McCOSKRIE, Edward (1822-1893) was active in several cities in Western Canada from 1870 onward until his death in Victoria, B.C. in 1893. He operated a successful practice in the following locations:
Edward McCoskrie, Winnipeg, Man. 1875
McCoskrie, Thomas & Nursey, Winnipeg, Man. February 1876- Nov. 1876 (with J.D Thomas & W.R. Nursey)
Edward McCoskrie, Winnipeg, Man. 1879
McCoskrie & Greenfield, Winnipeg, 1880 - June 1881 (with Joseph Greenfield)
Edward McCoskrie, Brandon, Man., June 1882-late 1883
Edward McCoskrie, Calgary, Alta,. March 1884- May 1887
McCoskrie & Kemp, Calgary, Alta., May 1887 - early 1888 (with Alfred C. Kemp)
Edward McCoskrie, Vancouver, B.C., 1888
Edward McCoskrie, Victoria, B.C., 1889- July 1891
McCoskrie & Goddard, Victoria, July 1891 to early 1892 (with Samuel M. Goddard)
Edward McCoskrie, Victoria, 1892 to June 1893
Born in Liverpool, England on 19 May 1822, he appears to have gained extensive experience as an engineer and contractor who was said to have worked '...for twenty five years in connection with construction of railways, bridges...and waterworks, sewers and town drainage' (advertisement in the Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 28 Feb. 1876, 3). Soon after his arrival in Manitoba he began his Canadian career as a contractor and undertook the reconstruction of the Canadian Pacific Hotel in Winnipeg in 1875 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 29 Sept. 1875, 3). By 1876 he had entered a partnership with J.D. Thomas and W.R. Nursey who collectively offered services as 'Civil Engineers, Architects, Contractors & Builders....with experience in Great Britain, France, Canada and South America'. Their relationship was shortlived and dissolved by mutual agreement in November of that year. McCoskrie advertised himself as an architect and civil engineer in Winnipeg in 1879 and early in 1880 formed a partnership there with Joseph Greenfield, with 'Special attention to Churches, Schools, Public Buildings, Railway & Hydraulic Engineering, Gas, Water and Sanitary Works in General' (Henderson's City of Winnipeg Directory, 1880, 84, advert.). While their practice appeared to flourish it was unexpectedly brief; by June of 1881 both partners abandoned the office and McCoskrie chose to move to Brandon in June 1882. Assisted by Edward F. Head he opened a new office in that town with branches in Moose Jaw and Regina providing the services of 'Architects, Civil Engineers and Building Surveyors' (Brandon Daily Mail, 29 Jan. 1883, 1, advert.; Directory of Brandon, 1883, 43).
In February 1884 McCoskrie had moved once again, this time to Calgary, Alberta where he opened an office in March 1884 (Calgary Herald, 5 March 1884, 1), and he was noted as an architect "...whose experience and talent stand second to none in the Province" There, he was successful in securing several commercial, residential and ecclesiastical commissions, and he pioneered the manufacture of hydraulic lime and portland cement for building construction (Calgary: Her Industries & Resources, 1885, 59). In early 1888 he decided to leave Alberta and open a new office on Cordova Street in Vancouver (R.T. Williams, Vancouver City Directory, 1888, 45, advert.) and just one year later he moved again, this time to Victoria, the last major city on the Canadian west coast where he could find work as an architect. It was there that he designed the Dallas Hotel, a lavish and highly mannered Victorian design catering to wealthy visitors. The original architectural drawings for this work have survived and are now held in the collection of the British Columbia Public Archives. McCoskrie died in Victoria on 5 June 1893 leaving one son, Capt. Edward McCoskrie, a pioneer of the coastal navigation trade in British Columbia (obituary in the Daily Colonist [Victoria], 6 June 1893, 5; biography in Steen & Boyce, Brandon Manitoba and Her Industries, 1882, 26; biography in Calgary: Her Industries and Resources, 1885, 59; D. Luxton, Building the West: The Early Architects of British Columbia, 2003, 163, 510; inf. from R. Rostecki, Winnipeg)
McCOSKRIE & CO. (works in Winnipeg)
FORT STREET, residence for David B. Murray, Police Chief, 1879-80 (Winnipeg Daily Times, 17 Dec. 1879, 2, t.c.)
McCOSKRIE & GREENFIELD (works in Winnipeg unless noted)
DONALD STREET, at York Avenue, residence for T.J. Lynskey, 1880 (Daily Times [Winnipeg], 16 June 1880, 4, t.c.; and 30 Oct. 1880, 1)
WILLIAM AVENUE, residence for George M. Dulmage, 1880 (Daily Times [Winnipeg], 17 June 1880, 4, t.c.; and 30 Oct. 1880, 1)
NOTRE DAME STREET EAST, office block for W.J. Macauley, 1880 (Winnipeg Daily Times, 30 Oct. 1880, 1)
NOTRE DAME STREET WEST, residence for Capt. G. Young, 1880 (Winnipeg Daily Times, 30 Oct. 1880, 1)
REGISTRY OFFICE, for Lt. Col. Kennedy, Annie Street, 1880 (Winnipeg Daily Times, 30 Oct. 1880, 1)
DONALD STREET, residence for Alfred Pearson, 1880 (Winnipeg Daily Times, 7 July 1880, 3, t.c.; 30 Oct. 1880, 1)
RUSSELL HOUSE HOTEL, Main Street at Graham Avenue, for Capt. Thomas Scott, 1880 (Winnipeg Daily Times, 19 July 1880, 4, t.c.; and 30 Oct. 1880, 1)
SMITH STREET, pair of houses for A. Jaffray, 1880 (Winnipeg Daily Times, 30 Oct. 1880, 1)
BISHOP & SHELTON BLOCK, Main Street, retail store, 1880; demol. 1975 (Winnipeg Daily Times, 30 Oct. 1880, 1)
ASSINIBOINE AVENUE, near Edmonton Street, residence for W.F. Alloway, 1881 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 4 Jan. 1881, 1, t.c.)
MERCHANTS BANK, Main Street at Lombard Avenue, 1881 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 17 Jan. 1881, 1, t.c.; and 4 Feb. 1881, 1, descrip.)
MANITOBA FREE PRESS BLOCK, McDermot Avenue, 1881 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 22 Jan. 1881, 8, t.c.)
LIZZIE STREET, at Logan Avenue, four pairs of houses for Rev. Thomas L. Helliwell, 1881 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 3 Feb. 1881, 3, t.c.)
CHRIST CHURCH (Anglican), Princess Street at Fonseca Street, 1881 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 27 Jan. 1881, 1, descrip.; and 16 Feb. 1881, 1, t.c.; Dominion Churchman [Toronto], 29 Dec. 1881, 635, descrip.)
HEADLINGLY, MAN., house for Boyle Bros., 1881 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 7 March 1881, 1, t.c.)
GRAHAM AVENUE, at Donald Street, residence for W.H. Lyon, 1881; demol. c. 1912 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 28 March 1881, 1, t.c.; C. Cameron & J. Wright, Second Empire Style in Canadian Architecture, 1980, 216-17, illus.)
ASSINIBOINE AVENUE, at Kennedy Street, residence for R.D. Richardson, 1881 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 12 April 1881, 1)
ONTARIO BANK, Main Street, 1881-82 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 12 April 1881, 1)
ROSS AVENUE, terrace of six houses for Boyle Brothers, 1881 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 12 April 1881, 1)
ROSS AVENUE, two houses for John Villiers, 1881 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 11 May 1881, 1, t.c.)
Edward McCOSKRIE & CO. (works in Manitoba)
WINNIPEG, MAN., Planters' Hotel, (later called The Whelan Hotel), Main Street near Higgins Avenue, 1881 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 9 July 1881, 1, t.c.)
WINNIPEG, MAN., Fould's Hotel, Main Street, for George Foulds, 1881-82 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 15 Oct. 1881, 4, t.c.)
WINNIPEG, MAN., pair of houses for Henry Newell, Elgin Avenue, near Kate Street, 1882 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 15 March 1882, 1, t.c.)
WINNIPEG, MAN., terrace of three houses for George Dickson, Pritchard Avenue, 1882 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 15 March 1882, 1, t.c.)
BRANDON, MAN., public school, 1882 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 21 Oct. 1882, 6)
BRANDON, MAN., Molesworth Block, Rosser Avenue, 1882 (Brandon Daily Mail, 23 Dec. 1882, 1, descrip.)
BRANDON, MAN., St. Matthew's Anglican Church, 11th Street at Princess Avenue, 1882; demol. 1912 (Steen & Boyce, Brandon Manitoba and Her Industries, c. 1882, 26; and Directory of the City of Brandon, 1883, 10, descrip.)
BRANDON, MAN., residence for T. Mayne Daly, Mayor of Brandon, 18th Street at Rosser Avenue, 1882 (Steen & Boyce, Brandon Manitoba and Her Industries, c. 1882, 26)
Edward McCOSKRIE (works in Calgary, Alberta)
ATLANTIC AVENUE, residence and medical hall for Dr. Henderson, 1884 (Calgary Herald, 5 March 1884, 4)
CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER [Anglican], Seventh Avenue at First Street, 1882-85; demol. 1907 (Calgary Weekly Herald, 12 Aug. 1885, 1, t.c.; and 16 Dec. 1885, 2, descrip.; Calgary: Her Industries & Resources, 1885, 59; D. Carter, History of the Anglican Diocese of Calgary 1888-1968, 14, 23, illus.)
CALGARY TOWN HALL & POLICE STATION, 1885 (Calgary Weekly Herald, 19 Aug. 1885, 2, and 4, Letter to the Editor from E. McCoskrie)
A. FERLAND & CO., Stephen Avenue, retail store for A. Ferland & Co., "...next to his present building", 1885 (Calgary Weekly Herald, 29 Jan. 1885, 1, list of works by McCoskrie)
unnamed street, residence for J.S. Gibb, 1885 (Calgary Weekly Herald, 29 Jan. 1885, 1, list of works by McCoskrie)
unnamed street, residence for G.S. Leeson, 1885 (Calgary Weekly Herald, 29 Jan. 1885, 1, list of works by McCoskrie)
McINTYRE AVENUE, residence for Dr. Henderson, in Section 15, 1885 (Calgary Weekly Herald, 29 Jan. 1885, 1, list of works by McCoskrie)
STEPHEN AVENUE, residence for Rev. E. Parke Smith, c. 1885 (Calgary: Her Industries & Resources, 1885, 59, list of works by McCoskrie)
McTAVISH STREET, retail store for I.G. Baker & Co., 1886 (Calgary Weekly Herald, 12 June 1886, 3, t.c.; Calgary: Her Industries & Resources, 1885, 59, list of works by McCoskrie)
STEPHEN AVENUE, residence for H. Bleeker, Stephen Avenue '.....on the east side of the Elbow River', c. 1885 (Calgary: Her Industries & Resources, 1885, 59, list of works by McCoskrie)
STEPHEN AVENUE, residence for W.T. Ramsay, "....on the Bow River", 1885 (Calgary Weekly Herald, 29 Jan. 1885, 1, list of works by McCoskrie; Calgary: Her Industries & Resources, 1885, 59; list of works by McCoskrie)
FISH CREEK, ALTA., (now part of southern Calgary), St. Paul's Anglican Church, 146th Avenue at Macleod Trail, 1885; still standing in 2023 (Calgary Herald, 8 Jan. 1885, 1, t.c.; Calgary: Her Industries & Resources, 1885, 59, list of works by McCoskrie; inf. Douglas Cass, Glenbow Museum; Parks Canada, Canada's Historic Places, designation statement 1 Nov. 2010, but incorrectly attributed to John C.M. Keith of Victoria. B.C.)
BAIN BROTHERS STABLES & CARRIAGE BLOCK, Atlantic Avenue, with accommodation for over 100 horses, 1885-86 (Calgary Weekly Herald, 4 Nov. 1885, 4, detailed descrip.)
POST OFFICE BUILDING, 8th Avenue at 1st Street East, a 2 storey block with Reading Room and Hall for the St. George's Society on the second floor, and large retail store adjacent for George Clift King, 1886 (Calgary Tribune, 8 May 1886, 8. detailed descrip.). Note: This federal post office was replaced in 1893 by a new post office designed by Thomas Fuller of the DPW in Ottawa.
ELBOW RIVER BRIDGE, 1886 (Weekly Herald (Calgary), 15 May 1886, 4, t.c.)
ATHLETIC HOTEL, a 3 storey hotel with mansard roof, for J. Donahue, on the site of the old hotel of the same name, 1886-87 (Calgary Herald, 20 Nov. 1886, 3)
BLACKWOOD'S BREWERY, for D.M. Blackwood, ".....near George Clift King & Co.'s present store", 1886-87 (Calgary Herald, 20 Nov. 1886, 3)
PUBLIC SCHOOL, 1887 (Calgary Tribune, 11 Feb. 1887, 8, t.c.)
McCOSKRIE & KEMP (works in Calgary)
CENTRAL FIRE HALL, with a hose tower 75 ft. tall, 1887 (Calgary Weekly Herald, 6 May 1887, 4, descrip.)
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, for Rev. Father Albert Lacombe, O.M.I. (1827-1916), to be designed in the Romanesque style, and located on the Mission property, 1887 (Calgary Weekly Herald, 13 May 1887, 8, descrip.)
ST. MARY'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, 18th Avenue East, 1887-89; demol. 1955 (Search for Souls-Histories of Calgary Churches, 1975, 588-91, illus.)
DEWDNEY BRIDGE, 1887 (Calgary Tribune, 15 July 1887, 1, Letter from McCoskrie & Kemp, architects regarding the overloading and collapse of this bridge, designed using Warren trusses)
Edward McCOSKRIE (works elsewhere in Saskatchewan and Alberta)
REGINA, SASK., hotel for the Regina Hotel Co., 1882-83 (Brandon Daily Mail, 28 Dec. 1882, 2; 4, t.c.)
BATTLE RIVER, ALTA, near Stettler, Alta., and near the Calgary & Edmonton Trail, several buildings for the Indian Dept. including dwelling house, storehouses, stable, carpenters shops and blacksmiths shops, 1886 (Calgary Weekly Herald, 12 June 1886, 3, t.c.)
MORLEY, ALTA., animal slaughter house, pens and corral, for the Stoney Indian Reserve, 1886 (Calgary Weekly Herald, 12 June 1886, 3, t.c.)
BLOOD INDIAN RESERVE [near FORT MACLEOD, ALTA.), three detached houses, with two at the Upper Camp, and one at the Lower Camp, 1886 (Qu'Appelle Progress, 30 Sept. 1886, 1, t.c.; )
GLEICHEN, ALTA., St. Andrew's Anglican Church, for Rev. J.W. Timms, 1886; still standing in 2020 (Calgary Weekly Herald, 14 Aug. 1886, 3, t.c.; Calgary Tribune, 3 Dec. 1886, 5)
Edward McCOSKRIE (works in Washington State and British Columbia)
PORT TOWNSEND, WASH., The Morgan Hotel, for Capt. Henry E. Morgan, 1888; demol. 1916 (Puget Sound Weekly Argus [Port Townsend], 19 July 1888, 3)
VICTORIA, B.C., a villa residence on Lot 29, Esquimalt Road, for an unnamed client, 1890 (Victoria Daily Times, 20 Oct. 1890, 5, t.c.)
VICTORIA, B.C., a terrace of six houses for William Jensen, Superior Street at Oswego Street, on Lots No. 1946 and No. 1947, 1890-91; demol. c. 1940 (Victoria Daily Times, 8 Nov. 1890, 5, t.c.)
VICTORIA, B.C., Dallas Hotel, Dallas Road, for William Jensen, 1891; demol. 1928 (Victoria Daily Times, 10 Feb. 1891, 8, descrip.; Daily Colonist [Victoria], 10 Feb. 1891, 3, descrip.; L. Maitland, Queen Anne Revival Style in Canadian Architecture, 1990, 190, illus.; dwgs. at BCPA, CM B945)
VICTORIA, B.C., residence for Mrs. Susette Cave, Lot No. 6, Richmond Avenue "...opposite the Royal Jubilee Hospital", 1891 (Victoria Daily Times, 25 Feb. 1891, 8, t.c.)
VICTORIA, B.C., at Beacon Hill Park, a 3 storey frame building, perhaps an exhibition Pavilion, 1891 (Victoria Daily Times, 6 April 1891, 8, t.c.)
VICTORIA, B.C., residence for E. Conlin [sic], actually Michael J. Conlin, Quadra Street near Pioneer Street, 1891; demol. 1960 (Victoria Daily Times, 11 April 1891, 13, t.c.)
NANAIMO, B.C., a brick hotel with three retail stores, for A.R. Johnston & Co., 1891 (Nanaimo Free Press, 7 May 1891, 3, t.c.; Victoria Daily Times, 29 May 1891, 8, t.c.)
VICTORIA, B.C., St. Andrew's & Caledonia Society Hall, Blanshard Street, 1892 (Victoria Daily Times, 22 Feb. 1892, 8, t.c.)