KORNER, Theodor Frederick (1885-1946) was a Vancouver designer of exceptional talent to whom only a few works can be attributed. He was active in the following offices:
Korner & Mattocks, Vancouver, 1915 (with Robert Mattocks)
Gillingham & Korner, Vancouver, 1919-21 (with Henry H. Gillingham)
Day & Korner, Vancouver, 1923-25 (with John C. Day)
T. Korner, staff architect for B.C. Electric Railway Co., 1927-1933
T. Korner, Vancouver 1934-1945
Postle & Korner, West Vancouver, 1946 (with Harry W. Postle)
Born in Bristol, England on 8 February 1885 he completed secondary school there, enrolled in art and technical courses and then practised architecture in Sunderland, England for at least five years before coming to Canada in 1912. Seeking better opportunities for his career in Canada, he advertised in The Montreal Daily Star on 30 September 1910, page 15, outlining his plan to "...dispose of his practise", in Sunderland, and describing his "...12 years of excellent experience" in that city. After securing a new job in Canada, he finally arrived in this country in 1912.
His talents came to national attention in 1915 when he and Robert Mattocks, both employed as draftsmen in the Vancouver office of Thomas H. Mawson, were awarded First Prize of $500 for their ambitious Beaux-Arts scheme for the Vancouver Civic Centre (C.R., xxix, 6 Jan. 1915, 8, descrip.; Canada, Commission of Conservation, Report of the Sixth Annual Meeting, 1915, 168 ff, illus.). This competition, which drew more than thirty-five entries from architects in the United States, England and Canada, was sponsored by the Vancouver Planning & Beautifying Association, an informal group influenced by the City Beautiful movement. Their visionary scheme, to be situated near Victory Square at Georgia Street and Beatty Street, was never realised.
Korner was refused overseas duty during World War I with the Canadian Army because of a heart ailment and worked instead as plant architect with Couglan's Shipyard. In 1919 he formed a partnership with Henry H. Gillingham, and they remained active until 1921 (see list of works under Gillingham & Korner). In 1920 he was appointed as Supervising Architect for the Soldier's Housing Scheme in Vancouver, which planned nearly 100 new small houses for returning veterans (Vancouver Sun, 31 Aug. 1920, 2). In early 1923 it was announced that Korner was moving to Los Angeles, Calif where he had been offered a responsible position in a prominent architectural firm (North Shore Press (North Vancouver), 30 March 1923, 5). However, later that same year, Korner had returned to Vancouver and formed another partnership with John C. Day (see list of works under Day & Korner) but their office was disbanded in 1925.
Korner also worked briefly for Sharp & Thompson in 1924-5, for Robert T. Garrow in 1926, and accepted the position of staff architect for the B.C. Electric Railway Co. in 1927, a post he held until 1933. It was during this period that he designed the B.C. Electric Substation in Victoria, B.C. This outstanding Art Deco landmark, incorporating stylised Egyptian motifs and sloping battered walls, was a convincing demonstration of Korner's innovative ability and is perhaps his best work in Canada. Korner died in Vancouver on 19 October 1946 (death notice in The Sun [Vancouver], 21 Oct. 1946, 15; biographical information from Vancouver City Archives; D. Luxton, Building the West: The Early Architects of British Columbia, 2003, 416-17, 508-9).
(works in England)
SOUTHWICK, TYNE & WEAR CO. St. Hilda's Roman Catholic Church, Beaumont Road at Goschen Street, 1909; still standing in 2022 (inf. Southwick Village Preservation Society)
(works in British Columbia)
WEST VANCOUVER, a World War One Memorial Arch, in Memorial Park, facing Marine Drive near 19th Street, 1925 (Vancouver Sun, 16 Feb. 1925, 8; North Shore Press (North Vancouver), 20 Feb. 1925, 4; Vancouver Sunday Province, 15 March 1925, 15, illus, & descrip.)
VICTORIA, B.C., B.C. Electric Substation, Bay Street at Government Street, 1929; still standing in 2022 (C.R., xliii, 5 June 1929, 619, illus.; M. Segger & D. Franklin, Victoria, 1979, 78-9, illus.; Victoria Heritage Foundation, This Old House: Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods, Vol. 3, 2021, 35, illus. & descript.)
ANGUS DRIVE, near West 41st Avenue, residence for E.H. Adams, 1929 (City of Vancouver b.p. B 26965, 8 July 1929)
MISSION, B.C., The Ruskin Electric Power House & Dam, on the Stave River, for the British Columbia Electric Railway Co., 1930; still standing in 2022 (Vancouver Sun, 18 Nov. 1930, 15-16, illus. & detailed architectural descrip.; The Province [Vancouver], 18 Nov. 1930, 13-16, illus. & detailed architectural descrip.)
UPPER STAVE LAKE, B.C., The Alouette Electric Power House, 1931 (Vancouver Sun, 22 June 1931, 16, illus. & descrip.)
ACADIA ROAD, on the University Lands, residence for Edgar C. McDougall, 1934 (Vancouver Sun, 25 Aug 1934, 16, illlus.; R.A.I.C. Journal, xiv, May 1937, 83, illus.; and xvi, May 1939, 101, illus.; C.H.G., xiv, March 1937, 31, illus.)
WEST VANCOUVER, residence for Frank H. Wiley, 31st Street near Mathers Avenue, 1937 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xvi, May 1939, 101, illus.; C.H.G., xvi, Sept. 1939, 35, illus.)