Roy Ostling
Nanaimo City Hall, Nanaimo, BC
Extract from City of Nanaimo Heritage Register:
Built in 1951, City Hall is an excellent example of and Nanaimo's first venture into the International style. Designed to project progress and modernity, the International style was the appropriate choice for a municipality striving to overcome its image as a dirty, depressed coal town and present itself as a forward looking city. A sympathetic 1970 addition on the north side respects the original building's architectural integrity. The exterior and interior are largely intact.
City Hall is significant because of its association with architect Thomas B. McArravy. One of the pioneers of the use of modernism on Vancouver Island, McArravy was Nanaimo's most prominent architect for many years. City Hall has survived in near pristine condition, a testament to the integrity of the original design and McArravy's skill.
Architect McArravy was born in Glasgow in 1900; after moving to Canada he served four years at the Wallace Shipyards in North Vancouver, first as a loftsman and later in the drawing office. Starting in 1921 he started work as an indentured student in the offices of Gardiner & Mercer in Vancouver. He later moved to Nanaimo, although he was in Vancouver during the war years. As early as 1940 McArravy was preparing plans for this building; these first schemes bear a remarkable similarity to what was actually built after the war.
The gardens at the side and front of City Hill were designed at the same time as the building and are integral parts of the site?s value. Situated on a high rocky outcropping, the extensively landscaped grounds soften the rigid formality of the building?s architecture. The winding roadway that leads to the front entry provides a welcoming entrance, appropriate to a public building.
Nanaimo City Hall, Nanaimo, BC
Extract from City of Nanaimo Heritage Register:
Built in 1951, City Hall is an excellent example of and Nanaimo's first venture into the International style. Designed to project progress and modernity, the International style was the appropriate choice for a municipality striving to overcome its image as a dirty, depressed coal town and present itself as a forward looking city. A sympathetic 1970 addition on the north side respects the original building's architectural integrity. The exterior and interior are largely intact.
City Hall is significant because of its association with architect Thomas B. McArravy. One of the pioneers of the use of modernism on Vancouver Island, McArravy was Nanaimo's most prominent architect for many years. City Hall has survived in near pristine condition, a testament to the integrity of the original design and McArravy's skill.
Architect McArravy was born in Glasgow in 1900; after moving to Canada he served four years at the Wallace Shipyards in North Vancouver, first as a loftsman and later in the drawing office. Starting in 1921 he started work as an indentured student in the offices of Gardiner & Mercer in Vancouver. He later moved to Nanaimo, although he was in Vancouver during the war years. As early as 1940 McArravy was preparing plans for this building; these first schemes bear a remarkable similarity to what was actually built after the war.
The gardens at the side and front of City Hill were designed at the same time as the building and are integral parts of the site?s value. Situated on a high rocky outcropping, the extensively landscaped grounds soften the rigid formality of the building?s architecture. The winding roadway that leads to the front entry provides a welcoming entrance, appropriate to a public building.