LANGLEY, Charles Edward (1870-1951), the son of Henry Langley (1836-1907), a leading architect in Ontario in the second half of the nineteenth century. Charles E. was active in the following firms in Toronto:
Langley & Langley, Architects, 1892-99 (in partnership with his father Henry Langley)
Langley & Langley, Architects 1899 to 1905 (works solely by Charles E. Langley)
Langley & Howland, Architects, 1905 to 1941 (with W. Ford Howland)
Charles E. was born in Toronto on 6 October 1870 and was educated at public schools there. He served a four year apprenticeship in his father’s firm of Langley & Burke from 1888 until 1892, and later became the first student to graduate from the Dept. of Architecture at the School of Practical Science at the Univ. of Toronto. In 1892 Henry Langley invited his son Charles to join him in a new partnership of Langley & Langley which remained active until 1899. At that time, his father unofficially retired from the profession, but his son chose to continue to practise under the banner of the original name of the firm. Virtually all of the works produced by the office of Langley & Langley from 1899 to 1905 were from the hand of Charles E., not Henry (for a list of works by Charles Langley from 1899 to 1905, see entry under Henry Langley). In 1905 an invitation was extended by Charles to W. Ford Howland to form a new partnership of Langley & Howland, and together, they continued to operate a successful practise in Toronto for the next 35 years. Shortly after the outbreak of WWII, their office was closed in 1941 and the partnership was dissolved.
They made a speciality of residential designs for wealthy business clients in Toronto, and were among the first firms to design multi-storey apartment blocks which had only recently been permitted under the City Building Code of Toronto. However, it was their designs for bank branches in Ontario and Quebec that enhanced their professional reputation. These included more than 20 examples prepared for four different companies, including the Molson's Bank, the Royal Bank, the Sterling Bank, and the Imperial Bank, all built in locations from Windsor in the west, to North Bay and Sudbury in the north, and to Toronto in the south. They became masters of the Beaux-Art style for the corner bank building prototype, and they employed a formal symmetry and monumentality which could provide an anchor of permanence and security to the streetscape of any Ontario town. Their refined style for these banks matured early, and once established, it never changed, even as late as 1930. The financial collapse of the economy after October 1929 had a major impact on their practise, and only a few references to their work after 1930 have been found. Their office closed in 1941.
Langley died at his summer residence in Innisfil Township near Barrie, Ont. on 11 September 1951 and was later buried at Westminster Memorial Park Cemetery in North York (death notice, Globe & Mail [Toronto], 14 Sept. 1951, 24). The Baldwin Room at the Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library holds a large collection of original architectural drawings and account books from the firm of Langley & Howland dating from 1909 to 1930. This includes drawings for banks, hospitals, schools, commercial buildings, and for many large private residences which still stand today in the Toronto neighbourhoods of Rosedale, Forest Hill, Moore Park, and in The Annex. A biography and photographic portrait of Charles Langley was published in the Toronto Daily Star, 23 June 1905, Industrial Edition Supplement, 24.
LANGLEY & HOWLAND (Residential Works in Toronto unless noted)
MADISON APARTMENTS, Madison Avenue north of Lowther Avenue, 1907 (Const., i, Nov. 1907, 49, illus. & descrip.; Toronto Society of Architects Exhibition Catalogue, 1909, 85, illus.)
CHESNUT PARK ROAD, for John H. Bertram, 1908 (Toronto b.p. 9974, 24 Feb. 1908)
BEDFORD ROAD, near Prince Arthur Avenue, for J. William Gale, 1908 (Toronto b.p. 11608, 24 June 1908)
SPADINA ROAD, near St. Clair Avenue West, for William A. Cockburn, 1908-09 (Ledger Book)
CLARENDON AVENUE, for Frank E. Maulson, 1908-09 (Ledger Book)
POPLAR PLAINS ROAD, for William E. Long, 1908-09 (Ledger Book)
VERMONT AVENUE, for Frederick B. Filsinger, 1908-09 (Ledger Book)
GEORGIAN APARTMENTS, St. George Street near Admiral Road, 1909 (Toronto b.p. 14267, 18 March 1909)
ST. CLAIR AVENUE WEST, near Oriole Road, for Sir John A. Boyd, 1909 (Toronto b.p. 16703, 4 Aug. 1909)
HEATH STREET, near Oriole Road, for Walter S.W. McLay, 1909-10 (Ledger Book)
CASTLE FRANK ROAD, for C. Frederick Paul, 1910 (Const., iv, Dec. 1910, 71-5, illus. & descrip.)
FOXBAR APARTMENTS, Foxbar Road, for Mrs. E.D. Cohen, 1910 (Toronto b.p. 18786, 7 Jan. 1910)
BINSCARTH ROAD, for Rev. George A. Mitchell, 1910 (Toronto b.p. 23427, 26 April 1910)
HEATH STREET WEST, at Warren Road, for Mrs. Larratt Smith, 1910 (Const., iv, Nov. 1911, 57-60, illus. & descrip.)
CHESNUT PARK ROAD, for William H. Carrick, 1910 (Const., v, Feb. 1912, 78-82, illus. & descrip.; Toronto Society of Architects Exhibition Catalogue, 1912, 90, illus.)
CASTLE FRANK ROAD, for C. Frederick Paul, 1910 (Ledger Book)
PARK ROAD, three houses for George M. Bryan, 1910-11 (Ledger Book)
RUSSELL HILL ROAD, for John T. Richardson, 1910-11 (Ledger Book)
EDGAR AVENUE, near Glen Road, for Maj. Alexender A. Mulholland, 1910-11 (Toronto b.p. 24190, 2 Nov. 1910)
WARREN ROAD, for Walter E. Booth, 1911 (Ledger Book)
AVENUE ROAD, near St. Clair Avenue West, for Charles W.I. Woodland, 1911 (Toronto b.p. 27191, 18 May 1911)
RUSSELL HILL ROAD, near Heath Street West, for John Lindsay, 1911 (Toronto b.p. 27501, 26 May 1911)
CLARENDON AVENUE, for Stuart Strathy, 1911 (Const., iv, Nov. 1911, 72-3, 80, illus. & descrip.)
BRUNSWICK AVENUE, near Ulster Street, for Herbert H. MacNamara, 1911-12 (Ledger Book)
WESTMINSTER APARTMENTS, Jarvis Street near Dundas Street East, 1912 (Toronto b.p. 34021, 18 May 1912; Const., vi, April 1913, 15, illus. in advert.)
FOXBAR ROAD, pair of houses for William J. Slanker, 1912 (Toronto b.p. 36967, 29 Aug. 1912)
DUNVEGAN ROAD, near Lonsdale Road, for Reginald H. Parmenter, 1912 (Toronto b.p. 37185, 11 Sept. 1912)
BRONTE, ONT., 'Lakeview Farm', for Maj. E.F. Osler, 1912-13 (Ledger Book; C.H.G., vi, Nov. 1929, 30-1, illus.; vii, Nov. 1930, 38-9, illus.)
WARREN ROAD, near Frybrook Road, for Joseph E. Atkinson, 1913 (C.R., xxvii, 6 Aug. 1913, 67, t.c.)
CLARENDON AVENUE, near Russell Hill Road, for Douglas K. Ridout, 1913 (Toronto Society of Architects Exhibit Catalogue, 1912, 84, illus.; Toronto b.p. 6135, 6 Aug. 1913)
THE EARL APARTMENTS, Earl Street at Huntley Street, 1917 (Toronto b.p. 11715, 27 April 1917)
AVENUE ROAD, near St. Clair Avenue West, for Charles E. Burden, c. 1919 (C.H.G., iii, April 1926, 97, illus.)
CLUNY DRIVE, for C. Stanley Pettit, 1921 (Toronto b.p. 44444, 21 Oct. 1921; C.H.G., iii, July 1926, 23, illus.)
HIGH PARK BOULEVARD, at Indian Road, for Frank Ryan, 1922 (Toronto b.p. 48496, 13 April 1922)
DOUGLAS DRIVE, at Summerhill Avenue, for Charles F. Paul, 1922 (Toronto b.p. 50398, 19 May 1922)
GLENVIEW AVENUE, residence for the architect Charles E. Langley, 1925 (Toronto b.p. 79818, 1 May 1925)
LYTTON BOULEVARD, at Duplex Avenue, for Alfred F. Webster, 1925 (Saturday Night [Toronto], 22 May 1926, 36, illus. & descrip.)
ROCHE'S POINT, ONT., on Lake Simcoe, country house for Mrs. Bruce McKinnon, 1927 (C.R., xli, 2 March 1927, 57; C.H.G., vii, July 1930, 31, illus.)
LAWRENCE AVENUE EAST, near Bayview Avenue, for J. Edgar McAllister, 1927 (C.R., xli, 17 Aug. 1927, 58; C.H.G., vi, Aug. 1929, 27, illus.)
OLD YONGE STREET [now called Oakley Place], near Upper Canada Drive, a mansion for Leigh McCarthy, 1929 (C.R., xliii, 8 May 1929, 61; R.A.I.C. Journal, viii, March 1931, 98, illus.; Globe & Mail [Toronto], 26 April 2019, H 8 and H 9, illus. & descrip.)
OLD FOREST HILL ROAD, for E. Frank Wright, 1929-30 (C.R., xliii, 4 Dec. 1929, 55)
CRESCENT ROAD, at South Drive, for Mrs. Catherine Howland, 1930-31 (Toronto b.p. 20486, 4 Nov. 1930; C.H.G., xv, Aug. 1938, 24-5, illus.)
OSHAWA, ONT., for Charles N. Robson, Simcoe Street North near Jones Avenue, c. 1932 (C.H.G., x, Jan. 1933, 12-16, illus.)
MOORE HILL DRIVE, near Bennington Heights Drive, for Matthew T. Ellis, 1933 (C.R., xlvii, 23 Aug. 1933, 35; R.A.I.C. Journal, xiii, March 1936, vii, illus. in advert.)
FOREST HILL ROAD, near Larratt Street, for George W. Gooderham, 1938 (C.H.G., xv, March 1938, 26-7, illus.)
RICHMOND HILL, ONT., 'Highland Cottage', alterations to a cottage for Miss Ada McKenzie, c. 1940 (C.H.G., xviii, Dec. 1941, 19-21, illus.)
LANGLEY & HOWLAND (Commercial & Industrial works in Toronto unless noted)
CANADA LINSEED OIL CO., Sorauren Avenue, factory and mills, 1910 (Toronto b.p. 22693, 10 Aug. 1910)
MEAFORD, ONT., Molson's Bank, 1911 (Const., iv, March 1911, 62, illus.)
MOLSON'S BANK, Dundas Street West near Keele Street, 1910 (Const., v, May 1912, 85-8, illus.)
SIMCOE, ONT., Molson's Bank, 1911-12 (Ledger Book)
FREMES BUILDING, Adelaide Street West at Peter Street, 1913; still standing in 2022 (C.R., xxvii, 1 Jan. 1913, 79)
SCARBOROUGH GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB HOUSE, Scarborough Golf Club Road near Kingston Road, 1913-14; still standing in 2022 (Const., vii, Nov. 1914, 417)
STRATFORD, ONT., Royal Bank, 1913-14 (Ledger Book)
ROYAL BANK, Gerrard Street East at Jones Avenue, 1914; altered (Ledger Book)
WATERLOO, ONT., Molson's Bank, King Street at Erb Street, 1914 (Berlin News-Record [Kitchener], 24 Oct. 1914; R.A.I.C. Journal, ii, Sept./Oct. 1925, xxviii, illus. in advert.)
THORNHILL, ONT., Sterling Bank, 1917 (Const., x, June 1917, 216)
UXBRIDGE, ONT., Sterling Bank, Brock Street West at Toronto Street, 1917-18 (C.R., xxxi, 12 Sept. 1917, 38; Heritage Uxbridge - Designation Report dated 8 April 2018; inf. Scott Edwards)
SUDBURY, ONT., Sterling Bank, 1919 (Sudbury Star, 15 Feb. 1919, 3, 5, illus. & descrip.)
ROCKWOOD, ONT., Royal Bank, 1920 (Ledger Book)
IMPERIAL BANK, Danforth Avenue at Carlaw Avenue, 1923; still standing in 2022 (Toronto b.p. 62319, 21 June 1923)
NORTH BAY, ONT., Imperial Bank, Main Street West, 1925 (C.R., xxxix, 29 July 1925, 49)
IMPERIAL BANK, Runnymede Road at Annette Street, 1925 (Toronto b.p. 79819, 1 May 1925)
IMPERIAL BANK, Queen Street East at Carlaw Avenue, 1925; still standing in 2022, but converted to retail store (dwgs. at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Archives, Toronto)
WALKERVILLE, ONT., Imperial Bank, Wyandotte Street at Lincoln Road, 1927 (dwgs. at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Archives, Toronto; Andrew Foot, Windsor Then & Now, 2021, 38-9, illus.)
IMPERIAL BANK, Danforth Avenue at Monarch Park Boulevard, 1927; still standing in 2022, but converted to retail store (dwgs. at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Archives, Toronto)
IMPERIAL BANK, Eglinton Avenue at Yonge Street, 1927; demol. (C.R., xli, 16 Nov. 1927, 45)
IMPERIAL BANK, Eglinton Avenue East at Mt. Pleasant Road, 1927-28; demol. (C.R., xli, 21 Dec. 1927, 46)
IMPERIAL BANK, Yonge Street at Bloor Street West, 1928; demol. 1972 (Const., xxi, Nov. 1928, 383-4, 390-1, illus. & descrip.; R.A.I.C. Journal, vi, June 1929, 217, illus.; viii, March 1931, 80)
NORANDA, QUE., Imperial Bank, 1927 (C.R., xli, 28 Dec. 1927, 53, illus.; with correction 262)
ST. CATHERINES, ONT., Imperial Bank, Queenston Street, 1928 (St. Catherines b.p. 1002.1)
CALGARY, ALTA., Toronto General Trusts Building, 8th Avenue West, 1930 (C.R., xliv, 1 Jan. 1930, 18, illus. in advert.; dwgs. at Glenbow Museum Archives, Bates Coll. BB329)
IMPERIAL BANK, University Avenue at Dundas Street West, 1929-30, demol. (Toronto Daily Star, 10 Sept. 1929, 1, descrip.; Const., xxiv, Aug. 1931, 273-5, illus.)
EASTMAN KODAK STORE, Yonge Street near Adelaide Street West, retail store, 1936; demol. (Toronto Daily Star, 17 July 1936, 15, descrip.)
LANGLEY & HOWLAND (Institutional & Ecclesiastical Works in Toronto unless noted)
WELLAND, ONT., County Hospital, 1908, a commission won in a competition (Daily Standard [St. Catharines], 30 Nov. 1907, 4; C.R., xix, 12 Feb. 1908, 22, t.c.; dwgs. at OA, Horwood Coll. 595b)
DAVISVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOL, Davisville Avenue, additions, 1908 (C.R., xxii, 14 Oct. 1908, 24)
EGLINTON PUBLIC SCHOOL (now called John Fisher Public School), Erskine Avenue, major addition, 1908 (C.R., xxii, 14 Oct. 1908, 24)
DEER PARK PUBLIC SCHOOL, St. Clair Avenue East, addition, 1908 (Const., ii, Dec. 1908, 67)
AGED MEN'S HOME, Belmont Street, west of Yonge Street, 1908 (Ledger Book)
ST. CATHARINES, ONT. major addition to the General & Marine Hospital, Queenston Street, 1910; demol. (Daily Standard [St. Catharines], 1 June 1910, 4)
KITCHENER, ONT., Nurses’ Home, adjacent to the General Hospital, 1919 (News Record [Kitchener], 9 April 1919, 2)
CARLTON PUBLIC SCHOOL, Davenport Road at Osler Avenue, addition 1919 (Toronto b.p. 26275, 23 Sept. 1919)
TORONTO SKATING CLUB, Dupont Street at Manning Avenue, club house and rink, 1921 (Const., xv, April 1922, 123-6, illus.)
ST. GEORGE'S PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, Lytton Boulevard at Duplex Avenue, 1923-24; still standing in 2022 (Toronto Daily Star, 28 April 1923, 12, illus. & descrip.; C.R., xxxviii, 28 May 1924, 546-8, illus. & descrip.)
COMPETITIONS
TORONTO, ONT., "Design for a Town House Costing $2,500", a design competition staged by the Canadian Architect & Builder magazine, 1888. Langley received 5th Prize for his drawings submitted under the pseudonym "Deux Mille Cinq Cent" (C.A.B., i, May 1888, 3). The winner was J.C.B. Horwood of Toronto (inf. Harry T. Holman, Charlottetown)
BRANTFORD, ONT., Carnegie Library, 1902. Langley & Langley were one of 6 architects invited to submit plans for this building (Brantford Expositor, 4 Aug 1902. 1). The plans by Langley & Langley were set aside and Stewart, Stewart & Taylor of Hamilton were awarded the commission.
WELLAND, ONT., a 150-bed hospital, for the Welland County Hospital Board, 1907. Langley & Howland were one of five Ontario architects invited to submit plans for this new hospital (Daily Standard [St. Catharines], 11 Sept. 1907, 4). They were selected as the winners of the competition (Daily Standard [St. Catharines], 30 Nov. 1907, 4).