BRYAN, Kennerly (1866-1935) was active in Vancouver, B.C. where was active from 1908 to 1915. Born in Baltimore, Maryland on 10 October 1866, he was trained as a civil engineer in New York City from 1882 until at least 1892 (Yearbook of the American Society of Civil Engineers, 1882, 98, and subsequent editions). For unknown reasons, he left the United States in August 1908 and moved to Vancouver B.C. There, both he and his business partner John Waterson are credited with plans for the club house for the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club in Stanley Park (1910). By 1912 he had formed a partnership with a talented British-trained architect William C.F. Gillam. Together they prepared a sophisticated scheme for the new Greek Orthodox Church in Vancouver, a neo-Byzantine design inspired by J.F. Bentley's plan for the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Westminster in London (Province [Vancouver], 23 Nov. 1912, 30, descrip.; 30 Nov. 1912, 27, illus.; C.R., xxvii, 8 Jan. 1913, 57, illus.). This ambitious proposal was never executed.
They later gained notoriety for designing 'The Thinnest Building in the World' on a narrow sliver of real estate in downtown Vancouver measuring a mere six feet in width. This ninety foot long structure was completed in 1913. In late 1914 they submitted an entry in the international competition for the new Vancouver Civic Center, but their proposal was not among the finalists (C.R., xxix, 6 Jan. 1915, 8). Bryan left Canada in August 1915 and returned to the United States (USA, Consular Registration Certificate No. 2947, dated 10 Aug. 1915). He was later recorded as a civil engineer in Delaware City, State of Delaware, in 1930. Bryan died in Sacramento, Calif. on 23 December 1935 (obituary Roseville Tribune [Roseville, Calif.], 25 Dec. 1935, 1; obit. The Province [Vancouver], 3 Jan. 1936, 4; D. Luxton, Building The West: The Early Architects of British Columbia, 2007, 388).
BRYAN & WATERSON (works in Vancouver)
ROYAL VANCOUVER YACHT CLUB, Stanley Park, clubhouse, 1910 (Vancouver Daily World, 4 Feb. 1910, Section Two., p. 1, descrip.; C.R., xxiv, 2 March 1910, 25, t.c.)
J.K. BRYAN (works in Vancouver)
COLONIAL APARTMENTS, Burrard Street at Eveleigh Street, for B.T. Rogers, 1912 (Province [Vancouver], 1 June 1912, 13, illus.)
B.C. SUGAR REFINERY, Rogers Street, warehouse, 1912; machine shop, 1912 (Province [Vancouver], 16 March 1912, 38, illus.; Vancouver Daily World, 26 Oct. 1912, 12; dwgs. Vancouver City Archives)
(with F.L. Townley) KEE BLOCK, Keefer Street near Granville Street, for Sam Kee, 1912 (Province [Vancouver], 31 Aug. 1912, 23, illus. & descrip.)
SHAUGHNESSY HEIGHTS, large residence for J.F.W. Johnson, The Crescent, 1912; extensively altered and subdivided on the interior into three units, 1989-90 (Saturday Sunset [Vancouver], 31 Jan. 1914, 18, illus. & descrip.; inf. Donald Luxton; inf. Patrick Gunn, Vancouver)
BRYAN & GILLAM (works in Vancouver unless notred)
KEE BLOCK (also called "The Thinnest Building in the World"), Pender Street at Carrall Street, for Sam Kee, 1913 (Province [Vancouver], 22 March 1913, 26, descrip.; 19 Nov. 1913, 18, illus. & descrip.)
NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C., completion of Queen Mary High School, designed by William C.F. Gillam in 1914; completed by Bryan & Gillam in 1915 (Vancouver Sun, 25 Aug. 1915, 3, descrip.)