Art Articles & Reviews

} Book Review - The Life and Times of Victoria Architect P. Leonard James By Robert Amos The Life and Times of Victoria Architect P. Leonard James (1878-1970) by Rosemary James Cross, Dear Brutus Publishing, Victoria, 2005. ISBN 0-9737259-0-7 Victoria’s architecture is part of its charm. Full length studies of Francis Rattenbury and Samuel Maclure have assured those architects a proper place in the public memory. With the publication of a new book by Rosemary James Cross about her father, P. Leonard James, this architect achieves due recognition for his many contributions to our built environment. James was trained in London, England and in 1906 brought with him to Canada “good taste and appreciation in design, and a sound knowledge of construction,” according to the English employer who had trained him. In Victoria, his early work is enhanced with the grace notes of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Among his first projects was the rendering of Hatley Castle (Royal Roads) for Sam Maclure. James went on to design the quaint Oak Bay Municipal Hall (1910, now demolished), and some of the grandest homes on Beach Drive and in Rockland. His expertise was not limited to domestic architecture. The Royal Jubilee Hospital (1925), the CPR Marine Terminal (1924, now the Wax Museum) and the Victoria Federal Building and Post Office (1952, Government at Johnson Street) are all major projects which have stood the test of time. The Crystal Garden, which included a 100-yard long heated, salt water swimming pool, is usually attributed to the flamboyant Francis Rattenbury. In this book, we learn the truth of that “ill-defined partnership.” Rattenbury had the concept and rallied support - James did the working drawings and supervised the construction. This book is richly illustrated with plans and drawings, plus photos old and new. Extensive lists of the commissions executed by P. L. James, as well as his brother Douglas James and his sometime partner Hubert Savage, make this volume invaluable for architectural historians. Of particular note are P. L. James’s later works in the “international” style we call Art Moderne, for example the Johns House on Somass Drive (1943). There is much more to this book than architecture. Rosemary James Cross is an artist as well as author and has woven the story of her family’s life and times into the tale. It is as much a history of our town as it is a biography. Cross has made a proud contribution to the story of this place. The Life and Times of Victoria Architect P. L. James has won this year’s Mark Madoff Award from the Hallmark Society. It will be officially launched at the opening night event of the Fairfield Artists Studio Tour, held in the Garry Oak Room of the Fairfield Community Association on Friday, April 22, at 7.00 pm. ___________________________________________ Copyright © 2005Robert Amos Robert Amos is an artist and art writer who lives in Victoria, B.C.. He can be contacted by e-mail and you can view his paintings at www.robertamos.com