Chapman and Oxley was a
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
-based architectural firm that was responsible for designing a number of prominent buildings in the city during the 1920s and 1930s. Even with the departure of Chapman, the firm's last projects appeared to be in the late 1940s.
History
The firm was founded in 1919 by architects Alfred Hirschfelder Chapman (1875-1949) and James Morrow Oxley (1883-1957).
A.H. Chapman was born in Toronto to the Chapman family, owners of Grenadier Ice Company at Grenadier Pond (in what is now
High Park
High Park is a municipal park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. High Park is a mixed recreational and natural park, with sporting facilities, cultural facilities, educational facilities, gardens, playgrounds and a zoo. One-third of the park remains ...
) and Belle Ewart Ice Company (later as Chapmans Limited). Chapman apprenticed under architect
Beaumont Jarvis (1864-1948). He then went to study architecture in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
. From 1920 he was head of the family business, Chapmans Limited, which sold ice and fuel in Toronto. Chapman served as president of the
Ontario Association of Architects for two consecutive periods, 1929 and 1930. Chapman retired in 1943 and died in 1949. He is buried at St. George's Church (Anglican) and Cemetery (Susan Sibbald Memorial Stone Church) in
Sutton, Ontario.
Chapman's son Howard Dennison Chapman (1917-2014), also an architect, formed his own firm, Chapman and Hurst, and worked with
Howard V. Walker
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
on a number of buildings, such as the
Riverdale Hospital, and on restoration projects in the 1980s (
Koffler Student Centre
The Koffler Student Centre is the main student centre at the University of Toronto, located at 214 College Street. The centre houses a number of different student services, including the main campus bookstore, career centre, and health clinic. The ...
, built by his father Alfred H. Chapman as Central Reference Library). Another son,
Christopher Chapman
Christopher Chapman (January 24, 1927 – October 24, 2015) was a Canadian film writer, director, editor and cinematographer. Best known for his award-winning 1967 short film ''A Place to Stand'', he also pioneered the multi-dynamic image techn ...
(1927-2015), was a writer, director and cinematographer. His multi-award-winning documentary, "A Place to Stand", was nominated for two Oscars, winning one; Christopher's twin brother
Francis Chapman (1927-2020) was also a noted filmmaker.
J.M. Oxley attended the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institu ...
as an engineering (applied sciences) student. He fought in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
in the
Canadian Expeditionary Force from 1915 to 1918.
[ orld War I Roll of Service, 1914-1918, University of Toronto, p419/ref> Oxley was also president of the Mississauga Golf & Country Club from 1939 to 1940. He died in 1957.
]
Projects
A list of projects worked on by Chapman and Oxley:
A list of work by Chapman or Oxley prior to the founding of their firm in 1919:
See also
List of other Toronto architectural firms:
* Bregman + Hamann Architects
B+H Architects or BH Architects (formerly Bregman + Hamann Architects) is a Canadian architectural and engineering firm headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The firm was founded in 1953 by Sidney Bregman and George Hamann.
B+H is a member of the Su ...
* Darling and Pearson
* WZMH Architects
References
Christopher Chapman dies
{{Authority control
Architecture firms of Canada