STOUGHTON, Arthur Alexander (1867-1955) was the founder of the School of Architecture at the Univ. of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba and he also practised architecture there under his own name. Born in Mount Vernon on 2 April 1867, he studied architecture at Columbia University in New York City where he graduated in 1888. In 1890 he won the first Columbia University Fellowship in Architecture, enabling him to travel and study in Europe (New York Times, 1 June 1890, 12). That summer, he moved to Paris, France to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts under Gaston F. Redon, a leading architect in France, and remained there until 1894 (E. Delaire, Les Architectes Eleves de l’Ecole des Beaux-Arts, 1907, 408). After returning to New York, he formed a partnership with his brother Charles W.S. Stoughton, and together they completed works in Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, and in Canton, China. Their best known work in New York City was the winning design for the Civil War Soldiers & Sailors Monument (1902), modeled on the Monument of Lysicrates in Athens (334 B.C.), and still standing in Riverside Park, Manhattan. Together they both appear to have been capable masters of the Beaux-Arts style, evident in the lavish drawings which they submitted in competitions, and for the built works they completed over a fifteen year period.
In 1913 A.A. Stoughton moved to Winnipeg, Man. at the invitation of the University of Manitoba where he became the first Professor of Architecture, and later Director of the Faculty, a position he held until 1929. He also designed several buildings on the campus of the Univ. of Manitoba at St. Vital in a bold Collegiate Gothic style, incorporating elevations faced with local Tyndall limestone ashlar blocks, and complemented by refined cut stone elements for stair towers and entry porticos. He wrote at length on his theory of architectural education in Canada (Const., x, July 1916, 212-14, illus.), and engaged in lively architectural criticism, writing a lengthy appraisal of the design by Frank W. Simon for the new Manitoba Provincial Parliament Building (Const., xiv, March 1921, 66-76, illus.).
Stoughton retired from that post in September 1929 and was succeeded by Prof. Milton Osborne. He was appointed Professor Emeritus of the School in Winnipeg, and was later awarded an honorary LLD degree in 1950 from the University. He returned to Mount Vernon N.Y. in late 1932 where he rejoined his brother in architectural practise, but no references to their works after 1930 have been found. Stoughton retired after 1940, and died in Mount Vernon, N.Y. on 13 January 1955 after being struck by a taxi cab near his residence (obit. New York Times, 14 Jan. 1955, 19: obit. Architectural Forum [New York], cii, Feb. 1955, 29; R.A.I.C. Journal, xxxii, Feb. 1955, 59-60; biog. Who's Who in New York City & State, 1911, 898; biog. Who’s Who in Canada & Why, 1923-24, 882; Canadian Who’s Who, ii, 1936-37, 1039; biog. R.A.I.C. Journal, xxvii, April 1950, 146). A lengthy biographical essay on Stoughton, with a photographic portrait, was published in the Manitoba Free Press (Winnipeg), 11 October 1913, 13, with list of works.
STOUGHTON & STOUGHTON
ST. PAUL, MINN., competition entry for the Minnesota State Capitol, 1895. Stoughton & Stoughton were one of fifty-six firms who submitted designs in this national competition. Their impressive Beaux-Arts design was published in American Architect & Building News [New York], xlix, 24 Aug. 1895, 82, with illus. plate., but the scheme was not premiated, and Cass Gilbert was eventually declared the winner.
JERSEY CITY, N.J., competition entry for the Jersey City Public Library, 1899. More than a dozen prominent American architects submitted designs, including the refined Beaux-Arts proposal from Stoughton & Stoughton (Architectural Review [Boston], vi, March 1899, 38 and Plate XVIII, illus.). Their scheme was not selected as the winner.
BROOKLYN, N.Y., cupola on the bell tower at Brooklyn City Hall (now Brooklyn Borough Hall), Joralemon Street at Cadman Plaza West, designed 1895; built 1898; restored 1987-88 (New York Times, 19 June 1895, 2, illus. & descrip.; 21 July 1895, 9, descrip.; A.I.A. Guide to New York City, 1988, 565; New York Times, 2 Sept. 1988, B1 & B4)
CANTON, CHINA, Canton Christian College, 1900-07 (Architectural Review [Boston], vii, May 1900, Plate XXXIII, illus.; Architectural Record [New York], xxvii, March 1910, 275, illus.; New York Times, 14 Aug. 1904, Section Two, p. 2, illus. & descrip.; dwgs. Avery Architectural Library, Columbia University, New York City)
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil War Monument, Riverside Drive at West 89th Street, selected as winning design in a competition, 1899; built 1901-02 (New York Times, 6 Oct. 1899, 6, descrip.; 8 Sept. 1900, 12; American Architect & Building News [New York], lxx, 17 Nov. 1900, 55-6, descrip., with three plate illus.; lxxxi, 22 Aug. 1903, 63-4, descrip. with three plates showing completed monument; Architectural Review [Boston], vii, Nov. 1900, Plates LXX and LXXI, illus.; Architects’ and Builders’ Magazine [New York], v, Oct. 1903, 1-8, illus. & descrip.; A.I.A. Guide to New York City, 1988, 303, illus. & descrip.)
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., Manhattan Congregational Church, Broadway near West 76th Street, 1901-02 (New York Times, 3 Nov. 1900, 5; Architectural Review [Boston], vii, Nov. 1900, Plate LXXVII, illus.; American Architect & Building News [New York], lxxxi, 8 Aug. 1903, 47, with fold-out plate illus.)
BRONX, N.Y., 41st Precinct Police Station House, Webster Avenue at Mosholu Parkway, later renamed the 52nd Precinct Station House, 1905-06 (Architects’ and Builders’ Magazine [New York], vii, August 1906, 463-65, illus. & descrip.; A.I.A. Guide to New York City, 1988, 525-6, illus. & descrip.)
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., Free Public Baths, John Jay Park Bath House, Cherokee Place, near York Avenue and East 76th Street, overlooking FDR Drive, 1906-08 (American Architect & Building News [New York], lxxxviii, 16 Dec. 1905, 200 & three full page plate illus.; A.I.A. Guide to New York City, 1988, 401)
THE BRONX, NEW YORK CITY, Trinity Congregational Church, 176th Street, west of Washington Avenue, addition of a Parish House, 1908; major addition to the church for a parish School, 1914 (New York Daily Tribune, 1 Nov. 1908, 12; 22 June 1914, 11, descrip.)
BROOKLYN, N.Y., Church of the Evangel [Congregational], Bedford Avenue, in Flatbush, South Brooklyn, 1909 (New York Daily Tribune, 23 June 1909, 10)
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO, Polytechnical Institute, at San German, 1918-37 (dwgs. Avery Architectural Library, Columbia University, New York City; inf. Elaine Kisiow, Winnipeg)
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., Queensborough Bridge Fountain, East 59th Street, east of 1st Avenue, c. 1918
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., East Side War Memorial, Catherine Street at Monroe Street, 1921
COMPETITIONS - STOUGHTON & STOUGHTON
ST. PAUL, MINN., Minnesota State Capitol Building, 1895. Stoughton & Stoughton were one of fifty-six firms who submitted designs in this national competition. Their impressive Beaux-Arts design was published in American Architect & Building News [New York], xlix, 24 Aug. 1895, 82, with illus. plate., but their scheme was not premiated, and Cass Gilbert was eventually declared the winner.
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., New York Public Library, 5th Avenue at 42nd Street, 1897. The competition for this significant landmark was held in two stages. There were 12 semi-finalists selected, including the Stoughton Brothers, as well as leading American architects such as John Galen Howard, Henry Hornbostel, and Whitney Warren (New York Times, 23 July 1897, 5, list of competitors). The Stoughtons were not selected for the second stage due in November 1897, and the firm of Carrere & Hastings were eventually selected as the winners (New York Times, 2 Nov. 1897, 7)
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., Soldier's & Sailors Civil War Monument, 1897. Originally intended for a prominent site at 59th Street at Fifth Avenue, at the southeast corner of Central Park, the Stoughton Brothers won this competition with their proposal for a terraced pedestal, surmounted by a single column at 125 ft. in height (New York Times, 2 Oct. 1897, 16, list of competitors; 13 Nov. 1897, 20, descrip. of winning design; The Sun [New York], 13 Nov. 1897, 5, illus. & descrip.). However, the site for the monument was later moved to the Upper West Side, and the design by the Stoughtons was significantly modified, and was not completed until 1902 (see list of built works above).
JERSEY CITY, N.J., Jersey City Public Library, 1899. More than a dozen prominent American architects submitted designs, including the refined Beaux-Arts proposal from Stoughton & Stoughton (Architectural Review [Boston], vi, March 1899, 38 and Plate XVIII, illus.). Their scheme was not selected as the winner.
A.A. STOUGHTON
(works in Winnipeg unless noted)
ARMSTRONG’S POINT., residence for John H. Riley, South Drive, Fort Garry, 1919 (R.A.I.C. Journal, v, Sept. 1928, 337, illus.)
UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA, Manitoba Medical College, major addition fronting on Bannatyne Avenue, 1920-21 (Winnipeg Evening Tribune, 25 Jan. 1921, 3, descrip.; 9 July 1921, 3, descrip.; Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 11 Feb. 1922, 10; Winnipeg b.p. 2049, 1920; dwgs. City of Winnipeg Archives)
WAR MEMORIAL, at Augustine Presbyterian Church, River Avenue at Royal Street, 1920 (Winnipeg Evening Tribune, 9 Oct. 1920, Section Two, page 1, descrip.)
MARYLAND STREET BRIDGE, 1920 (Winnipeg Evening Tribune, 18 Aug. 1920, 3; 2 Sept. 1920, 5)
DARLINGFORD, MAN., War Memorial and Park, 1921 (Western Canadian [Winnipeg], 14 July 1921, 5)
PRINCE ALBERT, SASK., War Memorial Cenotaph, Central Avenue, in front of the Court House, 1927. This design by Stoughton was originally submitted in 1925 in the competition for the Winnipeg War Memorial, but was not among the finalists there, and was later erected in Prince Albert (Winnipeg Tribune, 11 June 1927, 15, illus. & descrip.)
(with York & Sawyer) JAMES RICHARDSON & SONS LTD., Portage Avenue and Main Street, project for a 16 storey office tower to house the Winnipeg Stock Exchange, 1929; but only the foundations was constructed, and the project was later cancelled (Winnipeg Evening Tribune, 19 July 1929, 1 + 5, illus. & descrip; 5 Oct. 1929, 1, descrip.; Const., xxii, Nov. 1929, 347; Dec. 1929, 370, illus.; dwgs. at Manitoba Provincial Archives, Acc. D 20/9)
(with Gilbert Parfitt) FORT GARRY, MAN., The Arts Building [Tier Building], Dafoe Road West, on the campus of the University of Manitoba, for the Provincial Dept. of Public Works, 1930-31 (Winnipeg Evening Tribune, 24 May 1930, 15, illus. & descrip.; 10 Sept. 1930, 1, descrip.; 11 Sept. 1930, 1, illus.; C.R., xliv, 6 Aug. 1930, 954; 15 Oct. 1930, 93; 29 Oct. 1930, 1361, descrip.; Const., xxv, Dec. 1932, 281-85, illus. & descrip.; Early Buildings of Manitoba, 1973, 71, illus.)
MAIN STREET BRIDGE, over the Assiniboine River, 1930-31 (Winnipeg Evening Tribune, 20 Dec. 1930, 3; 30 Dec. 1930, 1, illus. & descrip.; Canadian Engineer [Montreal], lx, 20 Jan. 1931, 26)
NORWOOD BRIDGE, over the Red River, 1930-31 (Winnipeg Evening Tribune, 8 Dec. 1930, 3; 30 Dec. 1930, 1, illus. & descrip.)
(with Gilbert Parfitt) FORT GARRY, MAN., Buller Science Building, on the campus of the University of Manitoba, for the Provincial Dept. of Public Works, 1931-32 (C.R., xlv, 28 Oct. 1931, 51; xlvi, 6 Jan. 1932, 20; xlvii, 21 June 1933, 613-14, illus. & descrip.; Const., xxv, Dec. 1932, 278, 280-83, illus. & descrip.)
STEVENSON AIR FIELD, airplane passenger terminal for Canadian Airways Ltd., Sackville Street, with adjacent airplane hangar, 1931-32 (Winnipeg Tribune, 8 Jan. 1932, 2, descrip.)
COMPETITIONS - A.A. STOUGHTON
WINNIPEG, MAN., War Memorial Cenotaph, 1925-26. Stoughton 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. Stoughton took some pleasure in seeing his competition design for Winnipeg later erected as the Cenotaph in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan in 1927.
REGINA, SASK., WW1 War Memorial Cenotaph, Victoria Park, 1926. A.A. Stoughton was one of over 50 Canadian 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.