (Whitby Chronicle, 28 Feb. 1878, 3, t.c.)
WHITBY, ONT., school for Section No. 5, near the Union Cemetery, 1879 (Whitby Chronicle, 16 Jan. 1879, 3, t.c.)
COLUMBUS, ONT., public school, 1879 (Whitby Chronicle, 27 Feb. 1879, 3, t.c.)
DUFFIN'S CREEK, ONT., Canada Methodist Church, 1879 (Whitby Chronicle, 24 July 1879, 2, t.c.)
DUFFIN'S CREEK, ONT., residence for J.L. Spink, 1880 (Whitby Chronicle, 22 Jan. 1880, 3, t.c.)
BROUGHAM, ONT., two stores for Thomas Chinn, 1880 (Whitby Chronicle, 8 July 1880, 3, t.c.)
TORONTO, ONT., stores for Thomas Shaw, Davenport Road at Hazelton Avenue, 1885 (Telegram [Toronto], 2 May 1885, 1, t.c.)
HAMILTON, ONT., House of Refuge, John Street North at Brock Street, 1894, demol. (C.R., v, 26 July 1894, 1; C.A.B., vii, Aug. 1894, 101; and viii, Jan. 1895, 10; Evening Times (Hamilton), 20 July 1894, 8; and 30 Aug. 1894, 8; and 25 Feb. 1895, 5, detailed architectural descrip.; inf. Robert Hamilton, of Hamilton, Ont.)
HAMILTON, ONT. residence for George W. Gage, Victoria Avenue South, 1895 (C.R., vi, 4 July 1895, 3)
PRESTON, ONT., villa for Peter Bernhardt, 1894 (C.R., v, 20 Sept. 1894, 1)
TORONTO, ONT., residence for William Scott, Cowan Avenue, 1898 (Toronto b.p. 118, 2 Nov. 1898)
TORONTO, ONT., three houses on Ashton Avenue for John Ewing, 1898 (Toronto b.p. 132, 18 Nov. 1898)
TORONTO, ONT., factory for Menzie Manufacturing Co., Pacific Avenue, 1902 (Toronto b.p. 162, 14 July 1902)
COMPETITIONS
TORONTO, ONT., City Hall & Court House, 1886. Using the pseudonym "Experto credo", Barber submitted a design for this important civic building, and from a wider field of 13 competitors, he obtained the Third Prize of $300. (The Globe [Toronto], 11 May 1886, 8). The winner of this final competition was Edward J. Lennox of Toronto.
HAMILTON, ONT., House of Refuge, 1894. Barber was one of 4 architects who sent in plans, and he received First Premium in the competition for this civic work (Evening Times (Hamilton), 7 Aug. 1894, 8; inf. Robert Hamilton). His winning design for the building was completed in late 1894.
OTTAWA, ONT., Departmental & Justice Buildings, 1907. Barber was one of 30 Canadian architects who submitted a design for this large complex to be located to the west of Parliament Hill, His plans, marked 'Design No. 17', were awarded a low score of 24th Place because the chief juror Edmund Burke described his concept as being 'wasteful' and one that contained many aspects '..not in character with the architecture of the other parts of the building' (OA, Horwood Coll., Misc. papers and correspondence).