DUKE, Robert Falconer (1904-1984) served as City Architect of Edmonton, Alberta from 1949 until his retirement in 1969, and he supervised the design and construction of all city-owned buildings there during his tenure. Born in Birkenhead, England on 16 October 1904, he was brought to Canada by his family in 1905 and they settled in Saskatoon, Sask. Duke graduated from Nutana Collegiate in 1921 and studied engineering at the Univ. of Saskatchewan in 1922-24 under the supervision of Prof. Alexander R. Greig. He then trained in the office of Webster & Gilbert, Architects, and later took further studies in architecture from 1932 to 1934.
He opened his own office in Saskatoon in 1935, but only one project by him during this period has been located, an Art Deco design for retail store and shop in 1937. In October 1938 he joined the federal Dept. of Public Works as a local supervising architect posted to Saskatoon, and remained in that office until June 1946 when he accepted the position of Assistant City Architect in Edmonton, Alta, working under the direct supervision of Max Dewar, the City Architect (Star-Phoenix [Saskatoon], 22 June 1946, 5). In November 1949 he was named Acting City Architect in Edmonton, and then Chief Architect in February 1950. In late 1950 he was joined by William Paul Pasternak (1919-2009) who served as Assistant City Architect from 1950 to 1956, and it was Pasternak, an award-winning young graduate from the School of Architecture at the Univ. of Manitoba, who may have contributed to many of the modernist designs for City buildings which were credited to Duke and his staff.
The best-known work credited to Duke from this period was the striking modernist proposal for the Queen Elizabeth Planetarium (1959-60), the fourth planetarium erected in Canada after those in Hamilton, Halifax and Winnipeg. Although Duke was the architect-of-record for this building, recent research by David Murray, architect of Edmonton, indicates that the task of designing the Planetarium was placed in the hands of Denis Mulvaney, a young British-trained architect who worked in the office of the City Architect from 1957 to 1961. Mulvaney later moved to Sydney, Australia where he continued his career as an architect. Duke retired in October 1969 and later died in Edmonton on 27 September 1984 (death notice, Edmonton Journal, 29 Sept. 1984, H 4; obituary Edmonton Journal, 15 Oct. 1984, page C 8; biog. and port. Edmonton Journal, 15 Aug. 1966, 34). A brief biography and photographic portrait of Duke was published in the Star-Phoenix [Saskatoon], 17 July 1936, 3; and 19 Oct. 1938, 5.
Robert F. DUKE (works in Saskatchewan)
SASKATOON, SASK., O.K. Economy Food Store, in the Kemptherne Block, Second Avenue, new facade and interiors, 1937 (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, 25 Nov. 1937, 6, illus. & descrip.)
Robert F. DUKE (works in Edmonton, Alta.)
95 AVENUE, at 97 Street, residence for the architect Robert Duke & Mrs. Madge Duke, 1949-50 (dwgs. City of Edmonton Archives, RG 17.0, MP 1949-3963; inf. Marina [Duke] Newby, Calgary; inf. Patricia Leake, Edmonton; inf. Frank Korvemaker, Regina)
CITY CIVIL DEFENSE COMMAND CENTRE, 142 Street near MacKenzie Ravine, an underground bunker for the City of Edmonton, 1953 ( inf. Patricia Leake, Edmonton; inf. Frank Korvemaker, Regina)
SOUTH SIDE HEALTH CLINIC, 104 Street at 83 Street, 1953 (Edmonton Journal, 7 May 1953, 21; inf. Patricia Leake, Edmonton)
CITY INCINERATOR BUILDING, in Cloverdale, a large 4 storey addition to existing building, 1953 (Edmonton Journal, 6 July 1953, 18)
CITY MAINTENANCE BUILDING, 102A Avenue, a one storey brick building, 1953 (Edmonton Journal, 10 July 1953, 34)
HOLY TRINITY ANGLICAN CHURCH, a new rectory for the church, 101 Street at 84th Avenue, 1953, located directly across the street from the church (inf. Marina [Duke] Newby, Edmonton)
BORDEN PARK INDOOR SWIMMING POOL & BANDSHELL, 1954 (Capital Modern - Guide to Edmonton Architecture & Urban Design 1940-1969, 2007, 139-40, illus. & descrip.)
RENFREW PARK, large grandstand for baseball grounds, 1954-55 (Edmonton Journal, 17 May 1954, 11, illus. & descrip.; inf. Patricia Leake, Edmonton)
HYDRO SUBSTATION, 80 Street at 115 Street, 1954 (Edmonton Journal, 27 July 1954, 20; inf. Patricia Leake, Edmonton)
WINDSOR PARK [also called The Flower Park], Windsor Road at 119 Street N.W., plan and layout for the park, 1954-56 (inf. Patricia Leake, Edmonton)
NO. 4 FIRE STATION, 156 Street, 1954
ROSSDALE WATER FILTRATION PLANT, Pumping Station No. 2, 1955
GLENORA ELECTRIC SUBSTATION, 135 Street, 1956 (Capital Modern - Guide to Edmonton Architecture & Urban Design 1940-1969, 2007, 107-08, illus. & descrip.)
HOUSING FOR THE AGED, for the North Saskatchewan Valley Foundation, a group of 14 low rise buildings, near 126 Street and 131 Avenue, 1958 (Edmonton Journal, 2 Aug. 1958, 23; inf. Frank Korvemaker, Regina)
NO. 1 FIRE STATION, 96 Street, 1960
WESTWOOD TRANSIT STATION, 106A Street, 1960 (Capital Modern - Guide to Edmonton Architecture & Urban Design 1940-1969, 2007, 123-24, illus. & descrip.)
QUEEN ELIZABETH PLANETARIUM, Coronation Park, 1959-60; restored 2018-19 (Edmonton Journal, 4 February 1959, 16, illus. & descrip. Capital Modern - Guide to Edmonton Architecture & Urban Design 1940-1969, 2007, 93-94, illus. & descrip.)