CLOW, Charles Henry (1860-1929) was born at Ayr, Ontario on 8 July 1860 and was raised in Detroit, Michigan where his parents had moved in 1864. It is likely that he received a formal education there, and may have served an apprenticeship with a Detroit architect before leaving that city in 1883 and moving to British Colulmbia. Clow commenced his practice in New Westminster in February 1887 (Daily British Columbian [New Westminster] 8 Feb. 1887, 3). In March 1888 he formed a partnership with Samuel Maclure, a talented architect who had recently moved to the Mainland from Victoria, and their office became rivals of George W. Grant whose name dominated the profession in both Vancouver and New Westminster from 1885 until after 1900. Within weeks of opening their office, they won the competition for the new Presbyterian Church in New Westminster over five other competitors. They later entered the competition for the Vancouver Public Library in August of 1890, but the design from Clow & Maclure only received Third Prize, and the commission was awarded to George W. Grant (C.R., i, 13 Sept. 1890, 2).
The office of Clow & Maclure remained active until March 1891 when Maclure severed his links with Clow and entered into another partnership with Richard Sharp (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 5 March 1891, 4). Clow's name is absent from directories from 1894 until 1898, but he reappears in New Westminster shortly after the Great Fire there in September 1898 when he formed a partnership with Daniel Welsh, and the firm of Clow & Welsh was active there until after 1904. Clow moved to Surrey and completed plans for many schools in that community up until 1924 and also designed the Surrey Town Hall (1912) and the Odd Fellow's Hall at Cloverdale, B.C.. He died in New Westminster on 20 July 1929 (biography in Williams British Columbia Directory, 1892, 1154; obituary in the British Columbian [New Westminster], 23 July 1929, 5; D. Luxton, Building The West: The Early Architects of British Columbia, 2003, 146-7, 495); An oriignal photographic portrait of Clow taken c. 1890 is held at the New Westminster Archives, Cat. 98804.
C.H. CLOW
(works in New Westminster unless noted)
QUEEN'S AVENUE, residence for L.W. Riske, 1887 (Daily British Columbian [New Westminster], 10 March 1887, 4)
CLOW & MACLURE
ST. ANDREW'S PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, Blackwood Street at Carnavon Street, 1888, won in a competition, but the winning design by Clow & Maclure was later set aside and commission was awarded to George W. Grant (Victoria Daily Times, 30 April 1888, 4, descrip.; 5 May 1888, 4; inf. Jim Wolf, Burnaby)
LULU ISLAND, residence for W. Carscallen, 1889 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 20 June 1889, 4, t.c.; 16 Sept. 1889, 4, descrip.)
ROYAL COLUMBIAN HOSPITAL, Columbia Street, 1889; demol. (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 27 June 1889, 4; 13 Sept. 1889, 4, descrip.; Vancouver Daily World, 31 Dec. 1889, 6, descrip.; M. Segger, The Buildings of Samuel Maclure, 1986, 23-4, illus.)
PARK LANE, residence for Thomas Mowat, 1889 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 16 Sept. 1889, 4, descrip.)
FRONT STREET, near Sixth Street, warehouse for Mathers & Milligan, 1889; wharf extension, 1890 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 25 Sept. 1889, 4, t.c.; 31 Dec. 1890, 4)
SEA ISLAND, School House, 1890 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 15 Aug. 1890, 4, t.c.)
CLEMENT STREET, residence for M. Ross, 1890 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 31 Dec. 1890, 4)
COLUMBIA STREET, cottage for Mrs. R. Dickinson, 1890 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 31 Dec. 1890, 4)
COLUMBIA STREET, store for G. McKenzie, 1890 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 31 Dec. 1890, 4)
COLUMBIA STREET EAST, store for William Peacock, 1890 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 31 Dec. 1890, 4)
MARY STREET, cottage for R. Jardine, 1890 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 31 Dec. 1890, 4)
MELBOURNE STREET, cottage for the architect Charles H. Clow, 1890 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 31 Dec. 1890, 4)
MELBOURNE STREET, cottage for M.M. English, 1890 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 31 Dec. 1890, 4)
MERIVALE STREET, at Carnarvon Street, cottage for D.S. Curtis, 1890 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 31 Dec. 1890, 4)
PARK LANE, residence for O.E. Darling, 1890 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 31 Dec. 1890, 4)
PARK LANE, cottage for E.M.N. Woods, 1890 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 31 Dec. 1890, 4)
PELHAM STREET, cottage for G.E. Parkes, 1890 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 31 Dec. 1890, 4)
QUEEN'S AVENUE, residence for W.C. Coatham, 1890 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 31 Dec. 1890, 4)
ROYAL AVENUE, residence for Mrs. G.S. Schetky, 1890 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 31 Dec. 1890, 4)
ST. GEORGE STREET, at Fourth Street, residence for Charles Murray, 1890 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 31 Dec. 1890, 4)
ST. GEORGE STREET, residence for A.E. Hill, 1890 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 31 Dec. 1890, 4)
ST. GEORGE'S SQUARE, residence for C. Murray, 1890 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 31 Dec. 1890, 4)
GRANVILLE STREET, near Royal Avenue, residence for E.W. Ogle, 1890 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 31 Dec. 1890, 4; M. Segger, The Buildings of Samuel Maclure, 1986, 23-4, illus.)
YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION, Columbia Street at Church Street, 1890; burned 1898 (Vancouver Daily World, 3 June 1890, 4, t.c.; 26 July 1890, 4; Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 31 Dec. 1890, 4)
FOURTH STREET, near Fifth Avenue, "Idlewild", a residence for A.J. Hill, 1891; demol. (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 24 Jan. 1891, 4, t.c.)
CLOW & WELSH
ORANGE HALL, Royal Avenue at Seventh Street, 1898-99 (Vancouver Daily World, 4 Nov. 1898, 8)
BRACKMAN & KER MILLING CO., Front Street, warehouse and wharf, 1899 (C.R., ix, 11 Jan. 1899, 2)
QUEEN'S AVENUE, at Second Street, residence for Harry Gordon, 1899 (Vancouver Daily World, 27 March 1899, 7; C.R., x, 5 April 1899, 2)
QUEEN'S AVENUE, between 2nd Street and 3rd Street, residence for Edward Chapman, 1899 (Province [Vancouver], 19 April 1899, 5, descrip.)
QUEEN'S AVENUE, residence for Herbert Gilley, 1899 (C.R., x, 24 May 1899, 3)
AGNES STREET, at Eighth Street, residence for Mrs. Archie Kirkland, 1899 (Vancouver Daily World, 7 July 1899, 4; C.R., x, 24 May 1899, 3)
ROYAL AVENUE, residence for R.F. Anderson, 1899 (Vancouver Daily World, 7 July 1899, 4)
ST. PAUL'S REFORMED EPISCOPAL CHURCH, Royal Avenue at Seventh Street, 1899 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 26 June 1899, 1, descrip.)
CENTRAL SCHOOL, addition of the west wing, 1907 (Vancouver Daily World, 9 May 1907, 7, t.c.)
QUILCHENA, B.C., hotel for an unnamed client, 1907 (C.R., xvii, 3 July 1907, 6)
C.H. CLOW
NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C., B.C. Telephone Building, Clarkson Street, 1908 (Daily News [New Westminster], 14 Jan. 1908, 8, t.c.; inf. Robert Hamilton, of Hamilton, Ont.)
CLOVERDALE, B.C., public Jail, 1908 (Daily News [New Westminster], 27 Aug. 1908, 2, t.c.; inf. Robert Hamilton, of Hamilton, Ont.)
ODDFELLOW'S HALL, Eighth Street at Carnarvon Street, 1909; still standing 2015 and now called Royal City International College (Vancouver Daily World, 2 Sept. 1908, 8; British Columbian Weekly [New Westminster], 25 May 1909, 1; 7 Aug. 1909, 1; inf. Donald Luxton, Vancouver)
Y.M.C.A. Building, Royal Avenue, 1910; demol. 1964 (Daily Columbian [New Westminster], 23 June 1910, 1)
QUEEN'S AVENUE, residence for Robert Buckland, 1910 (J. Scott, Once in the Royal City-The Heritage of New Westminster, 1985, 93, illus.)
QUEEN'S AVENUE, residence for J. Carter Smith, 1910 (J. Scott, Once in the Royal City-The Heritage of New Westminster, 1985, 93)
SECOND STREET, residence for Reginald Rickman, 1910 (J. Scott, Once in the Royal City-The Heritage of New Westminster, 1985, 101, illus.)
CLOVERDALE, B.C., public school, 1910 (Vancouver Daily World, 16 July 1910, Section Three, 17, t.c.)
SAPPERTON, B.C., large two storey retail store and apartments, for C.A. Welsh People's Grocer Co., 1911 (Daily News [New Westminster], 24 Oct. 1911, 2, signed drawing and advert; inf. Robert Hamilon, of Hamilton, Ont.)
SURREY, B.C., Town Hall, 58th Avenue, 1912 (Vancouver Daily World, 9 April 1912, 10; Canada, Town Halls of Canada, 1987, 312, 314 ff., illus.)
NEWTON, B.C., addition to public school, 1924 (Vancouver Sun, 10 March 1924, 3, but erroneously credited to "James Clow [sic]. architect")
SOUTH WESTMINSTER, B.C., addition to public school, 1924 (Vancouver Sun, 10 March 1924, 3, but erroneously credited to "James Clow [sic]. architect")
CLOVERDALE, B.C., a new public school, near Woodward's Hill, 1924 (Vancouver Sun, 10 March 1924, 3, but erroneously credited to "James Clow [sic]. architect")