Banff National Park Pavilion
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The Banff National Park Pavilion, was designed by
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...
and
Francis Conroy Sullivan Francis Conroy Sullivan (July 2, 1882 – April 4, 1929) was a Canadian architect. The only Canadian pupil of Frank Lloyd Wright aside from Roger d'Astous, Sullivan worked in the Oak Park studio in 1907 but returned to Ottawa in 1908. Sulliv ...
, one of Wright's only Canadian students. Designed in 1911, in the
Prairie School Prairie School is a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in ...
style, construction began in 1913 and was completed the following year. The
pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...
was built on the Recreation Grounds near the south end of the Bow River Bridge on the edge of the town of Banff, itself located within
Banff National Park Banff National Park is Canada's oldest National Parks of Canada, national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. Located in Alberta's Rockies, Alberta's Rocky Mountains, west of Calgary, Banff encompasses of mountainous terrain, wi ...
in
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
. The last of only two Wright designs in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, the pavilion was demolished in 1938.Banff Crag & Canyon January 21, 1938


History

Banff National Park had been established in 1885 as Banff Hot Springs Reserve. Expanded in 1887 as Rocky Mountains Park under the
Rocky Mountains Park Act The ''Rocky Mountains Park Act'' was enacted on June 23, 1887, by the Parliament of Canada, establishing Banff National Park which was then known as "Rocky Mountains Park". The act was modelled on the '' Yellowstone Park Act'' passed by the Un ...
the area became the first national park in Canada, and the second in North America behind
Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...
. As a national park the controlling authority became the
Federal Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-in-C ...
, rather than the province of Alberta. Sullivan, unrelated to Wright's previous employer
Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago School, a mentor to Frank Lloy ...
, had worked in Wright's Oak Park Studio before leaving for
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
in 1908 to work for the government as an architect for, as it was then known, the Department of Public Works. By the 1900s Banff National Park, as it had become known, was increasing in popularity and, by 1911, had become accessible by automobile. A visitor pavilion was commissioned by government officials in Ottawa. A concept plan had been submitted by residents of Banff to Ottawa, but officials rejected it. Envisioning a more refined structure Wright and Sullivan were hired. The building contract was awarded to Bennett, Debman, & Co., of
Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
who aimed to use local labour and purchase building supplies from local merchants. After completion, in 1914 during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the pavilion was used as a
Quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...
's store by the
Department of National Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
. After the War the main function of the pavilion became a gathering area for tourists waiting on trains. Wright and Sullivan worked together on four built projects. While the Banff National Park Pavilion is attributed to Wright with Sullivan's assistance, the other three are attributed to Sullivan with Wright's assistance.


Design

The pavilion featured a
rustic Rustic may refer to: *Rural area *Pastoral Architecture * Rustication (architecture), a masonry technique mainly employed in Renaissance architecture * Rustic architecture, an informal architectural style in the United States and Canada with sever ...
style over a frame construction, and was an elongated visitor shelter of wood and stone. Supported by low stone walls the length of the building was constructed of wood, in a board-and- batten fashion. Steel beams supported the
cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...
ed roof. The interior was primarily an assembly lounge 100 ft by 50 ft in size. A row of
art glass Art glass is a subset of glass art, this latter covering the whole range of art made from glass. Art glass normally refers only to pieces made since the mid-19th century, and typically to those purely made as sculpture or decorative art, with ...
windows ran the entire length of the wall opposite the main entrance, and three cobblestone fireplaces featured on the remaining three.
Clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...
windows contributed additional light, through the exposed beams of the roof. A ladies' powder room was at one end of the lounge, with a gentlemen's retiring room at the other. Each room measured 50 ft by 25 ft. The pavilion also featured public lockers. The finished product was only usable four months of the year, suitable only for a few summer sports, and as a picnickers' lounging area. Similar in design to the
River Forest Tennis Club A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
, in
River Forest, Illinois River Forest is a suburban village adjacent to Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, U.S. Per the 2020 census, the population was 11,717. Two universities make their home in River Forest, Dominican University and Concordia University Chicago. The v ...
, the pavilion is also considered comparable to the Lake Geneva Hotel, in
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin Lake Geneva is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located in Walworth County and situated on Geneva Lake, it is home to an estimated 8,105 people as of 2019, up from 7,651 at the 2010 census. It is located about 40 miles southwest of Milwa ...
, also designed in 1911 and itself demolished in 1970.Robert C. Twombly, ''Frank Lloyd Wright: His Life and His Architecture'', p.157, Wiley-Interscience; 1987.


Destruction

Built on the shore of the Bow River, on swampy ground, the pavilion was subject to flooding, severe frost, and consequent decay. The ''Banff Crag and Canyon'' reported in July 1920 that; The pavilion suffered severe flood damage in 1933, and deterioration progressed to the point that the building was torn down in 1938. Ruins of the pavilion were visible until the early 1960s, but by 1965 all traces had been washed away or sunk into the
bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...
.


Controversy

During its life residents saw the building as a symbol of Ottawa's contempt for their concerns.Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, page 2, a
www.archivesalberta.org
/ref> Wanting a building designed for local recreational needs, the original and unused plans included areas for
curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...
and
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
, calling for a building that could be used year-round. Those plans were overseen by locals and approved by Banff residents after a public meeting at the National Park Theatre. In December 1913, just months after construction began the ''Banff Crag and Canyon'' reported that; Years later, in July 1920, the ''Banff Crag and Canyon'' reported of the building and grounds that; Nevertheless, the building was reasonably popular with local residents, and in the last thirty years, interest has grown in the structure and Wright's short-lived career and legacy in Canada.


See also

E.H. Pitkin Cottage – Wright's only other Canadian work located at Sapper Island


References


Further reading

* Storrer, William Allin. ''The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion''. University Of Chicago Press, 2006, (S.170) * {{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1914 Buildings and structures in Banff, Alberta Frank Lloyd Wright buildings Demolished buildings and structures in Alberta Prairie School architecture Canadian federal government buildings Buildings and structures demolished in 1938 1914 establishments in Alberta 1938 disestablishments in Alberta Visitor centers