Chapman and Oxley was a

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

-based architectural firm that was responsible for designing a number of prominent buildings in the city during the 1920s and 1930s. Even with the departure of Chapman, the firm's last projects appeared to be in the late 1940s.

History

The firm was founded in 1919 by architects Alfred Hirschfelder Chapman (1875-1949) and James Morrow Oxley (1883-1957). A.H. Chapman was born in Toronto to the Chapman family, owners of Grenadier Ice Company at Grenadier Pond (in what is now

High Park High Park is a municipal park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. High Park is a mixed recreational and natural park, with sporting facilities, cultural facilities, educational facilities, gardens, playgrounds and a zoo. One-third of the park remains ...

) and Belle Ewart Ice Company (later as Chapmans Limited). Chapman apprenticed under architect Beaumont Jarvis (1864-1948). He then went to study architecture in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. From 1920 he was head of the family business, Chapmans Limited, which sold ice and fuel in Toronto. Chapman served as president of the

Ontario Association of Architects The Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) is the regulatory body responsible for registering and licensing all architects legally entitled to practice the scope of architecture in the Province of Ontario, Canada Canada is a country in N ...

for two consecutive periods, 1929 and 1930. Chapman retired in 1943 and died in 1949. He is buried at St. George's Church (Anglican) and Cemetery (Susan Sibbald Memorial Stone Church) in

Sutton, Ontario Sutton is a suburban community located nearly 2 km south of Lake Simcoe in Ontario, Canada. The community was formerly a village but is now part of the Town of Georgina after amalgamation with it and North Gwillimbury in 1971. The Black Ri ...

. Chapman's son Howard Dennison Chapman (1917-2014), also an architect, formed his own firm, Chapman and Hurst, and worked with Howard V. Walker on a number of buildings, such as the

Riverdale Hospital Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital, formerly Bridgepoint Active Healthcare, is a complex care and rehabilitation hospital in Toronto. It is a member of the Sinai Health and affiliated with the University of Toronto In October 2021 Sinai Health announ ...

, and on restoration projects in the 1980s (

Koffler Student Centre The Koffler Student Centre is the main student centre at the University of Toronto, located at 214 College Street. The centre houses a number of different student services, including the main campus bookstore, career centre, and health clinic. The ...

, built by his father Alfred H. Chapman as Central Reference Library). Another son,

Christopher Chapman Christopher Chapman (January 24, 1927 – October 24, 2015) was a Canadian film writer, director, editor and cinematographer. Best known for his award-winning 1967 short film ''A Place to Stand (film), A Place to Stand'', he also pioneered the m ...

(1927-2015), was a writer, director and cinematographer. His multi-award-winning documentary, "A Place to Stand", was nominated for two Oscars, winning one; Christopher's twin brother

Francis Chapman Francis Sweetland Chapman (January 24, 1927 - September 5, 2020) was a Canadian cinematographer and film and television director. He was most noted for the film ''Expedition Bluenose'', for which he and his twin brother Christopher Chapman jointly ...

(1927-2020) was also a noted filmmaker. J.M. Oxley attended the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

as an engineering (applied sciences) student. He fought in

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 ...

in the Canadian Expeditionary Force from 1915 to 1918. orld War I Roll of Service, 1914-1918, University of Toronto, p419/ref> Oxley was also president of the Mississauga Golf & Country Club from 1939 to 1940. He died in 1957.

Projects

A list of projects worked on by Chapman and Oxley: A list of work by Chapman or Oxley prior to the founding of their firm in 1919:

References

Christopher Chapman dies
{{Authority control Architecture firms of Canada

History

Projects

See also

References