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- 90 VICTORIA ILLUSTRATED.
JOHN TEAGUE.
Born in Cornwall, England, Mr. Teague went to California in the year 1856, and went into mining at Grass Valley, and assisted in the
erection there of one of the first quartz mills for gold. Two years later he started for Victoria, intending to go from there to the
Fraser River. The Captain of the steamer landed him and his friends at Whatcom, and told them that that was the nearest point to Victoria,
and they were obliged to get to Victoria in a plunger. Mr. Teague subsequently visited Bellingham Bay, and remained there six weeks,
returning in time to catch the steamer for the Fraser River. At this time thousands of people had poured into Victoria on account of vague
rumors of gold on the Fraser River. As this was at the time of the Crown Colony, Governor Douglas had to give permission before the steamer
was allowed to proceed upon her way up the Fraser. The " Surprise " (which was the steamer's name) was the first steamer to Fort Hope.
Mr. Teague remained at Murderers' Bar until February, 1859, and the river being frozen passed through manyhardships on his return, being
obliged to walk as far as Lang-ley. He took part afterwards in the Cariboo excitement, and in returning from Fort Alexander he and one
other walked as far as the Fountain in nine and a half days, subsisting on six pannikins of flour. The last three and a half days of the
journey they were entirely with-out food. On his return to Victoria he engaged in contracting and other matters, and in 1874 he went into
architecture exclusively. The principal buildings erected here by Mr. Teague are : The Royal Naval Hospital, The Provincial Royal Jubilee
Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital, St. Ann's Convent, Victoria Public School, Re-formed Episcopal and the Presbyterian Churches, Colonist
Buildings, Oriental Hotel, Yates' building and Market building, and he is now at work on the new Driard Hotel and the Garesche Green & Co.
building. M r. Teague has done all the naval work for the past sixteen years, a fact which is indicative of his ability as an engineer as
well as architect.
A. MAXWELL MUIR.
The subject of this sketch is a native of Glasgow, Scotland, where he first entered the profession of architecture. Six years ago he left
that country and went to the United States, spending some two years and a half at Troy, leaving there to accept a position with Wm. Parsons
& Sons, of Topeka, Kansas, where they were en-gaged in the construction of public schools, besides many other public buildings through-out
the State. He next went to San Diego, where he was engaged on the Hotel del Coronado, and shortly before coming to Victoria he was engaged
with the Southern Pacific Railway. Upon his arrival here he became draughts-man for Mr. John Teague, going at once on to the plans for the
Jubilee Hospital. He has since been engaged with Mr. Teague on the additions to the City Hall, extensions of the First Presbyterian Church,
Lenz & Leizer's building, Belmont building, Salmon block and T. B. Hall's residence. His plans won the competition for the City Market. He
is at present engaged on the Oak Bay Hotel and other large buildings in this city. Mr. Muir's specialty is designing and constructing heavy
brick and stone structures and residences and bridging. Some of his perspective plans on the Clyde have been exhibited in the Intercolonial
Exhibition at Edinburgh, Scotland. Lately he won the competition for the Board of Trade building of this city.
THOMAS HOOPER.
Mr. Hooper, who is one of the leading architects of Victoria, was born in Devonshire, England ; went to Ontario in 1871, and there
served his trade as a joiner. In 1878 he went to Manitoba, where he followed architecture and contracting, and from there went to Vancouver,
where he spent four years previous to settling at Victoria in 1889. Since his arrival he has been very successful, and has erected some
of the finest structures in the city, among them the Pandora Street Methodist and the Gorge Road Methodist Churches ; the Jewell, the
Helmcken, the Milne, the Humphreys, Lewis and the R. T. Williams blocks ; he built, also, the McCandless addition to the Metropole Hotel,
and has erected a number of fine residences, among them those of A. G. Black, John Dougall and Henry Jewell. At Nanaimo he erected A. E.
Green's four-story and David Spencer's Arcade buildings ; at Vancouver, the V. M. C. A. and a public school building, and at New Westminster,
also a school building.
SOULE AND DAY.
Mr. Soule is a native of London, England, where he served his articles with an eminent architect and attended the School of Science and
Art at South Kensington, being successful in obtaining a Queen's prize for design, and prizes and certificates for other subjects.
Crossing the Atlantic, he was engaged by some of the best architects in Boston and Cleveland, and coming to Canada he practiced for a
short time in Port Hope and for many years in Guelph; his work comprised a number of churches, high schools. court house and jail, Y.M.C.A.
building, bank, business and office buildings and many fine residences and other works. In February, 1890, Mr. Soule opened an office in
Victoria, and has de-signed and superintended the new Agricultural Exhibition buildings, many private residences and business blocks, etc.,
etc. Mr. Robert Scott Day was born in the city of Cork, Ireland. He is a graduate of the late Queen's (now the Royal) University of Ireland,
having attended the usual collegiate course and taken the Degree of Bachelor in Civil Engineering. He then turned his attention to
architecture, and entered the office of Mr. Thomas Drew, R. H. A., Dublin, as articled pupil, and continued his studies in the offices
and on the works of various London architects. Mr. Day's own practice has been mainly on the Diamond Fields, South Africa. Among his more
important works there are the Kimberly Stock Exchange, the head offices of the De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ld. ; the Grand Hotel and Good
Templar's Hall. He came to Victoria this year chiefly for private reasons, his family now holding considerable property in this province,
and entered into partnership with Mr. Soule a few months ago.
THOS. C. SORBY.
Mr. Sorby was born at Wakefield, Yorkshire County, England, his family having been there and at Sheffield for the past 300 years. He
was educated in London, where he took up a course of architecture and subsequently practiced for twenty-five years. He was made County
Court Surveyor for England and Wales, serving in this capacity for ten years. He was Surveyor of the Metropolitan Police and of Dangerous
Structures ; held the appointment of District Surveyor, Consulting Architect to the Home Office and Treasury, and was Fellow of the
Royal Institute of British Architects, Fellow of the Royal Geological Society and member of the Society of Arts. He left London in
1883 for Montreal, where, after spending three years, during which he built a large number of stations, hotels, etc., for the Canadian
Pacific Railway, he went to Vancouver, and, after the fire, built the Hotel Vancouver, Mr. Abbot's house, the Stephen Block, St. James
Church, Hudson Bay Co.'s premises, and other minor buildings. Removing to Victoria in 1887, Mr. Sorby built the parsonage of Christ Church,
made alterations on the residences of T. R. Smith and Highwood, William Ward's residence ; and built the residences of H. Dumbleton, Robt.
Ward, Dennis Harris, A. N. Richards, and many other of the most
BRITISH COLUMBIA BOARD OF TRADE. [A. M. Muir, Architect.]
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