Memorable Manitobans: Charles Arnold Barber (1848-1915)

Architect.

Born in Upper Canada (Ontario) in 1848, he apprenticed as an architect and opened his own practice in 1870. He moved to Winnipeg in 1876 and, with his brother Earle William Barber, headed the architectural firm of Barber & Barber which designed many buildings before, during, and after the city’s first boom, which ended in the early 1880s. Many of their buildings were ornate, often with Italianate flourishes. They designed the Winnipeg City Hall (1883-86) in Victorian eclectic style.

There were constant rumours of corruption and dishonesty against Barber, a rival architect describing him as “an artist truly whose canvas is that of cunning and whose tools are those of deception.” At one point, it is believed that he practiced with architect James R. Bowes.

Barber left Winnipeg in 1887 following a charge of election bribery, and returned in 1892. In Montreal in 1903 he and his wife were arrested for extortion with violence, and the court heard that they had behaved similarly before in many other cities. He was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment. He died at New Westminster, British Columbia on 22 September 1915.

Some of his architectural works in Winnipeg included:

Building

Location

Year

Status

Central School No. 1

Ellen Street

1877

Demolished (?)

North Ward School

McTavish Street

1877

Demolished (?)

Carlton School / South Central School

Graham Avenue

1880-1881

Demolished (?)

Manitoba College

Ellice Avenue

1881-1882

Demolished (?)

Benson Block

146 Princess Street

1882

Facade part of Red River College

Bawlf Block

148 Princess Street

1882

Facade part of Red River College

Drake Hotel

150 Princess Street

1882

Facade part of Red River College

Bathgate Block

242 Princess Street

1882-1883

 

Winnipeg Police Court

223 James Avenue

1883

Demolished (?)

Pinkham School

765 Pacific Avenue

1883

Demolished (?)

Winnipeg City Hall

Main Street

1883-1886

Demolished (?)

St. John’s College

Main Street

1883-1884

Demolished (?)

Mulvey School No. 1

Maryland Street

1884

Demolished (?)

Leland Hotel

218 William Avenue

1884

Demolished (?)

West Clement Block

494 Main Street, Winnipeg

1884

Destroyed by fire (1979)

Bawlf Grain Exchange Building

162-166 Princess Street

1892

Facade part of Red River College

See also:

Charles Arnold Barber, Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online

Sources:

Death registration, British Columbia Vital Statistics.

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

Quiet Dignity: Aspects of Building Schools in the Winnipeg School Division No. 1, 1871-1928 by Giles Bugailiskis, MA thesis, Department of History, University of Manitoba, 1990.

Winnipeg Building Index

Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada: 1800-1950

Utility Building / Bawlf Grain Exchange II (164 Princess Street), City of Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee, June 1979.

J. Bowes & Son, Architects in Ottawa by Elizabeth V. Krug, Bytown Pamphlet Series No. 73, The Historical Society of Ottawa, 2008.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 5 November 2023

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.

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