Walker, Charles | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada

WALKER, Charles (fl. 1864-65) was born in England and was the architect and superintendent of the immense Victoria Skating Rink, City Road, SAINT JOHN, N.B. (1864-65; demol.). This dome-shaped circular wood frame structure was more than one hundred and sixty feet in diameter and nearly eighty feet high, and with its interior arch supports was one of the most structurally innovative public buildings in Canada when it was erected. It rapidly became the focus for important social events in Saint John during winter and summer; a detailed description of the building appears in the Saint John Daily Telegraph, 30 Sept. 1864, 2, and in the Morning News [Saint John], 6 Jan. 1865, 2. Walker is noted as the designer who was 'engaged in railway extension work in this province, was an Englishman by birth, and to him great credit is due for the conception of this splendid building which, for originality of design and graceful proportion, is a standing monument to his genius as an architect' (Daily Sun [Saint John], 8 Nov. 1887, 1; J. Leroux, Building New Brunswick-An Architectural History, 2008, 109,illus.; inf. C. Rosevear, New Brunswick Museum)