KING, George William (1863-1945) was a native of London, England and was born there on 1 November 1863. He articled with the London firm of Taylor & Locke from 1879 until 1881 and then emigrated to Canada in early 1882. He worked as draftsman in Toronto for Darling & Curry in 1882-83, in Kingston for the firm of Power & Son from 1884 until 1886 and then returned to Toronto to work in the office of E.J. Lennox. In 1888 King formed a partnership with George W. Gouinlock but within two years their office was dissolved and King then entered into another partnership with Arthur R. Denison (see list of works under Denison & King). By December of 1892 their office was closed and, for the first time, King began to practise in Toronto under his own name. It was during this period that he designed two distinctive Ontario landmarks, the Carleton Place Town Hall (1895) and the Stratford Town Hall (1898-99), both skillful and imaginative essays in a picturesque eclectic style.
In May 1899 King decided to return to England to pursue his career there and accepted the post of Assistant Architect & Surveyor to Whitbread & Co., London, one of the largest brewing companies in England. He remained with them until October 1906 and then commenced his own private practice in Putney. For unexplained reasons he decided to leave England once again, this time to return to Toronto in Feburary 1910 and to practise under his own name. In late 1910 King entered the competition for Knox College, Toronto, but his design placed a distant fifth among the seven entrants. In February 1911 he was successful in obtaining First Prize for his design for Government House in Toronto, but the scheme was never built. Few commissions came his way during the next decade and this likely precipitated his move to the Niagara Peninsula. He was appointed Building Inspector for the Town of Fort Erie in 1927 (Const., xx, April 1927, 135) and worked as a consulting architect until 1942 when he joined the Engineering Dept. at Fleet Aircraft Company. King died in Fort Erie on 11 June 1945 (obituary in the Times-Review [Fort Erie], 14 June 1945, 10; R.I.B.A., Directory of British Architects 1834-1914, 2001, i, 1075). His portrait can be found in the Stratford Evening Herald Souvenir Trade Edition, 10 Dec. 1898, 5.
KING & GOUINLOCK
GALT, ONT., Imperial Block, for the Imperial Hotel Co., South Water Street, 1887 (Galt Reporter, 13 May 1887, 1; Spectator [Hamilton], 10 June 1887, 4, t.c.)
TORONTO, ONT., major additions and alterations to residence for Dr. John Hall Jr., Carlton Street at Jarvis Street, 1887 (dwgs. at OA, Horwood Coll., 11[4])
TORONTO, ONT., R.S. Williams & Son Piano Co., Yonge Street near Richmond Street East, new facade and addition of two floors over existing building, 1887 (Toronto World, 14 July 1887, 2, descrip.)
OSHAWA, ONT., R.S. Williams & Son Piano Co., extensive additions and alterations to the former Joseph Hall Works, Richmond Street West, 1888 (Telegram [Toronto], 31 May 1888, 2, t.c.)
PARIS, ONT., Town Hall, major additions and alterations to existing building, 1888 (Daily Expositor [Brantford], 16 June 1888, 6, t.c.)
AYR, ONT., Public School, 1888 (Globe [Toronto], 8 Sept. 1888, 9, t.c.)
G.W. KING
TORONTO, ONT., reconstruction of the Crosby Hotel into a club house, Esplanade Avenue West, 1893 (C.R., iv, 27 April 1893, 1, t.c.)
TORONTO, ONT., residence for Richard A. Graydon, Homewood Avenue at Maitland Place, 1894 (Toronto b.p. 1499, 5 Jan. 1894)
GALT, ONT., Buchanan Block, Main Street, for Theron Buchanan, 1894-95 (Galt Reporter, 26 Jan. 1894, 1, descrip.)
CARLETON PLACE, ONT., Town Hall, 1895-97 (C.A.B., viii, June 1895, 76; Dec. 1895, 143, descrip. and illus. plate; C.R., vi, 11 July 1895, 2, t.c.; Evening Journal [Ottawa], 30 Aug. 1897, 3, descrip.; M. MacRae & A. Adamson, Cornerstones of Order, 1983, 246-7, illus.)
LONDON, ONT., Dundas Centre Methodist Church, Dundas Street at Maitland Street, 1895 (Daily Advertiser [London], 23 April 1895, 1, descrip.; Free Press [London], 27 April 1895, 3, illus. & descrip.)
PENETANGUISHENE, ONT., Collegiate Institute, c. 1896 (list of works on R.I.B.A. Application Form)
(with John W. Siddall) STRATFORD, ONT., Town Hall, Downie Street at Wellington Street, 1898-99 (C.R., ix, 29 June 1898, 2; and 3 Aug. 1898, 3; M. MacRae & A. Adamson, Cornerstones of Order, 1983, 248-9, illus.; Canada, Town Halls of Canada, 1987, 67-70, illus.)
(with John W. Siddall) ORILLIA, ONT., Collegiate Institute, Borland Street, 1899; demol. 1979 (C.R., x, 15 Feb. 1899, 2, t.c.; Orillia Packet, 16 March 1899, 3, t.c.)
PORT COLBORNE, ONT., Guild Hall for St. James Anglican Church, 1929 (One Hundred Years of History of St. James Church, Port Colborne 1863-1963, illus.)
BRANTFORD, ONT., residence for George Dempster, Ava Road, c. 1935 (Building In Canada - Small Homes, 1939, 24, illus.)
COMPETITIONS
LONDON, ONT., General Hospital, 1897. King collaborated with David Ogilvie on a design for this institutional project for which they were awarded 3rd Prize (C.R., viii, 23 Dec. 1897, 2). The winning entry was submitted by H.C. McBride.
TORONTO, ONT., Knox College, St. George Street, 1911. King was one of seven finalists, but his design lacked originality and borrowed heavily from the forms and motifs of the adjacent University College built in 1856-59 (Const., iv, Feb. 1911, 65-7, illus. & descrip.). The firm of Chapman & McGiffin was declared as the winner.
TORONTO, ONT., Government House, a mansion for the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Bloor Street East, 1911. Eleven firms submitted schemes and King was awarded First Prize for a somewhat reserved French Renaissance design (Const., iv, May 1911, 49-53, illus. & descrip.). However, the winning proposal was never built because the Provincial Architect, Francis R. Heakes, reported that all of the entries were too costly and the site for the project was later moved north to Chorley Park in Rosedale.
WINNIPEG, MAN., City Hall, 1913. King was one of 39 architects from across Canada who submitted plans in this national competition, but he was not among the five finalists (City of Winnipeg Archives, Council Communications, 1913, Box A169, Item 9741, list of entrants). The winners were Clemesha & Portnall of Regina, but their scheme was never built.
OTTAWA, ONT., Departmental Buildings, 1914. More than 60 competitors from Commonwealth countries submitted designs for this major commission, but only six were elevated to Stage Two, and the project was never realized. The scheme by King was not premiated (NAC, RG11, Vol. 2952, File 5370-1B)
TORONTO, ONT., John Ross Robertson School, Glengrove Avenue, 1919. Five designs were submitted including one from King who prepared his scheme in collaboration with his former partner George W. Gouinlock (Const., xii, July 1919, 216-17, illus.). The proposal from D.R. Franklin was selected as the winning scheme.