CARRIE, Alexander (1863-1947) was born in the village of Yorkville, Toronto on 14 November 1863 and educated in Owen Sound, Ont. He claims to have '..spent about ten years in perfecting myself in the practical and technical parts of buildng with a view to following along into the architectural profession'. He moved to B.C. in 1890, then to Winnipeg in 1892 where he trained under H.S. Griffith (in 1892) and with Hugh McCowan (in 1893-94). In April 1895 he moved to Nelson, B.C. and in 1898 formed a partnership with Alexander C. Ewart (see list of works under Ewart & Carrie). They dominated the profession in boomtown Nelson for the next three years, designing dozens of commercial and residential buildings in a distinctive Queen Anne timber style that is still evident today. Their partnership was dissolved in March 1901 (Nelson Daily Miner, 19 March 1901, 4), and both architects continued to practise independently, but Ewart left Canada in July 1902.
In mid-1901, Carrie was one of nine architects who submitted a design in the competition for the new High School in Nelson, and his scheme was declared as the winner (Nelson Daily Miner, 14 July 1901, 1). Carrie continued to practice in Nelson and remained active there until 1930. He died in Nelson on 29 July 1947 (obit. Province [Vancouver], 30 July 1947, 9; Nelson Daily News, 30 July 1947, 2; inf. Architectural Inst. of British Columbia; D. Luxton, Building The West: The Early Architects of British Columbia, 2003, 495)
(works in Nelson, B.C.)
PUBLIC SCHOOL, Latimer Street at Hendryx Street, 1901 (Tribune [Nelson], 30 July 1901, 1; C.R., xii, 31 July 1901, 4)
BAKER STREET, store for James W. Gallagher, 1905 (C.R., xvi, 3 May 1905, 7)
KOOTENAY LAKE TELEPHONE CO., exchange building, 1905 (C.R., xvi, 17 May 1905, 4)
KOOTENAY STREET, residence for Frank C. Green, 1905 (C.R., xvi, 17 May 1905, 4)
VICTORIA STREET, near Kootenay Street, residence for J.A. Gilker, 1906 (Daily Canadian [Nelson], 6 July 1906, 4)
NELSON THEATRE, Stanley Street at Victoria Street, 1907 (C.R., xviii, 4 Sept. 1907, 2)
PUBLIC SCHOOL, 1908 (C.R., xix, 20 May 1908, 29, t.c.)
RAILWAY STREET, residence for D.C. Coleman, Superintendent of the C.P.R., 1908 (British Columbia, Nelson: A Proposal for Urban Heritage Conservation, 1981, 140, illus.)
NELSON HOCKEY RINK, located on the Hall Mines Road, ".....behind the car barns", 1908-09 (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 30 Nov. 1908, 4, descrip.)
BAKER STREET, commercial block for E.B. McDermid, to replace the old Carney Block, 1910 (C.R., xxiv, 28 Sept. 1910, 26)
KERR APARTMENTS, Victoria Street, for Edward Kerr, 1911 (C.R., xxv, 8 March 1911, 137; British Columbia, Nelson: A Proposal for Urban Heritage Conservation, 1981, 154, illus.)
MacDONALD JAM CO., Vernon Street at Kootenay Street, factory for James A. MacDonald, 1911 (C.R., xxv, 26 April 1911, 55)
HUME HOTEL, Ward Street at Vernon Street, major addition, 1913 (Vancouver Sun, 26 April 1913, 17)
JOSEPHINE STREET, at Robson Street, addition and alterations to residence of George Horstead, 1913 (Vancouver Sun, 26 April 1913, 17)
KOOTENAY LAKE GENERAL HOSPITAL, Water Street, 1913 (Vancouver Sun, 26 April 1913, 17, descrip.; Nanaimo Free Press, 14 July 1913, 3, descrip.; C.R., xxvii, 23 July 1913, 72)
(works elsewhere)
FAIRVIEW, B.C., commercial building for William Hancock, 1910 (C.R., xxiv, 19 Oct. 1910, 29, t.c.)
TRAIL, B.C., public school, 1911 (C.R., xxv, 16 Aug. 1911, 61)
GRAND FORKS, B.C., major addition of four classrooms to the public school, 1912 (The Sun [Vancouver], 6 June 1912, 2)
ROSSLAND, B.C., a new school of 12 classrooms, 1916 (Vancouver Sun, 27 July 1916, 7, t.c.)