NORTHWOOD, George William (1876-1959) sustained a career as an architect for more than fifty years, at first in Ottawa, Ont., and later in Winnipeg, Man. He was active in the following firms:
Northwood & Noffke, Ottawa, Ont. 1901-05
Northwood, Noffke & Chivers, Winnipeg 1905-06
Blair & Northwood, Winnipeg, 1906-07
G.W. Northwood, Winnipeg, 1908-1914
Northwood & Carey, Winnipeg 1915-1922
G.W. Northwood, Winnipeg 1924-26
Northwood & Chivers, Winnipeg 1926-1950
Born in Ottawa on 12 December 1876, he was educated the Ottawa Collegiate Inst., then enrolled in the Department of Architecture within the Faculty of Engineering at McGill University in Montreal, and graduated in 1900. He moved to Ottawa and worked briefly for Arnoldi & Ewart in 1900-02, and invited Werner F. Noffke to form a partnership with him there in 1902. After moving to Winnipeg in March 1905, he operated the Manitoba branch of Northwood, Noffke & Chivers, Architects & Structural Engineers, with Noffke remaining in Ottawa to serve local clients in that city while Northwood and Cyril W.U. Chivers operated the Winnipeg office. In late 1906 Northwood opened a new office with William W. Blair, and joined in a professional partnership with him (see list of works under Blair & Northwood). Their collaboration was brief, and dissolved in April 1907 (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 30 April 1907, 2, advert.). Northwood then worked under his own name, and he obtained several commissions from the Northern Crown Bank, from the Dominion Bank, and from the Bank of Toronto, all of whom were creating a network of branches in the Prairie provinces during this period.
In 1914 Northwood enlisted with the 90th Winnipeg Rifles and went overseas in 1915 to fight during WWI, leaving his practise in the hands of his business partner Raymond Carey. All of the works by the firm during this period were prepared by Carey, not Northwood. In May 1915 Northwood was captured by German soldiers and spent the next three years as a prisoner of war. After his return to Winnipeg in late 1918, he worked on commissions with Carey until 1922 when their partnership was dissolved. Northwood worked briefly under his own name in 1923-26, and then invited Cyril W.U. Chivers to form a partnership in 1926. Their new firm received many commissions for institutional, commercial, educational and ecclesiastical buildings in Winnipeg, including the Civic Auditorium, Memorial Boulevard (1932, with Pratt & Ross, and J.N. Semmens), and the monumental Art Deco design for the Dominion Public Building, Main Street, Winnipeg (1935-36).
Northwood was elected as President of the Manitoba Assoc. of Architects in 1923, and as a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Inst. of Canada in 1938. He remained active in the profession until after 1950, and later died in Winnipeg on 15 December 1959 (obit and port. Winnipeg Free Press, 15 Dec. 1959, 38; obit. & port. Winnipeg Tribune, 15 Dec. 1959, 8; biog. In Who’s Who in Western Canada, 1911, 299; Who’s Who & Why in Canada, 1913, 623). The National Archives of Canada holds a small collection of drawings prepared by the firm of Northwood & Noffke from 1900 to 1907 (NAC, Noffke Coll., Acc. 77803/7). A photographic portrait of Northwood was published in the Daily Commercial News [Toronto], 25 Feb. 1936, p. 1.
NORTHWOOD & NOFFKE (works in Ottawa unless noted)
HINTONBURG, Roman Catholic Separate School, 1902 (C.R., xiii, 6 Aug. 1902, 1)
HINTONBURG, Methodist Church, Tenth Avenue, 1903 (C.R., xiv, 7 Oct. 1903, 1, t.c.; Evening Journal [Ottawa], 3 Oct. 1903, 5, descrip., and 19 March 1904, 1, illus. & descrip.; Ottawa Citizen, 28 March 1904, 3, descrip.)
WILBROD STREET, near King Edward Avenue, residence for W.E. Noffke, architect, 1904 (Evening Journal [Ottawa], 19 April 1904, 9; Ottawa Citizen, 9 Jan. 1993, p. H 1, illus. & descrip.)
ROCKLAND, ONT., High School, 1905 (C.R., xv, 15 Feb. 1905, 2, t.c.)
LANSDOWNE PARK, buildings for the Central Canada Exhibition including Dairy Building, 1905, Fat Stock Building, 1905; Howick Hall (now the Coliseum), 1906 (C.R., xvi, 2 Aug. 1905, 4; and 18 Oct. 1905, 5; Evening Journal [Ottawa], 1 Nov. 1905, descrip.)
(with C. Chivers) WINNIPEG, MAN., addition of two stories and extensive remodeling of the old Manitoba Mortgage Block, Portage Avenue at Fort Street, for the Northern Bank, 1905; burned c. 1955 (Winnipeg Telegram, 21 Aug. 1905, 5, illus.; C.R., xvi, 23 Aug. 1905, 4, t.c.)
(with C. Chivers) WINNIPEG, MAN., residence for S. Elswood Richards, Stradbrooke Place, 1906 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 16 April 1906, 17, t.c.)
CHARLES OGILVY DEPARTMENT STORE, Rideau Street at Nicholas Street, 1906-07 (Evening Journal [Ottawa], 12 May 1906, 15, illus. & descrip.; and 6 Aug. 1907, 10, illus. & descrip.)
BANK OF OTTAWA, Bank Street at Gloucester Street, 1906; demol. (C.R., xvii, 3 Oct. 1906, 2; dwgs. at NAC)
MacLAREN STREET, residence for George J. Bryson, 1906; demol. (dwgs. at NAC)
DALY AVENUE, residence for J.J. Codville, 1907; additions, 1920 (dwgs. at NAC)
LANSDOWNE PARK, buildings for the Central Canada Exhibition including the Arts & Ladies Building, 1908 (C.R., xxii, 1 July 1908, 28)
G.W. NORTHWOOD (works in Winnipeg unless noted)
ST. BONIFACE, MAN., Manitoba Linseed Oil Mills Co., factory, 1908 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 22 Feb. 1908, 20, descrip.; C.R., xix, 1 April 1908, 21)
NORTHERN CROWN BANK, Portage Avenue at Sherbrook Street, 1908; major extension and remodelling, 1910; demol. 1983 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 14 Nov. 1908, 25; Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 1 June 1910, 9, descrip.; Winnipeg, Monuments to Finance: Three Winnipeg Banks, ii, 1982, 92-3, illus.; Winnipeg, 1983: The Year Past, 49-50, illus.)
DELORAINE, SASK., Dominion Bank, 1908 (C.R., xxii, 15 July 1908, 29)
CRESCENT COURT APARTMENTS, Gertrude Avenue at Hugo Street, 1908-09 (C.R., xxii, 2 Dec. 1908, 28; Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 19 Dec. 1908, 31, descrip.; Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 25 Jan. 1909, 7, illus.)
KENORA, ONT., club house for Lake of the Woods Yacht Club, 1909 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 15 May 1909, Section Four, 2, illus. & descrip.)
LANCASTER APARTMENTS, Spadina Avenue at Rose Street, 1909 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 3 April 1909, 16; C.R., xxiii, 26 May 1909, 21)
FORT ROUGE, mansion for F.M. Burridge, Harvard Avenue, near Wellington Crescent, 1909 (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 17 April 1909, 2)
KIRKLAND BLOCK APARTMENTS, Carlton Street at Qu'Appelle Street, 1909 (Winnipeg Tribune, 1 June 1909, 3, descriip.; C.R., xxiii, 14 July 1909, 21-2)
WELLINGTON CRESCENT, opposite Academy Road, large residence for Mrs. F.M. McDonald, 1909 (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 7 Aug. 1909, 1)
DOMINION BANK, Notre Dame Avenue at Sherbrook Street, 1910 (C.R., xxiv, 25 May 1910, 29)
NOTRE DAME AVENUE, at Princess Street, warehouse for Thomas Kelly & Son, 1910 (C.R., xxiv, 4 May 1910, 25)
MAIN STREET, north of the CPR Tracks, between Jarvis Avenue and Sutherland Avenue, an apartment block for Sharpe & Machray, 1910 (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 23 June 1910, 4; C.R., xxiv, 29 June 1910, 26)
(with E. & W.S. Maxwell) ST. CHARLES COUNTRY CLUB, Portage Avenue near Sturgeon Creek, 1910; burned 1912 and rebuilt to design by Northwood, 1913 (C.R., xxiv, 6 April 1910, 27; Manitoba Free Press, 1 Feb. 1913, 11, illus.)
PHOENIX BLOCK, Notre Dame Avenue at Princess Street, a 3 storey block of retail stores and apartments, 1910 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 2 April 1910, 20, illus.; Winnipeg b.p. 835, 1910; inf. Robert Hamilton, of Hamilton, Ont. )
COLUMBIA BLOCK APARTMENTS, Sherbrook Street at William Avenue, 1910 (Winnipeg b.p. 1027, 1910)
BANNATYNE APARTMENTS, Bannatyne Avenue at Kate Street, 1910 (Winnipeg b.p. 2488, 1910)
RICHARD & BROWN LTD., James Avenue, warehouse, 1911; addition, 1912 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 27 April 1911, 17, illus.; Winnipeg b.p. 121, 1911; b.p. 1852, 1912)
BRANDON, MAN., major alterations to the Dominion Bank, Rosser Avenue, 1911 (Brandon b.p. 1503, 18 April 1911)
CALGARY, ALTA., Dominion Bank, 8th Avenue S.E., 1911 (Const., vi, Oct. 1913, 373)
FINNIE & MURRAY BLOCK, McDermot Avenue at Adelaide Street, 1912 (Winnipeg Tribune, 23 Feb. 1912, 1; C.R., xxvi, 6 March 1912, 74; Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 11 May 1912, 25, illus.; Winnipeg, 1987: The Year Past, 1989, 49-50, illus.)
NOTRE DAME INVESTMENT BLOCK, Notre Dame Avenue, 1912 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 11 May 1912, 25, illus.)
VALE AVENUE, residence for Mrs. R.J. Whitla, 1912 (Winnipeg Telegram, 29 June 1912, 13, illus.)
SMITH STREET, apartment block for J. Bergman, 1912 (Winnipeg b.p. 640, 1912)
BANK OF OTTAWA, Main Street near Portage Avenue, 1912 (Winnipeg b.p. 3541, 1912)
GLENAVON, SASK., Bank of Toronto, 1913 (inf. from Toronto Dominion Bank, Premises Dept., Regina)
MONTMARTRE, SASK., Bank of Toronto, 1913 (inf. from Toronto Dominion Bank, Premises Dept., Regina)
LAFLECHE, SASK., Bank of Toronto, 1913 (inf. from Toronto Dominion Bank, Premises Dept., Regina)
MEYRONNE, SASK., Bank of Toronto, 1913 (inf. from Toronto Dominion Bank, Premises Dept., Regina)
WESTGATE, residence for Rev. Charles W. Gordon (also known as Ralph Connor), 1913 (C.R., xxvii, 13 Aug. 1913, 71; R.A.I.C. Journal, v, Sept. 1928, 333, illus.; Winnipeg, 1983: The Year Past, 69-70, illus.)
VANSITTART APARTMENTS, Spadina Avenue at Scott Street, 1913 (Winnipeg b.p. 761, 1913)
(with Marcus Priteca) PANTAGES THEATRE, Market Avenue, 1913-14 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 24 Jan. 1914, Theatre Section, 1-4, illus. & descrip.)
DONALD STREET, office building for Joseph C. McGreevy, 1914 (Winnipeg b.p. 2533, 1914)
NORTHWOOD & CAREY (works in Winnipeg unless noted)
ASSINIBOIA, SASK., Bank of Toronto, 1919 (inf. from Toronto Dominion Bank, Premises Dept., Regina)
PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, MAN., laundry building for the Man. Dept. of Public Works, 1919 (C.R., xxxiii, 13 Aug. 1919, 43)
SELKIRK, MAN., laundry building at the Hospital for the Insane, for the Manitoba Dept. of Public Works, 1919 (C.R., xxxiii, 13 Aug. 1919, 43)
MARSHALL WELLS CO. LTD., Market Avenue at Rorie Street, warehouse, 1919 (C.R., xxxiii, 27 Aug. 1919, 47)
DOMINION BANK, Portage Avenue at Sherbrook Street, 1919 (Winnipeg b.p. 82, 1919)
AERO COUNTRY CLUB, 1920 (Winnipeg Tribune, 25 March 1920, 11, illus.)
DAUPHIN, MAN., Ramsay's Department Store, Main Street North at 3rd Avenue N.E., 1920 (Dauphin Herald & Press, 15 July 1920, 1; Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 17 July 1920, 5)
SELKIRK, MAN., Soldier's Pavilion and Receiving Hospital, 1921 (C.R., xxxv, 26 Jan. 1921, 49; Winnipeg Tribune, 6 June 1921, 6; R.A.I.C. Journal, vii, Oct. 1930, 375)
STETTLER, ALTA., Bank of Toronto, 1921 (C.R., xxxv, 16 March 1921, 61, t.c.)
UNION BANK, Main Street at Bannatyne Avenue, 1921 (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 20 May 1921, 1)
UNION BANK, Main Street at William Avenue, major addition, 1921 (inf. from Royal Bank Archives, Montreal)
NASSAU STREET, residence for Robert A. Rogers, 1922 (Winnipeg b.p. 1502, 1922; C.H.G., iii, Oct. 1926, 28-9, illus.; Nov. 1926, 15, illus.)
ST. BONIFACE, MAN., rebuilding after a fire of Provencher Roman Catholic School, Cathedrale Avenue at St. Jean Baptiste Street, 1923 (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 23 May 1923, 3)
RUSKIN ROW, near Yale Avenue, residence for Nixon J. Breen, 1923 (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 16 March 1923, 2)
G.W. NORTHWOOD (works in Winnipeg unless noted)
WEST KILDONAN, Priory School, 1924 (C.R., xxxviii, 2 July 1924, 53)
ST. BONIFACE, distillery building, Plinquet Street, on the east side of the CPR railway line, 1925 (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 25 March 1925, 2, descrip.; C.R., xxxix, 15 April 1925, 51, t.c.)
PARK BOULEVARD, residence for Claude C. Heubach, c. 1925 (Const., xix, Sept. 1926, 292, illus.)
T. EATON CO. DEPARTMENT STORE, a four storey garage building for delivery vehicles, Graham Avenue at Carlton Street, 1926 (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 1 April 1926, 3, illus. & descrip.)
T. EATON CO. DEPARTMENT STORE, a two storey printing plant, at the foot of Alexander Avenue, running back to Roberts Street, 1926 (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 1 April 1926, 3, illus. & descrip.)
MEDICAL ARTS BUILDING, Kennedy Street, major addition of two storeys on top of the existing building, 1926 (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 22 April 1926, 1)
MANITOBA CARTAGE CO. LTD., Higgins Avenue at Lizzie Street, 1926 (C.R., xl, 26 May 1926, 176, t.c.)
PARK BOULEVARD, residence for Claude C. Heubach, c. 1925 (Const., xix, Sept. 1926, 292, illus.)
NORTHWOOD & CHIVERS (works in Winnipeg unless noted)
ALL SAINTS ANGLICAN CHURCH, Broadway at Osborne Street, 1926-27 (Const., xix, June 1926, 197; Winnipeg Tribune, 22 Sept. 1926, 5, illus. & descrip.)
CARLETON STREET, between Broadway and York Avenue, a four storey apartment block for Dr. Reuben Hurst, 1927 (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 19 May 1927, 6, descrip.)
DAUPHIN, MAN., Municipal Hospital, 1927 (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 25 July 1927, 14)
ST. IGNATIUS ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, Jessie Avenue at Stafford Street, 1928 (C.R., xlii, 23 May 1928, 43)
WHEAT BOARD BUILDING, Main Street near McDermot Avenue, an 8 storey commercial block, 1928-29 (Saskatoon Daily Star, 23 June 1928, 10, illus. & descrip.; C.R., xlii, 4 July 1928, 50; Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 27 April 1929, Wheat Pool Supplement, 1-2 and 7, illus. & descrip.; R.A.I.C. Journal, vii, Jan. 1930, xxxiii, illus. in advert.)
ST. BONIFACE, major addition to Provencher Collegiate Inst., Cathedrale Ave. at St. Jean Baptiste Street, 1929 (C.R., xliii, 3 July 1919, 62, t.c.; Winnipeg Tribune, 7 Sept. 1929, 26)
ROBERT H. SMITH PUBLIC SCHOOL, Oak Street at Kingsway Avenue, 1929 (C.R., xliii, 17 July 1929, 60)
SINGER SEWING MACHINE CO., Portage Avenue near Vaughan Street, office building, 1929 (C.R., xliii, 24 July 1929, 61; R.A.I.C. Journal, xvii, Nov. 1940, 195, illus.)
GREAT WEST SADDLERY BUILDING, Market Avenue, alterations and new entrance, 1929 (Winnipeg, 1990:The Year Past, 57-8, illus.)
ASSINIBOINE PARK PAVILION, 1929 (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 8 June 1929, 8, illus. & descrip.; C.R., xliii, 31 July 1929, 59; Winnipeg, 1982: The Year Past, 22-3, illus.)
RADIO INDUSTRIES OF CANADA LTD., Fort Street, between Broadway and York Street, a two storey warehouse, 1929 (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 8 June 1929, 8, descrip.)
INVERMERE, B.C., Imperial Bank, 1929 (C.R., xliii, 4 Sept. 1929, 67; dwgs. at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Archives, Toronto)
EASTMAN KODAK LTD., a two storey retail store, Portage Avenue, between The Capitol Theatre and the Sterling Bank, 1929 (Winnipeg Tribune, 7 Sept. 1929, 26, descrip.)
(with McCarter & Nairne) VANCOUVER, B.C., Hall Building, Howe Street, 1929 (H. Kalman, Exploring Vancouver, 1978, 110, illus.)
CANADIAN GENERAL ELECTRIC BUILDING, Notre Dame Avenue at King Street, 1930 (C.R., xliv, 19 March 1930, 69; Winnipeg, 1988: The Year Past, 51-2, illus.; Tim Morawetz, Art Deco Architecture Across Canada, 2017, 14, illus. & descrip.)
CAPITOL THEATRE, Portage Avenue, through to Donald Street at the rear, a new facade and extensive interior alterations, 1930 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 31 May 1930, 28, descrip.)
WOMEN'S TRIBUTE MEMORIAL LODGE, Woodlawn Street at Portage Avenue, 1930-31 (Winnipeg, 1987: The Year Past, 61-2, illus.; Tim Morawetz, Art Deco Architecture Across Canada, 2017, 114, illus. & descrip.)
KENORA, ONT., High School, won in a competition, 1927; built 1931 (Winnipeg Tribune, 23 Nov. 1927, 10; C.R., xlv, 27 May 1931, 189)
(with Pratt & Ross and J.N. Semmens) CIVIC AUDITORIUM, Memorial Boulevard at Vaughan Street, 1932 (C.R., xlvi, 27 Jan. 1932, 77, illus. & descrip.; Const., xxv, Dec. 1932, 273-77, 286, illus. & descrip.; R.A.I.C. Journal, x, Oct. 1933, 164-9, illus. & descrip.; Canadian Engineer, lxv, 5 Sept. 1933, 3-6, 10, illus. & descrip.; Tim Morawetz, Art Deco Architecture Across Canada, 2017, 268-69, illus. & descrip.)
NINETTE, MAN., public school, 1932 (C.R., xlvi, 20 Jan. 1932, 44)
BANK OF TORONTO, Academy Road, 1933 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xi, April 1934, 62, illus.; and xiv, Sept. 1937, 177-8, illus.)
RIVERBEND SCHOOL FOR GIRLS, Langside Street, 1934 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xi, May 1934, 74; and xiii, Sept. 1936, 168-9, illus. & descrip.)
DOMINION PUBLIC BUILDING, Main Street at Water Avenue, 1935-36 (C.R., xlviii, 19 Dec. 1934, 28, t.c.; R.A.I.C. Journal, xiv, July 1937, 140; and xv, June 1938, 148, illus.; Early Buildings of Manitoba, 1973, 75, illus.; H. Kalman, History of Canadian Architecture, 1994, 761, illus.; Tim Morawetz, Art Deco Architecture Across Canada, 2017, 54-5, illus. & descrip.)
MANITOBA COLD STORAGE WAREHOUSE, Argyle Street at Higgins Avenue, major addition, 1937 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xiv, Aug. 1937, 170)
(with W.G. Blakey) EDMONTON, ALTA., T. Eaton Co. Department Store, 101 Street at 102nd Avenue, 1938 (C.R., li, 15 June 1938, 44; R.A.I.C. Journal, xv, Sept. 1938, 211; and xvi, Dec. 1939, 257, illus.)
ST. JAMES, MAN., engine testing shop for the Federal department of Munitions & Supplies, 1940 (C.R., xliii, 6 Nov. 1940, 20, t.c.)
BRANDON, MAN., radio studio for the Manitoba Telephone System, 1941 (C.R., liv, 18 June 1941, 36, t.c.)
YORKTON, SASK., office and warehouse for John Deere Plow Co., Livingston Street, 1941 (C.R., liv, 6 Aug. 1941, 32)
MEDICAL ARTS BUILDING, Graham Avenue at Kennedy Street, 1945 (C.R., xviii, Sept. 1945, 94)
WINNIPEG GENERAL HOSPITAL, Bannatyne Avenue at Emily Street, Maternity Pavilion, 1948-50 (C.R., lxi, July 1948, 132; Canadian Hospital [Toronto], xxvii, Sept. 1950, 31-33, illus. & descrip.)
FLIN FLON, MAN., major addition to the Royal Hotel for Warren Plummer, 1950 (C.R., lxiii, March 1950, 142)
BANK OF MONTREAL, Main Street at Higgins Avenue, 1950 (R.A.I.C. Journal, x, Sept. 1950, 346, illus.)
EAST KILDONAN, Imperial Bank of Canada, 1950 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xxvii, Oct. 1950, 351, illus.)
COMPETITIONS
HULL, QUE., City Hall, 1901. Northwood & Noffke were one of seven architects who submitted designs for this public building (Evening Journal [Ottawa], 16 May 1901, 9). The competition was later won by Charles Brodeur of Hull, Que.
WINNIPEG, MAN., Contagious Diseases Hospital, in Riverview, 1911. Northwood was the same person as "G. Northey [sic], architect" who was one of 13 Winnipeg architects who submitted a design in this competition. He was awarded 4th Prize of $350 for his effort (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 10 April 1911, 1, competition report). The winner was Herbert Rugh.