Woodman, John

WOODMAN, John (1861-1944) was educated and trained as an engineer and later took up the profession of architecture after 1900. He was active in Winnipeg in the following firms:

John Woodman, Winnipeg, 1901-1910
Woodman & Carey, Winnipeg, 1911-1917 (with Raymond Carey)
Woodman & Cubbidge, Winnipeg, 1917-1923 (with Arthur Cubbidge)
John Woodman, Winnipeg, 1924-1929

Born in Oshawa, Ont. on 5 October 1861, he graduated from Royal Military College in Kingston in 1883, then joined the Canadian Pacific Railway and was engaged in railway construction work in the west for the next twenty years. One of the very first projects attributed to him was completed in 1889 while he was serving as Superintendent of Construction for the Northern Pacific & Manitoba Railway. This consisted of a substantial 4-bay Engine Repair House, an Engine Round House, and freight sheds for the N.P. & M.R., situated along the Red River in Winnipeg. The Engine Repair House has survived, and still stands today (City of Winnipeg, 1985-The Year Past, 1987, 27-8, illus. & descrip.). He later attained the position of Chief Engineer, Western Line, CPR, but in 1902 he left the railway to open his own office as an engineer and architect. Despite his extensive engineering background, Woodman appears to have possessed a wide-ranging knowledge of contemporary architectural styles which he capably put to use in his own designs for commercial and industrial buildings. These works included the Wilson Paper Co. warehouse (1905), the Somerset Block (1906), and retail stores for the Hudson’s Bay Co. in Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge and MacLeod, Alberta.

In 1911 he formed a partnership with Raymond Carey, a talented British architect with a sophisticated knowledge of Edwardian architecture. Not surprisingly, the quality of work by Woodman & Carey set a new and very high standard for architectural design in Winnipeg. The hand of Carey in the partnership is clearly evident in the competition entry which the firm submitted in 1913 for the Winnipeg City Hall, and it is obvious in the design for the remarkable Georgian Revival mansion for Clyde C. Heubach (1913-14), and the distinctive Paris Building (1915-16). Their collaboration ended in 1917, and Woodman formed a new partnership with Arthur Cubbidge, but only a few works by the firm have been located, and the level of design never matched the exceptional work produced by Woodman & Carey.

The partnership with Cubbidge was dissolved in 1920, and Woodman continued to involve himself in engineering and architectural projects until 1929 when he retired from the profession. Woodman was nominated as a Life Member of the Engineering Institute of Canada in 1930. He died in Winnipeg on 17 May 1944 (obituary Winnipeg Tribune, 18 May 1944, 3; Winnipeg Free Press, 18 May 1944, 2; obit. R.A.I.C. Journal, xxi, July 1944, 161; obit. The Engineering Journal [Montreal], xxvii, October 1944, 557; biog. In Who’s Who in Engineering [London], 1923, 890)

J. WOODMAN (works in Winnipeg unless noted)

(attributed) NORTHERN PACIFIC & MANITOBA RAILWAY, engine house, car and engine repair shop and freight shed, along the bank of the Red River, 1889 (City of Winnipeg, 1985-The Year Past, 27-8, illus.)
RIVER AVENUE, residence for John Woodman, architect, 1901 (Const., iii, Dec. 1909, 77, 81-2, illus. & descrip.)
HUDSON'S BAY CO., Main Street at York Avenue, addition of two stories above the existing block, 1904 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 18 Jun 1904, 1, illus. & descrip.)
T. EATON CO., Portage Avenue at Donald Street, retail store and warehouse block, 1904 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 27 July 1904, 9, descrip.; and 2 Aug. 1904, 8, illus. & descrip.)
EDMONTON, ALTA., Hudson's Bay Co. Store, Jasper Avenue West at 103 Street, 1904 (Winnipeg Tribune, 6 Feb. 1904, 2, t.c.)
DOMINION EXPRESS STABLES, Alexander Avenue East, 1904; with major addition by Woodman & Carey, 1913 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 13 Oct. 1904, 8, illus. & descrip.; and 24 Nov. 1904, 19; C.A.B., xvii, Oct. 1904, 173; C.R., xxvii, 22 Oct. 1913, 71)
CARBERRY, MAN., 3 storey brick commercial block on Main Street for T.D. Stickle, 1905 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 25 Jan. 1905, 10, t.c.; C.R., xv, 25 Jan. 1905, 2, t.c.)
J.C. WILSON PAPER CO., McDermot Avenue near Princess Street, warehouse, 1905; building collapsed July 1909, but later rebuilt (C.R., xvi, 5 April 1905, 8; Free Press [Winnipeg], 6 Dec. 1906, 36; Winnipeg Tribune, 26 July 1909, 4, descrip. & illlus.; Winnipeg, 1987-The Year Past, 43-4, illus.)
THOMAS DAVIDSON MFR. CO., May Street, warehouse, 1905 (C.R., xvi, 3 May 1905, 6)
GRACE HOSPITAL, Preston Avenue at Arlington Street, for the Salvation Army, 1905 (C.R., xvi, 12 July 1905, 6; Free Press [Winnipeg], 5 July 1905, 7, descrip.; and 6 Dec. 1906, 50, illus. & descrip.)
WELLINGTON CRESCENT, residence for William Whyte, 1905 (Free Press [Winnipeg], 3 June 1905, 6, illus. & descrip.; and 30 Oct. 1905, 26, illus. & descrip.)
STRADBROOK PLACE, residence for George F.R. Harris, 1905 (Free Press [Winnipeg], 30 Oct. 1905, 26, illus.)
GUNN BLOCK, Jarvis Avenue at Derby Street, commercial block for John Gunn, 1905 (C.R., xvi, 9 Aug. 1905, 6, t.c.; Free Press [Winnipeg], 30 Oct. 1905, 24, descrip.; and 6 Dec. 1906, 38, descrip.)
SOMERSET BLOCK, Portage Avenue at Donald Street, for J.A.M. Aikens, 1906-07 (C.R., xvii, 21 March 1906, 7, t.c.; Free Press [Winnipeg], 13 April 1906, 2, descrip.; and 6 Dec. 1906, 38, illus. & descrip.; and 29 June 1907, 29, illus.; The Improvement Bulletin [Minneapolis], xxxiii, 6 Oct. 1906, 15-16, illus. & descrip.; and 29 Dec. 1906, 13, illus. & descrip.; Western Architect [Minneapolis], xi, May 1908, illus.; dwgs. at Winnipeg City Archives; inf. Robert Hamilton, Hamilton, Ont.)
REGINA, SASK., Union Station, South Railway Street opposite Rose Street, 1906 (Leader [Regina], 11 Sept. 1906, 1, descrip.)
HUDSON'S BAY CO., power house, near Main Street, 1906 (C.R., xvii, 28 March 1906, 4, t.c.; Free Press [Winnipeg], 6 Dec. 1906, 38, descrip.)
MACLEOD, ALTA., Hudson's Bay Co. Store, 1906 (C.R., xvi, 31 Jan. 1906, 6, t.c.; Daily Herald [Calgary], 3 Feb. 1906, 4, t.c.; Morning Albertan [Calgary], 22 Feb. 1907, 5)
CALGARY, ALTA., major addition to the Hudson's Bay Co. Store, 8th Avenue West, 1906 (C.R., xvi, 31 Jan. 1906, 6, t.c.; Morning Albertan [Calgary], 22 Feb. 1907, 5)
LETHBRIDGE, ALTA., Hudson's Bay Co., 5th Street South at First Avenue, 1906 (C.R., xvi, 31 Jan. 1906, 6, t.c.; Daily Herald [Calgary], 3 Feb. 1906, 4, t.c.)
KINGSWAY AVENUE, residence for William S. Becher, 1906 (C.R., xvii, 13 June 1906, 7, t.c.)
CRESCENT CREAMERY CO., Lombard Street, major addition to warehouse, 1907 (C.R., xviii, 10 April 1907, 6, t.c.)
PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, MAN., major addition to the Hudson's Bay Co. Store, with alterations to existing building, 1907 (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 31 May 1907, 2, t.c.; list of works by John Woodman in the R.I.B.A. Application form submitted by David S. McIlroy, dated 10 July 1910)
ST. ALBAN'S ANGLICAN CHURCH, in the St. Luke's Parish, Rathgar Avenue, near Pembina Street, 1907 (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 8 July 1907, 10; and 11 Sept. 1907, 6, descrip.)
WINNIPEG ELECTRIC STREET RAILWAY, Assiniboine Avenue at Garry Street, c. 1907 (inf. from David Spector, Winnipeg)
CHAFFEY-VERHOEVEN BLOCK, Garry Street, major addition, 1909 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 3 April 1909, 16)
DOMINION EXPRESS CO., Alexander Avenue, east of Main Street, warehouse, 1909 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 3 April 1909, 16)
BREDALBANE APARTMENTS, Hargrave Street at Cumberland Avenue, 1909 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 22 May 1909, 13, illus.; Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 3 June 1909, 1, descrip.; and 5 June 1909, 8, descrip.; C.R., xxiii, 26 May 1909, 21, t.c.; Winnipeg, 1986-The Year Past, 33-4, illus.)
MILTON'S BAKERY, Bannatyne Avenue at Olivia Street, for W.R. Milton, 1910 (C.R., xxiv, 13 July 1910, 27, t.c.; Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 27 July 1910, 5, descrip.; dwgs. at Winnipeg City Archives)

WOODMAN & CAREY (works in Winnipeg unless noted)

HUDSON'S BAY CO., garage on Garry Street between York Avenue and Broadway, 1911 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 23 May 1911, 19, illus.; C.R., xxv, 31 May 1911, 61)
HUDSON'S BAY CO., Main Street South, new 3 storey warehouse, 1911 (Winnipeg Tribune, 20 June 1911, 1)
PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, MAN., residence for Henry Stephens, 1911 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 23 May 1911, 19, illus. & descrip.)
MAIN STREET C.P.R. STATION, an annex to the station to be used as a Laundry Building, s.w. corner of Main Street and Point Douglas, 1911 (Winnipeg Tribune, 14 Sept. 1911, 11, descrip.)
MANITOBA FREE PRESS PRINTING BUILDING, Carlton Street, 1911-12 (Winnipeg Tribune, 14 Sept. 1911, 11, descrip.; Manitoba Free Press [Wnnipeg], 11 May 1912, 25; and 12 July 1913, 21, illus. & descrip.; Winnipeg b.p. 744, 1912)
ST. BONIFACE, MAN., administration building and stock yards for the Union Stock Yards Co., Marion Street, 1912-13 (C.R., xxvi, 28 Feb. 1912, 66, t.c.; Manitoba Free Press [Wnnipeg], 28 Dec. 1912, 11, illus. & descrip.)
LINDSAY BUILDING, Garry Street at Notre Dame Avenue, office block for Frank Lindsay, 1912 (Manitoba Free Press [Wnnipeg], 1 July 1911, 13, illus.; and 9 Sept. 1911, 18, illus. & descrip.; C.R., xxvi, 27 March 1912, 73; Winnipeg, 1988-The Year Past, 47-50, illus.)
CLARK BROS & CO., Charlotte Street, warehouse, 1912 (Winnipeg b.p. 3654, 1912)
AERATED WATERS BLACKWOOD BEVERAGES, Pembina Street at Mulvey Avenue, 1912 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 17 Aug. 1912, 25, illus.; Winnipeg b.p. 3369, 3370, 1912)
WINNIPEG HUNT CLUB, club house overlooking the Red River just west of the Agricultural College, 1912 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 22 June 1912, 13, illus. & descrip.; and 9 Nov. 1912, 26, illus.)
YORKTON, SASK., Hudson's Bay Co. Department Store, Broadway Street East at Second Avenue North, 1912-13 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 28 Dec. 1912, 11, illus.)
SMART-WOODS CO. LTD., Alexander Avenue at Lily Street, warehouse, 1913 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 18 Jan. 1913, 11, illus. & descrip.; C.R., xxvii, 10 Sept. 1913, 72; Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 7 Feb. 1913, 11, descrip.)
NASSAU STREET, residence for Clyde C. Heubach, 1913-14; demol. 1980 (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 2 Oct. 1913, 2; Winnipeg b.p. 3407, 1913; Winnipeg, 1979-The Year Past, 37-8, illus.)
STRANG & CO., Fort Street, warehouse, 1913 (Winnipeg. b.p. 1751, 1913)
STOVEL PUB. CO., Bannatyne Avenue at Dagmar Street, office and publishing warehouse, 1914-16 (Manitoba Free Press [Wnnipeg], 25 May 1912, 25, illus.; Winnipeg b.p. 2169, 1914; Winnipeg Dailly Tribune, 3 May 1916, 8, illus. & descrip.; C.R., xxx, 17 May 1916, 48; Winnipeg, 1992-93-The Year Past, 1995, 29-30, illus.)
ST. LUKE'S ANGLICAN CHURCH, Stradbrook Avenue, parish hall and Sunday school, 1913-14 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 7 June 1913, 11, illus.; Winnipeg b.p. 358, 1914)
J.R. WATKINS MEDICAL CO., Annabella Street at Higgins Avenue East, warehouse, 1914 (Winnipeg b.p. 2346, 1914)
DROMORE AVENUE, residence for an unnamed client, c. 1914 (Const., vii, July 1914, 254-6, 260, illus. & descrip.)
PARIS BUILDING, Portage Avenue at Garry Street, 1915-16; addition, 1917 by Raymond Carey (Winnipeg. b.p. 419, 1915; Manitoba Free Press, 5 March 1915, 14; C.R., xxx, 9 Feb. 1916, 129-30, illus. & descrip.)

WOODMAN & CUBBIDGE (works in Winnipeg unless noted)

PUBLIC PRESS & GRAIN GROWER'S GUIDE CO., Vaughan Street, large 4 storey printing plant, 1917 (Winnipeg Tribune, 29 March 1917, 11, illus. & descrip.; Winnipeg, 1986-The Year Past, 1988, 63-4, illus.)
SASKATOON, SASK., T. Eaton Co. Warehouse, Avenue D at 23rd Street, a 5 storey warehouse block, 1916-17 (Saskatoon Phoenix, 19 March 1917, 2, descrip.; and 27 Nov. 1917, 3, detailed descrip.)
REGINA, SASK., T. Eaton Co., a large 2 storey distribution warehouse, 7th Avenue opposite Rose Street, running north to 6th Avenue, 1918; warehouse closed c. 1980, but still standing in 2023 (C.R., xxxii, 30 Jan. 1918, 48, t.c.; Daily Leader [Regina], 19 Jan. 1918, 15, descrip.; and 1 Feb. 1918, 9, detailed architectural descrip.; and 31 Aug. 1918, Supplement, 8, descrip.)
JEWISH CHILDREN'S AID & ORPHANAGE SOCIETY, Matheson Avenue, 1919 (Free Press [Winnipeg, 15 March 1919, 31, illus.; Winnipeg Tribune, 2 Aug. 1919, Section Two, page 3, descrip.; C.R., xxxiii, 2 April 1919, 48)
TORONTO, ONT., Northern Aluminum Co. Ltd., Sterling Road at Perth Avenue, a 10 storey reinforced concrete industrial warehouse, 1919-20; restored and converted for the Museum of Contemporary Art [MOCA], 2017-18 (City of Toronto b.p., 23988, 30 June 1919; Globe & Mail [Toronto], 3 May 2019, H4 & H 5, illus. & descrip.)
BIRTLE, MAN., public school, 1920 (Western Canada Contractor, July 1920, 24)
MONTREAL, QUE., factory for A.T. Stewart Co. Ltd., Lemoine Street, 1923 (C.R., xxxvii, 3 Jan. 1923, 45)
NIAGARA STREET, the 'All Electric House', a demonstration model home for the Winnipeg Electric Commission, 1923 (Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 15 May 1923, 11, illus.)

J. WOODMAN (works in Winnipeg unless noted)

T. EATON CO., Alexander Avenue at Lily Street, a two storey track warehouse and shipping building nearly 600 feet long, for shipping and receiving goods from rail cars, 1927 (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 14 April 1927, 1 & 2, illus. & descrip.)
GRAHAM APARTMENTS, Graham Avenue at Kennedy Street, for the Alderson, Dejardine & McDonald Co., 1928 (C.R., xlii, 16 May 1928, 65)
VAUGHAN APARTMENTS, Vaughan Street near St. Mary Avenue, 1929 (C.R., xliii, 6 March 1929, 55; Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 20 April 1929, 6, illus. & descrip.)

COMPETITIONS

WINNIPEG, MAN., Contagious Diseases Hospital, in Riverview, 1911. The office of Woodman & Carey were one of 13 Winnipeg architectural firms who submitted a design in this competition. They were awarded 3rd Prize of $550 for their effort (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 10 April 1911, 1, competition report). The winner was Herbert Rugh.
WINNIPEG, MAN., City Hall, 1913. The firm of Woodman & Carey were one of 39 architects from across Canada who submitted designs for this major civic commission. Their striking monumental Edwardian design received the Second Prize of $3,000. (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 8 March 1913, 5, illus.; Construction [Toronto], vi, April 1913, 150-53, illus. & descrip.). The First Premium was awarded to Clemesha & Portnall of Regina, but their winning scheme was never built.
WINNIPEG, MAN., Jewish Orphanage & Children’s Aid Society, 1919-20. Fourteen different designs were submitted in this open competition, and the plans from Woodman & Cubbidge were declared the winner (Winnipeg Free Press, 15 March 1919, 31, illus.; Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 28 Feb. 1920, 2, illus. & descrip.).
KINGSTON, ONT., Memorial Archway, at Royal Military College, 1920. The Winnipeg firm of Woodman & Cubbidge was one of 7 architects invited to prepare a design for this large outdoor arch. The eventual winner was John M. Lyle of Toronto (inf. Sarah Toomey, Chief Librarian, Massey Library, Royal Military College, Kingston)