GOULD, Augustus Warren (1872-1922), a leading architect of Seattle, Washington who was credited with the design of the Rogers Building in Vancouver (1911-12), one of the most important 20th C. commercial landmarks in western Canada. Gould was a native of Canada, born in Salem, Nova Scotia (near Amherst, N.S.) on 15 January 1872, and educated at public schools in that province. He was brought to Massachusetts by his family while still a teenager, and was said to be "...pursuing private studies in architecture under professors of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology", but it appears he did not enroll as a full time student there. Instead, he gained much of his knowledge of building construction by working with his older brother Aaron Gould (1864-1930) in a large architectural and construction business in Boston.
Augustus Gould moved to Seattle in late 1903, bringing with him an expertise of newly evolving building techniques such as reinforced concrete framing and terra-cotta cladding for large multi-storey commercial buildings. He opened an office in 1904, and was later joined by Edouard Frere Champney in 1909. Born in France, Champney was a graduate of the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris who had studied in the atelier of Victor Laloux (see biog. for Champney in E. Delaire, Les Architectes eleves de l'Ecole Des Beaux-Arts, 1907, 209), and it was Champney who brought a distinctive French influence to the commercial architecture of Gould & Champney during the period of 1909 to 1912. Their most notable Canadian work was the striking design of the 11 storey Rogers Building in Vancouver, and the influence of Champney on the image and appearance of the Rogers Building can be seen in the comparison of early and later designs for this block (see images on p. 165 in J.K. Ochsner, Shaping Seattle Architecture, 2014).
It is unclear why Gould and Champney terminated their partnership in 1912, but the ethical and legal controversies associated with their design for the King County Courthouse in Seattle may have hastened their separation, and both architects continued to work under their own names in that city. Gould died in Seattle on 16 October 1922 (obituary Seattle Times, 16 Oct. 1922, 2; obit. Architect & Engineer [San Francisco], lxx, Oct. 1922; biog. C.A. Snowden, History of Washington, 1911, vol. vi, 101-03; biog. H. Withey, Biographical Dictionary of American Architects, 1956, 243-44; biog. and list of works in J.K. Ochsner, Shaping Seattle Architecture, 2014, 138-43, 368, 395; D. Luxton, Building The West, 2003, 263, 502, illus.). Augustus Warren Gould should not be confused with another Seattle architect, Carl F. Gould (1873-1939) who also designed buildings in the Vancouver area as a member of the Seattle partnership of Bebb & Gould, Architects.
GOULD & CHAMPNEY (works in Canada)
CALGARY, ALTA., master plan for Bow City, Alberta, 1910 (Northwest Architect [Portland, Ore.], ii, May 1910, illus. plate)
VANCOUVER, B.C., The Rogers Building, Granville Street at West Pender Street, for Jonathan Rogers, a 11 storey office block designed in 1910; built 1911-12; still standing as of 2017 (Province [Vancouver], 14 Nov. 1910, 1, descrip.; and 2 March 1912, 35, descrip.; and 7 June 1913, 22, illus. & descrip.; Vancouver Daily World, 27 May 1911, 27, descrip.; Saturday Sunset [Vancouver], 21 Oct. 1911, 11, illus. & detailed architectural descrip.; The Sun [Vancouver], 20 Feb. 1912, 12, illus. and extensive descrip.; C.R., xxv, 29 March 1911, 36, illus. & descrip.; and 12 July 1911, 64, t.c.; dwgs. Vancouver City Archives)
(with Painter & Swales) VANCOUVER, B.C., The Hotel Vancouver, for the C.P.R., Georgia Street, large addition, with 6 storey Power House adjacent, 1912; demol. 1949 (The Sun [Vancouver], 6 July 1912, 5, descrip.). Gould was appointed as local supervising architect to Painter & Swales for this major addition to the hotel.
VANCOUVER, B.C., Mainland Ice & Cold Storage Co., Cambie Street at Nelson Street, a five storey brick warehouse, 1913 (Vancouver Daily World, 7 June 1913, 21, descrip.)
A.W. GOULD (works in Canada)
DOUGLAS, B.C. and BLAINE, WASHINGTON, proposal for The Peace Arch, on the Pacific Highway, located on the Canadian-United States border, 1913 (Vancouver Daily World, 12 Aug. 1913, 2; Province [Vancouver], 13 Aug. 1913, 22). This early scheme by Gould was not built, and a later design by the New York City architect Harvey W. Corbett was erected in 1920-21.
COMPETITIONS
VANCOUVER, B.C., Stanley Park improvements, 1911, including laying out the grounds adjacent to the lake, a band stand, refreshment pavilion, children's playground, and animal Zoo. The Vancouver office of Gould & Champney was one of nearly a dozen firms who submitted plans in this open competition (Vancouver Daily World, 18 Jan. 1911, 3). The winner was Otto W. Moberg.
TORONTO, ONT., Masonic Temple, Spadina Road, north of Bloor Street West, 1914. A.W. Gould of Vancouver was one of 41 competitors who submitted a design for this major institutional project. He was awarded the 4th Prize of $250 for his effort (Toronto Star, 17 Feb. 1914, 1). The winner was Harry P. Knowles of New York, but his design was never built, and the site for the building was later moved to Yonge Street at Davenport Road.