Somerville, William Lyon | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada

SOMERVILLE, William Lyon (1886-1965)
(biography in preparation)

W.L. SOMERVILLE (Hospital buildings in Ontario and Alberta)

NIAGARA FALLS, ONT., General Hospital, Jepson Street at Third Avenue, 1920-21; and major addition, 1929 (C.R., xxxiv, 28 April 1920, 60-1; and xliii, 21 Aug. 1929, 102, t.c.; Const., xv, April 1922, 113-16, illus.; Toronto Daily Star, 8 Nov. 1929, 12, descrip.; Canadian Hotel Review, viii, Dec. 1930, 14-16, illus. & descrip.)
WHITBY, ONT., Memorial Hospital, ????? Street, 1927 (Const., xx, Jan. 1927, 10)
FORT ERIE, ONT., Douglas Memorial Hospital, Bertie Street, 1930 (R.A.I.C. Journal, vii, Oct. 1930, 374, descrip.; and viii, Jan. 1931, 27, 32, illus. & descrip.; and xxi, Aug. 1944, 176, illus.)
TORONTO, ONT., St. Michael's Roman Catholic Hospital, Bond Street at Queen Street East, major addition with Chapel facing Bond Street, 1936; extension, 1949 (Daily Commercial News [Toronto], 27 May 1936, 1, illus. & descrip.; C.R., vol. 50, 10 June 1936, 533; Globe & Mail [Toronto], 28 June 1937, 10, descrip.; Canadian Hospital, xiv, Oct. 1937, 50, 52, 54, illus. & descrip.; R.A.I.C. Journal, xv, Oct. 1938, 228-31, illus.; Toronto b.p. 5213, 27 Oct. 1949; dwgs. at OA, Kertland Coll.)
ST. THOMAS, ONT., (with J.T. Findlay and the Ontario Dept. of Works) Ontario Mental Hospital, Highway 4, 1937-38 (Kitchener Daily Record, 11 May 1937, 12, descrip.; C.R., vol. 50, 14 July 1937, 31; Architectural Review [London], xci, April 1942, page xxxvi, illus.; R.A.I.C. Journal, xxi, Aug. 1944, 174-5, illus.; dwgs. at OA)
THESSALON, ONT., Red Cross Hospital, 1941 (Sault Daily Star, 30 June 1941, 11, t.c.)
TEMISKAMING, QUE., hospital for the Canadian International Paper Co., 1941-42 (C.R., liv, 3 Dec. 1941, 28; Canadian Hospital [Toronto], xx, Feb. 1943, 14-15, 50, illus. & descrip.)
(with D.E. Kertland) TORONTO, ONT., major addition to Wellesley Hospital, Wellesley Street East at Sherbourne Street, 1945-46 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xxii, Nov. 1945, 232, illus.; and xxv, Sept. 1948, 312-14, illus.)
TORONTO, ONT., Red Cross Lodge at Sunnybrook Hospital, Bayview Avenue near Blythwood Road, 1945 (Canadian Hotel Review, xxiii, 15 Feb. 1945, 16, 40, illus. & descrip.; R.A.I.C. Journal, xxvi, Oct. 1949, 352-5, illus. & descrip.)
(with J.M. Stevenson) CALGARY, ALTA., Red Cross Crippled Children's Hospital, Richmond Road, 1948 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xxv, Sept. 1948, 330-32, illus.)
HAMILTON, ONT., St. Joseph's Hospital, James Street South, 1948 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xxv, Sept. 1948, 318-21, illus.; xxvii, Oct. 1950, 53, illus. in advert.)
EDMONTON, ALTA., Tuberculosis Sanatorium, on the campus of the University of Alberta, 1948 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xxv, Sept. 1948, 322-3, illus.; Canadian Hospital [Toronto], xxv, Sept. 1948, 34-5, illus. & descrip.)
EDMONTON, ALTA, major addition to the University of Alberta Hospital, 1948 (Canadian Hospital [Toronto], xxv, Oct. 1948, 29, illus. & descrip.)
OAKVILLE, ONT., Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, Reynolds Street, 1948-49 (C.R., lxi, Dec. 1948, 106; Canadian Hospital [Toronto], xxvii, May 1950, 29-31, illus. & descrip.)

W.L. SOMERVILLE (Institutional & Ecclesiastical works in Ontario)

(with J. Francis Brown & Son) HAMILTON, ONT., McMaster University Campus and Buildings, including Convocation Hall, University Hall, Hamilton Hall, Wallingford Hall, and the Refectory, Main Street West at Cootes Drive, 1928-30 (Toronto Daily Star, 19 Jan. 1928, 3, illus. & descrip.; and 29 Jan. 1929, 2, illus. & descrip.; C.R., xliii, 21 Aug. 1929, 96; Const., xxiii, Nov. 1930, 369-78, illus. & descrip.; R.A.I.C. Journal, x, Dec. 1933, 202-03, descrip.; Mark Osbaldeston, Unbuilt Hamilton, 2016, 113-18, illus. & descrip.; dwgs. at the Canadian Baptist Archives, McMaster Univ.)
RIDGEWAY, ONT., club house for the Canadian Biltmore Club, 1928 (C.R., xlii, 21 March 1928, 63)
OSHAWA, ONT., Masonic Temple, Main Street, 1928 (R.A.I.C. Journal, viii, Dec. 1931, 411, illus.; Yearbook of the Toronto Chapter of the Ontario Assoc. of Architects, 1933, Plate 102, illus.; dwgs. at OA)
TORONTO, ONT., parish hall for St. Jude's Anglican Church, Roncesvalles Avenue, 1930 (Toronto Star, 1 Nov. 1929, 8, illus.; Telegram [Toronto], 11 March 1930, 14, illus. & descrip.; R.A.I.C. Journal, viii, March 1931, 80)
HAMILTON, ONT., addition and major alterations to MacNab Street Presbyterian Church, 1934 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xii, Jan. 1935, 2-6, illus. & descrip.; A Brief History of MacNab Street Presbyterian Church Hamilton 1854-1954, 14-15; dwgs. at the Presbyterian Archives, Knox College, University of Toronto)
(with W.E. Carswell and Ronald Way) KINGSTON, ONT., restoration of Fort Henry, 1936-38 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xvi, June 1939, 136-7, illus. & descrip.)
FORT ERIE, ONT., restoration of Old Fort Erie, 1937-39 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xx, Dec. 1943, 209-10, 218, illus. & descrip.)
NIAGARA FALLS, ONT., Oakes Garden Theatre, including plaza, fountains and terraces, 1937 (C.H.G., xiv, Oct. 1937, 26-7, illus.)
NIAGARA FALLS, ONT., the Clifton Gate and Gardens, a memorial arch dedicated to the pioneers of the Niagara District, 1937 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xv, Feb. 1938, 35, illus.; and xvi, Feb. 1939, 38)
ST. CATHARINES, ONT., decorative bridge abutments and sculpture for the Henley Bridge, Queen Elizabeth Highway over Twelve Mile Creek, 1940 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xviii, May 1941, 82, illus.; dwgs. at OA)
(with Aymar Embury, New York) NIAGARA FALLS, ONT., Terminal Plaza and buildings for the Rainbow International Bridge, including Carillon Tower, bus terminal and plaza, 1941 (C.R., liv, 3 Sept. 1941, 18-22, illus. & descrip.; R.A.I.C. Journal, xx, Dec. 1943, 211-12, illus.)
TORONTO, ONT., addition of a large new chancel to Timothy Eaton Memorial United Church, with major interior alterations, St. Clair Avenue West at Dunvegan Road, 1938 (Toronto Daily Star, 17 Jan. 1938, 2, descrip., and 22 April 1938, 10; and 26 Nov. 1938, 11, descrip.; D.A. MacLennan, The Story of Our Church, 1947, 9, illus.)
TEMISKAMING, ONT., Indoor Skating & Hockey Arena, 1947 (North Bay Daily Nugget, 10 May 1947, 19, illus. & descrip.)
BRANTFORD, ONT., Farringdon Independent Church, Mount Pleasant Road, 1948 (inf. from E. Vandertuin, Toronto)
(with F. Bruce Brown & Brisley) HAMILTON, ONT., David Mills Memorial Library, McMaster University, 1949-50 (C.R., lxii, Dec. 1949, 89; Mark Osbaldeston, Unbuilt Hamilton, 2016, 118-19, illus. & descrip)

W.L. SOMERVILLE (Commercial & Industrial works in Ontario & Quebec)

TORONTO, ONT., St. Charles Cleaning Co., King Street West near John Street, factory, 1922 (C.R., xxxvi, 29 March 1922, 56)
TORONTO, ONT., B.C. Lumber Exhibit at the Canadian National Exhibition, 1923 (Const., xvi, Oct. 1923, 370-1, 395, illus. & descrip.)
TORONTO, ONT., B.C. Lumber Commission, showroom, Yonge Street near Wellington Street East, 1926 (R.A.I.C. Journal, iii, March/April 1926, 52, illus.)
TEMISCAMING, QUE., office, school and laboratory building for Canadian International Paper Co., 1928 (C.R., xlii, 4 July 1928, 54, t.c.; and 19 Sept. 1928, 51)
SHELTER BAY, QUE., staff house for the Ontario Paper Co., 1938 (C.R., li, 22 June 1938, 49)
ST. LAURENT, QUE., factory for Marshall Ventilated Mattress Co. Ltd., Ouimet Street, 1940 (Gazette [Montreal], 13 Nov. 1940, 20; C.R., liii, 20 Nov. 1940, 21; inf. Scott Edwards)
BELLEVILLE, ONT., addition to factory for Corbin Lock Co., 1946 (C.R., lix, June 1946, 136)

W.L. SOMERVILLE (residential works in Canada and the U.S.A.)

CASTLE FRANK ROAD, near McKenzie Avenue, for Rev. Henry F. Burgess, 1910 (Toronto b.p. 20900, 31 May 1910)
(with Murphy & Dana, New York) ALLWOOD, N.J., U.S.A., The Brighton Mills Housing Development, a tract of houses for a new company town near Passaic, N.J., 1918 (Architectural Review [Boston], xxiii, Feb. 1918, 21-4, illus.)
GALT, ONT., one hundred houses for the Galt Industrial Housing Commission, 1920 (C.R., xxxiv, 7 April 1920, 61)
TRENTON, ONT., a tract of 27 houses for the Ontario Housing Commission, 1919-20 (Ottawa Journal, 16 Aug. 1919, 25, t.c.; C.R., xxxiv, 5 May 1920, 420, illus. & descrip.; and 9 June 1920, 567-8, illus.)
LEASIDE, in north Toronto, houses for the Leaside Housing Commission, 1920 (C.R., xxxiv, 24 March 1920, 283, illus.)
HAMILTON, ONT., Westdale Housing Development, King Street West at the Oval, for McKittrick Properties Ltd., with several types of detached houses, 1921 (Const., xiv, April 1921, 118-22, illus. & descrip.)
FREEPORT, ONT., residence for W.E. Wing, 1922 (C.R., xxxvi, 15 March 1922, 54; Const., xvii, Oct. 1924, 324-6, illus.; C.H.G., i, May 1925, 13, illus., and v, Aug. 1928, 19, illus.; R.A.I.C. Journal, v, July 1928, 253, illus.)
BURLINGTON, ONT., residence for H. Alexander, Water Street East, 1922-23 (C.R., xxxvi, 13 Dec. 1922, 50; Const., xix, May 1926, 148-52, illus. & descrip.; C.H.G., iii, Aug. 1926, 35)
IMPERIAL STREET, residence for S. James Allin Jr., 1926-27 (Const., xx, March 1927, 85-6, illus.; C.H.G., vii, March 1930, 110, illus.; Toronto Daily Star, 18 Feb. 1927, 23, list of awards) )
ORIOLE PARKWAY, residence for William L. Somerville, architect, 1927 (Const., xx, April 1927, 119-20, illus.; R.A.I.C. Journal, v, July 1928, 263, illus., Toronto Daily Star, 18 Feb. 1927, 23, list of awards)
DUNVEGAN ROAD, residence for Dr. Norman S. Shenstone, 1927 (dwgs. at OA)
WESTON, ONT., residence for Thomas L. Moffat, King Street near Weston Road, 1928 (dwgs. at OA)
MISSISSAUGA, ONT., residence for Gen. Cawthra-Elliot, Cawthra Road, 1928 (C.H.G., vii, June 1930, 38-40, 52, illus.)
TEMISCAMING, QUE., tract housing project, 1930 (C.H.G., vii, Oct. 1930, 22-4, 52, 69, illus.)
MOSSOM PLACE, Swansea, residence for Ethel M. Sealey, 1930 (C.H.G., viii, March 1931, 94, illus.; R.A.I.C. Journal, xii, April 1935, 66, illus.)
FISHERVILLE, ONT., residence for G.R. Moffat, 1931 (dwgs. at OA)
HAMILTON, ONT., residence for Rebecca A. Howell, Flatt Avenue near Hillcrest Avenue, 1931 (C.H.G., viii, Aug. 1931, 32, illus.; Const., xxv, May 1932, 107, 115, illus. & descrip.)
OLD FOREST HILL ROAD, residence for Miss Jane Grahame, 1932 (R.A.I.C. Journal, ix, Nov. 1932, 253, illus.; C.H.G., x, June 1933, 34, illus.)
PICTON, ONT., residence for Walter S. Fraser, 1933 (C.R., xlvii, 5 July 1933, 37; C.H.G., xiii, Jan/Feb. 1936, 42-5, illus.; dwgs. at OA)
NORTH YORK, ONT., residence for Richard Unsworth, Old Yonge Street, 1933 (C.R., xlvii, 9 Aug. 1933, 44; C.H.G., xiv, March 1937, 26-7, illus.; dwgs. at OA)
ROSEMARY LANE, residence for Isabelle Strong, 1934 (C.H.G., xi, Aug.-Sept. 1934, 22, illus.; xiii, March 1936, 19)
HAMILTON, ONT., residence for Rev. John MacNeill, Mayfair Place, 1934 (C.H.G., xi, Aug.-Sept. 1934, 23, illus.)
HAMILTON, ONT., residence for Prof. Kenneth W. Taylor, Forsythe Place, 1934 (C.H.G., xii, Jan./Feb. 1935, 35, illus.)
LONDON, ONT., residence for Dr. M.G. Peever, Queens Avenue, 1934 (C.H.G., xii, Jan.-Feb. 1935, 32, illus.; and xiv, Sept. 1937, 34-5, illus.)
HAMILTON, ONT., residence for Prof. Clement H. Stearn, Cottage Avenue, 1935 (C.H.G., xiii, March 1936, 38, illus.)
BROWSIDE AVENUE, residence for Harry D. Wallace, 1935 (C.H.G., xiii, Jan./Feb. 1936, 64, illus.)
ROSEMARY ROAD, residence for Joseph S. Morin, 1935 (C.H.G., xiii, Jan./Feb. 1936, 67, illus.)
SCARBOROUGH, ONT., 'Sunnymede', a residence for Mabel Stoakley overlooking the Scarborough Bluffs, 1936 (C.H.G., xiii, Oct./Nov. 1936, 42-5, illus.)
NORTH YORK, ONT., residence for Herbert V. Tyrrell, 1936 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xiv, May 1937, 82, illus.)
NORTH YORK, ONT., residence for Harry E. Saunders, Alexandra Wood, 1940 (C.H.G., xvii, Nov. 1940, 38-40, illus.)
BURLINGTON, ONT., residence for A. Brant Coleman, Indian Point, 1940 (C.H.G., xvii, Aug. 1940, 24, illus.)
LAKE SIMCOE, ONT., residence for T. Harold Hodgson, 1941 (C.H.G., xviii, June 1941, 66, illus.)
MILLTOWN, N.B., tract of forty detached and semi-detached houses, Spring Street at Pleasant Street, 1946 (C.R., lix, April 1946, 145)
TEMISKAMING, QUE., thirty houses for the Canadian International Paper Co., 1949 (C.R., lxii, Aug. 1949, 228)

COMPETITIONS

CANADA, Houses of Small Cost for a Country Town, 1906 (C.A.B., xix, July 1906, 101 and plate illus.)
CANADA, Small Suburban House, 1907 (C.A.B., xx, Jan. 1907, 3, descrip.; Feb. 1907, 24-6, illus.). Somerville was awarded Second Prize for his design.
U.S.A., National Americanization Committee, competition for Housing of Immigrants, 1914. Somerville, in association with Atwell J. King, received a First Prize of $300 for his single family and duplex house designs, and an Honorable Mention for his design of a boarding house prototype (Architectural Review [Boston], xxii, Jan. 1917, 6-11, illus. & descrip.)
HAMILTON, ONT., Carnegie Library, 1910. Somerville collaborated with Alfred Chapman of Toronto and they were one of 20 architects from Canada and the United States who submitted a design in this important competition. They were not one of three finalists, and the winners were Stuart Pavey of London, Ont. with Harold E. Shorey and Atwell J. King of Montreal. However, their winning design was rejected because it was mistakenly assumed they were Americans who had submitted their entry from a New York City address. The commission was later awarded to A.W. Peene of Hamilton (inf. Robert Hamilton).
TOWN OF MOUNT ROYAL, QUE., Model City Housing Co., 1920 (Gazette [Montreal], 6 Feb. 1920, 6). A total of 67 designs were sent in for this post-war housing competition, and William L. Sommerville of Toronto received a First Prize of $150. for his plan for a detached 6-room house.
CANADA, Canadian Historic Sites Markers, 1922. Somerville was among 55 to 60 architects and artists who submitted a design, and he received Second Prize of $150. for his design of a standard monument to mark historic sites and properties across Canada (Ottawa Journal, 1 Dec. 1922, 17; Detroit Free Press, 8 Dec. 1922, 7; C.R., xxxvi, 13 Dec. 1922, p. 1195). The First Premium was awarded to C.P. Meredith of Ottawa.
LONDON, ENGLAND, The National Theatre, 1924. The British Drama League staged an international competition to solicit designs for a theatre to be built in London as a memorial to William Shakespeare. Somerville won the First Prize of £250 for his proposal based on the classic 'Bayreuth' plan, and his design was widely published in England and North America (Drama [London], xl, July 1924, 229-37, illus. & descrip.; Architect's Journal, lx, [London], 1 Oct. 1924, 505-08, illus. & descrip.; R.A.I.C. Journal, i, April/June 1924, 96, descrip.; and ii, March/April 1925, 66-8, illus.; dwgs. at OA). His visionary scheme proved to be too costly, and his drawings were later set aside. Another competition was held in 1927 for the Shakespearean Theatre at a new site in Straford-on-Avon, England, but Somerville was not among the six finalists. The winner of this second competition was Miss Elizabeth Scott of England.
OTTAWA, ONT., National War Memorial, Confederation Square, 1925-26. In late 1925 both he and the Toronto sculptor Ms. Frances Loring submitted an entry in the international competition for the National War Memorial in Ottawa (Ottawa Journal, 1 Feb. 1926, 3). Their proposal was among over one hundred designs sent in, and they were fortunate enough to be among the seven finalists, but their scheme was later set aside in favour of the winning entry from Vernon March, a sculptor from London, England.
WINNIPEG, MAN., War Memorial Cenotaph, 1925-26. Somerville was one of 50 architects and sculptors who submitted designs in this national competition, and he was one of four semi-finalists whose designs were "highly commended" (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 8 Jan. 1926, 6). It would take nearly two years before another design by Gilbert Parfitt was finally chosen and built.
REGINA, SASK., WW1 War Memorial Cenotaph, Victoria Park, 1926. Somerville was one of over 50 architects and artists who submitted a design in this national competition (Morning Leader [Regina], 9 Feb. 1926, 1, full list of competitors). The winner was Robert G. Heughan of Montreal.
(with D.E. Kertland and A.E. Watson) HAMILTON, ONT., North West Entrance to the City, 1927-28. This competition was initiated by the City of Hamilton to create a series of parks, gardens and a high level bridge on the lands adjacent to Dundurn Castle. Somerville proposed a Beauxs-Arts scheme with massive lighting pylons and abutments, but his design was not premiated (Mark Osbaldeston, Unbuilt Hamilton, 2016, 158, illus. & descrip; dwgs. at OA). The winning design by Earle L. Sheppard was never realised.
LONDON, ENGLAND, Royal Institute of British Architects Headquarters, 1932. Somerville, in association with Leonard Shore and W.A. Watson of Toronto, was one of more than two hundred entrants in this international competition. Somerville's design for a formally composed but a somewhat conservative moderne scheme and was not placed among the finalists (Architect & Building News [London], 24 June 1932, 422, illus.).