John Teague

John Teague

John Teague (born June 1833 in Cornwall , England , † October 25, 1902 in Victoria , British Columbia ) was a British-Canadian architect.

Arrival in British Columbia

John Teague left England on May 19, 1856, intending to emigrate to Costa Rica and join his uncle there. However, American military actions in Central America in the same year caused him to interrupt his trip in New York. Teague finally decided to settle in California. The gold rush there was only over a few years. Teague found work as a general contractor , among other things he built buildings for various mining companies. During the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush in 1858, Teague traveled to the local gold fields on the Fraser River . Here he used the route leading through the city of Victoria. Governor James Douglas had only allowed access to the newly formed colony of British Columbia via Victoria. Teague later participated in the Cariboo gold rush .

Teague as an architect

Beginning of the architectural career

In 1860 Teague returned to his old profession, this time for the Royal Navy in Esquimalt , Vancouver Island . Much of his work still exists today and is evidence of Teague's expertise. In the mid-1860s, Teague, who previously worked primarily as a contractor, also began to call himself an architect and set up an office in Victoria. His first documented commission was in 1874 to build the Church of Our Lord , a church of the Reformed Episcopal Church . Construction work was completed in 1876. In 1998 the church was declared a Federal Heritage Building and as a national historic site attracts many visitors and tourists.

In the second half of the 19th century, Teague saw the rise of Victoria, a city of fewer than 5,000 inhabitants, to the capital of British Columbia, a city of around 35,000 inhabitants, which was also one of the economic centers of the Pacific Northwest . This development also had an impact on Teague's order situation.

Success and work

Teague's aggressive approach and his political contacts enabled him to put other architects, some of whom were better known, under pressure. His architectural office became one of the most successful in Victoria's history. More than anyone else, Teague shaped the city's architecture from the late 1870s to the early 1890s. His influence in this regard is still evident today in the city's old business district, where he built dozens of blocks. Its buildings, with their brick structure and the Victorian Italianate style (comparable to the neo-baroque ), have influences from Teague's Californian past. In his later works, such as the Driad Hotel (1892), Teague experimented with the architectural style of the Chicago School .

In addition to commercial buildings, some of Victoria's most significant buildings are also by Teague architects. The Victoria City Hall and the Masonic Temple , St Joseph's, the Royal Jubilee Hospital and the Royal Navy Hospital, built in the 1870s , as well as the residences of the brick manufacturer Maurice Humber and the Roman Catholic bishop, but also the St Ann's Academy are closed call.

Private life and retirement

Since July 1863, Teague was married to Emily Abington. From this marriage there were four children. December 1892 he married a second time in Victoria, this time Eliza Lazenby.

Teague was an active member of the Presbyterians and Freemasons . He served as alderman and held the office of mayor of Victoria. He was also a member of the British Columbia Pioneer Society.

Generously to his friends and impoverished by ill-advised investments, Teague died in 1902 with as much property as he had come to Victoria some four decades earlier.

Web links

• John Teague . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ John Teague . St. Ann's Academy website in Victoria. Retrieved July 27, 2010.