Ralph Benjamin Pratt (9 August 1872 – 14 March 1950) was a Canadian architect known for his work as a staff architect for the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

and the

Canadian Northern Railway The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) was a historic Canada, Canadian transcontinental railway. At its 1923 merger into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonto ...

, and for his work as a member of the firm Pratt and Ross with partner architect Donald Aynsley Ross.

Biography

Ralph Benjamin Pratt was born on 9 August 1872 in

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to Joseph and Jane Pratt. He attended school at the

South Kensington School of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

and moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in 1891 and then to

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

the following year. Pratt worked at the Canadian Pacific Railway at

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

as an architectural and engineering draftsman from 1895 to 1901, during which he created a standard plan for a station which was used at

Virden, Manitoba Virden is a town in southwestern Manitoba, Canada. Oil was first discovered in 1951, and Virden has since come to be known as the "Oil Capital of Manitoba". History Virden has its roots as a farming community known as Gopher Creek. However, it ...

, and other locations. From 1901 to 1906, he worked for the Canadian Northern Railway. He created the first standard design 3rd Class station for the Canadian Northern in 1901, and other standard plans. Although Pratt left the Canadian Pacific in 1901, and the Canadian Northern in 1906, he continued to receive commissions from the railroads for other work, and both railroads continued to use the standard plans he had created, so the design of later stations is often attributed to him. In 1906, Pratt partnered with Donald Aynsley Ross to start the architectural partnership Pratt and Ross, which specialized in

structural A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

and

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

projects. Pratt was a Fellow of the

Royal Architectural Institute of Canada The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) is a not-for-profit, national organization that has represented architects and architecture for over 100 years, in existence since 1907. The RAIC is the leading voice for excellence in the built ...

, a member of the Railway Engineering Association, and was the president of the Manitoba Association of Architects from 1917 to 1919. Pratt married Euphemia Maude Monnington (1874–1977) on 23 October 1900, at

, and they had three children. His recreations included canoeing and skating. He was a member of the

Anglican church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

. He died at

Saint Boniface, Winnipeg St. Boniface (or Saint Boniface) is a Ward (electoral subdivision), city ward and neighbourhood in Winnipeg. Along with being the centre of the Franco-Manitoban community, it ranks as the largest Francophone Canadian, francophone community in Wes ...

, on 14 March 1950, and was buried in the St. John's Cemetery.

Works

Some of Pratt's works include: * Canadian Pacific station,

Kenora, Ontario Kenora (), previously named Rat Portage (), is a city situated on the Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada, close to the Manitoba boundary, and about east of Winnipeg by road. It is the seat of Kenora District. The history of the name exten ...

, 1899 * Canadian Pacific station,

, 1900, Type 9 Canadian Pacific Railway Station design * Canadian Northern station, St Boniface, Manitoba, 1901 * Broad Street station,

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, 1901 * Theodore railway station,

Theodore, Saskatchewan Theodore ( 2021 population: 315) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Insinger No. 275 and Census Division No. 9. Theodore is located on Saskatchewan Highway 16, the Yellowhead Highway, in sou ...

, 1902, Type 9 Canadian Pacific Railway Station design * Canadian Pacific station,

Kenton, Manitoba Kenton is an unincorporated community recognized as a local urban district in Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the Rural Municipality of Woodworth, about an hour's drive west of Brandon. The first permanent settlement of the area began in 1881 ...

, 1902 * Canadian Northern station,

Neepawa, Manitoba Neepawa () is a town in Manitoba, Canada, on the Yellowhead Highway at the intersection with Highway 5. its population was 5,685. Neepawa was incorporated as a town in 1883. Located in western Manitoba, it is bordered by the Municipality of N ...

, 1902 * Canadian Pacific station,

Carberry, Manitoba Carberry is a town in Westman Region of Manitoba, Canada. It is situated south of the Manitoba Highway 1, Trans-Canada Highway on Manitoba Highway 5, Highway 5 in the Municipality of North Cypress – Langford, and has a population of 1,818 pe ...

, 1904 * Canadian Pacific station,

Portage la Prairie, Manitoba Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. In 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Highway, Trans-Can ...

, 1904 * Canadian Northern station,

Port Arthur, Ontario Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario, Canada, located on Lake Superior. In January 1970, it was amalgamated with Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay. Port Arthur became the district seat ...

, 1905 * Canadian Northern Station,

Silver Mountain, Ontario Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

, 1907 * Canadian Northern station,

Kipling, Saskatchewan Kipling is a town in southeast Saskatchewan, Canada. In provincial politics, Kipling is in the constituency of Moosomin. The town was named after the English author Rudyard Kipling. It is accessed from Highway 48. History Kipling sites clas ...

, 1909 * Winnipeg Amphitheater, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1909 * Garry Block, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1911 *

Dauphin railway station The Dauphin railway station is located in Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada. The station is served by Via Rail's Winnipeg – Churchill train. The station was built in 1912 by the Canadian Northern Railway to a design by architect John Schofield. The st ...

Dauphin, Manitoba Dauphin () is a city in Manitoba, Canada, with a population of 8,368 as of the 2021 Canadian Census. The community is surrounded by the Dauphin, Manitoba (rural municipality), Rural Municipality of Dauphin. The city takes its name from Lake Daup ...

, 1912 * Prince Edward Hotel, Brandon, Manitoba, 1912, a Canadian National Railway hotel * Canadian Northern Station,

Smiths Falls, Ontario Smiths Falls is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada, southwest of Ottawa. As of the 2021 Canadian census, 2021 census it has a population of 9,254. It is in the Census division for Lanark County, but is administratively separated from the county. ...

, 1913, 1st Class CNR station (attributed to Pratt) * Radville railway station, Radville, Saskatchewan, 1912, Plan 100–39, 2nd Class CNR railway station * Canadian Northern Station,

Meeting Creek, Alberta Meeting Creek is a hamlet in central Alberta, Canada within Camrose County, located west of Highway 56, approximately south of Camrose. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Meeting Creek had a p ...

, 1912, Plan 100–29, 3rd Class CNR railway station * Electric Railway Chambers,

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, 1912, Pratt and Ross supervising architects *

Pacific Central Station Pacific Central Station is a railway station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, which acts as the western terminus of Via Rail's cross-country ''Canadian (train), The Canadian'' service to Toronto, Ontario, and the northern terminus of Unite ...

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, 1918 * Sherbrook Pool,

, 1930 * Osborne Stadium, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1932 * Canadian Northern station,

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Gallery

File:Kenora CPR colour postcard.jpg, Canadian Pacific station, Kenora File:Broad Street railway station and street car Ottawa 1880s.jpg, Broad Street Station, Ottawa File:RailwayStationTheodore.JPG, Theodore station File:Silver_Mountain_Station_1910.jpg, Silver Mountain station File:Portage la prairie station MG259-PRS-160-p1.jpg, Canadian Pacific station, Portage la Prairie File:Smiths Falls CNoR station 26799594241.jpg, Canadian Northern station, Smiths Falls File:Electric Railway Chambers Winnipeg.JPG, Electric Railway Chambers, Winnipeg File:Pacific Central Station Vancouver.jpg, Pacific Central Station, Vancouver File:Sherbrook Pool.jpg, Sherbrook Pool, Winnipeg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Ralph Benjamin Canadian architects Railway architects Canadian Pacific Railway people Canadian Northern Railway 1872 births 1950 deaths British emigrants to Canada