David Stirling (6 December 1822 - 13 April 1887) was a Canadian

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

of Scottish birth. In 1872 he was made Dominion architect for the federal works in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

and in 1880 he became one of the first associate architects of the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Victoria of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria on 16 ...

. Born in

Galashiels Galashiels (; , ) is a town in the Scottish Borders with a population of around 12,600. Its name is often colloquially shortened to "Gala". The town is a major commercial centre for the Borders region with extensive history in the textile in ...

, Stirling was the son of

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar ...

James Stirling. After training as an architect in his native country, he emigrated to

St. John's, Newfoundland St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. The city spans and is the easternmost city in North Amer ...

in 1847, where he played a major role in rebuilding portions of the town destroyed by fire the previous year. He spent the next 35 years designing and building a wide array of buildings out of practices in Charlottetown, Halifax, and Toronto. Having never retired, he died in Charlottetown in 1887 at the age of 64.

Selected works

File:Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (1).JPG, The Dominion Building in Halifax, Nova Scotia was designed by David Stirling and constructed between 1863 and 1868. It serves today as the

Art Gallery of Nova Scotia The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (AGNS) is a public provincial museums of Canada, provincial art museum based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The art museum's primary building complex is located in downtown Halifax and takes up ...

File:Garden of the Gulf.jpg, Garden of the Gulf Museum, Montague (originally the Montague Post Office and Customs House, built 1887–1888); Prince Edward Island File:HensleyChapel KingsEdgehill.jpg, Hensley Chapel, King's College, Windsor, NS, designed by David Stirling and

William Critchlow Harris William Critchlow Harris (30 April 1854 – 16 July 1913) was an English-born Canadian architect, primarily noted for his ecclesiastical and domestic projects in Maritime Canada. He was born near Liverpool, England, to Welsh parents but moved ...

File:Fernwood Halifax.jpg, Fernwood, Halifax (built 1860) * Pictou County Court House (1855) * Fernwood, Halifax (1860) *

Halifax Club The Halifax Club is a private club in Halifax Regional Municipality, Halifax, Nova Scotia that was established in 1862. The club serves as a meeting place for business-minded men and women. It is a place where they can "meet, toast the day's succ ...

(1862) * Library and Museum at King's College, (1862–63); Chapel, (1877),

Windsor, Nova Scotia Windsor is a community located in Hants County, Nova Scotia, Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a service centre for the western part of the county and is situated on Nova Scotia Highway 101, Highway 101. The community has a history d ...

(by Stirling & Dewar) * Alexander Keith's residence (1863) * He built the first South Street Poor House (1869) in Halifax after going to the states to get ideas. It had a fireproof arch which was subsequently, and without his permission, penetrated by not only an elevator but also by unsealed pipe holes. A fire broke out in the basement that destroyed the Poor House on November 6–7, 1882. 33 patients were trapped in the fifth-floor hospital and died.Peter McGuigan. ''The South Street Poor House: a Century of Despair''. * Hyndman Building, 57 Queen Street, Charlottetown (originally the Victoria Building, 1866) * Custom House, 40 Great George Street, Charlottetown (originally the Bank of Prince Edward Island, built 1867–1868) * Presbyterian Church of St. David, Halifax (originally the Grafton Street Methodist Church, built 1868–1869) * Fort Massey United Church, Halifax (1870) * St. Matthew's Manse, Halifax (1874) * Kirk of St. James Presbyterian Church, Charlottetown (1877) * Falconwood Insane Asylum / Hospital, Charlottetown (built 1877–1879) * H.H. Houle House, 96-98 Prince Street, Charlottetown (1879) * South Shore United Church, Tryon (1880) * Summerside City Hall, Summerside (originally the Summerside Post Office, built from 1883 to 1886) * MacLennan House, 235-237 Prince Street, Charlottetown (1886) * Convocation Hall,

King's-Edgehill School King's-Edgehill School is a Canadian private university-preparatory boarding and day school located in the town of Windsor, Nova Scotia. It is the oldest English independent school in the Commonwealth outside the United Kingdom, founded by Unite ...

(1861)

References

External

Historic places in Canada
* 1822 births 1887 deaths Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Scottish architects 19th-century Canadian architects {{Canada-architect-stub