James, Percy Leonard

JAMES, Percy Leonard (1878-1970)
(biography in preparation)

The British Columbia Public Archives at Victoria, B.C. holds an important manuscript collection of personal papers belonging to Percy L. James (BCPA, MSS 502). Many references to buildings listed below are extracted from a typed list of works contained within this collection. A lengthy illustrated monograph on Percy L. James was published in 2005 entitled: The Life and Times of Victoria Architect P. Leonard James, written by Rosemary James Cross. This work includes a dated list of works on pages 176-210.

P.L. JAMES (works in Victoria unless noted)

ESQUIMALT, B.C., 'Stonehedge Park', residence for John W. Lysle, Munro Street, 1909 (D. Field, Built Heritage in Esquimalt: An Inventory, 1984, 23-4, illus.)
OAK BAY, residence for Mrs. H. James, Tod Road, 1910 (S. Stark, Oak Bay's Heritage Buildings, 1986, 24, illus.)
ST. CHARLES STREET, 'Bannavern', a residence for Hon. William A. Galliher, 1910 (C.R., xxiv, 20 July 1910, 27; M. Segger & D. Franklin, Exploring Victoria's Architecture, 1996, 182, illus.; Victoria Heritage Foundation, This Old House: Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods, Vol. 3, 2021, 244-45, illus. & descrip.)

JAMES & JAMES (works in Victoria unless noted)

SAANICH, B.C., a wood and shingle water tower at "Hamsterley Farm", for Algernon Pease, Finnerty Road, c. 1910 (Donald Luxton & Jennifer Barr, Saanich Heritage Structures, 2008, 77, illus. & descrip.)
ROCKLAND AVENUE, near St. Charles Street, residence for Duncan Ross, 1910-11 (C.R., xxiv, 21 Dec. 1910, 29)
OAK BAY, St. Mary's Anglican Church, Burns Street, 1911; extensions 1913; demol. (Colonist [Victoria], 1 Dec. 1910, 5, illus. & descrip.; and 5 Oct. 1911, 3, descrip.; and 16 May 1913, 3, illus.; BCPA, Prints & Dwgs. Coll., 75)
BROUGHTON STREET, new facade for the Bridgeman Building, 1910-11 (M. Segger & D. Franklin, Exploring Victoria's Architecture, 1996, 63, illus.; BCPA, Prints & Dwgs. Coll.)
HAYNES BLOCK, Fort Street, 1911 (Colonist [Victoria], 21 Feb. 1911, 2, illus.; C.R., xxv, 11 Oct. 1911, 62)
OAK BAY, residence for Mrs. F.C. Wolfenden, 1912 (S. Stark, Oak Bay's Heritage Buildings, 1986, 15, illus.)
OAK BAY, residence for Charles S. Baxter, 1912 (S. Stark, Oak Bay's Heritage Buildings, 1986, 25, illus.)
OAK BAY, residence for Donald A. Malin, St. David Street, 1912 (S. Stark, Oak Bay's Heritage Buildings, 1986, 107, illus.)
OAK BAY, residence for Herbert S. Lott, Transit Road, 1912 (S. Stark, Oak Bay's Heritage Buildings, 1986, 56, illus.)
OAK BAY, mansion for John W. Morris, Beach Drive near Broom Road, 1912 (BCPA, Prints & Dwgs. Coll., 576; S. Stark, Oak Bay's Heritage Buildings, 1986, 29, illus.; M. Segger & D. Franklin, Exploring Victoria's Architecture, 1996, 164-5, illus.)
BEVERLEY PLACE, residence for Frank Burrell, 1912 ( Victoria Heritage Foundation, This Old House: Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods, Vol. 3, 2021, 158-59, illus. & descript.)
OAK BAY TOWN HALL, Oak Bay Avenue at Hampshire Road, 1912; demol. (Colonist [Victoria], 14 April 1912, 2, illus.)
OAK BAY POST OFFICE & GROCERY, Oak Bay Avenue, 1912 (S. Stark, Oak Bay's Heritage Buildings, 1986, 97, illus.)
OAK BAY, residence for G.H.S. Edwards, 1912 (BCPA, MSS 502)
ROCKLAND AVENUE, residence for James T. Reid, 1912 (Colonist [Victoria], 5 June 1912, 4; M. Segger & D. Franklin, Exploring Victoria's Architecture, 1996, 184, illus.; Victoria Heritage Foundation, This Old House: Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods, 2021, Vol. 3, 206, illus. & descrip.)
MOSS STREET, residence for Dr. James Helmcken, 1913 (M. Segger & D. Franklin, Exploring Victoria's Architecture, 1996, 188, illus.; Victoria Heritage Foundation, This Old House: Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods, Vol. 3, 2021, 184-85, illus. & descrip.)
KING GEORGE TERRACE, residence for E. Harrison, 1913 (BCPA, James Coll., MSS 502)
OAK BAY, residence for E.O. Weston, Highland Drive, 1914 (Canadian Builder & Carpenter [Toronto], iv, July 1914, 25-27, illus. & descrip.)
DOMINION PUBLIC BUILDING, Government Street at Yates Street, 1949-52 (Canada, Sessional Papers, 1949-50, No. 8, 38; M. Segger & D. Franklin, Exploring Victoria's Architecture, 1996, 81, illus.; BCPA, Prints & Dwgs. Coll., 592)

P.L. JAMES (works in Victoria unless noted)

OAK BAY, residence for C.P. Lesley Pearson, Seagull Avenue [now Lincoln Road] 1920 (Victoria Daily Times,13 Feb. 1920, 14, t.c.; P. Leonard James, 2005, 180, list of works)
ST. CHARLES STREET, at Shasta Street, residence for Harry F. Bullen, 1920 (Const., xiv, Oct. 1921, 2, illus.; dwgs. at BCPA, CM/B/650; Victoria Heritage Foundation, This Old House: Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods, Vol. 3, 2021, 242-43, illus. & descrip.)
(with Karl B. Spurgin) ROYAL JUBILEE HOSPITAL, Fort Street, a new East Wing, 1921-22, using plans donated by Loring P. Rixford, who was the architect of the original hospital in 1914. and modified by James & Spurgin (Victoria Daily Times, 14 May 1921, 1 & 8, descrip.; and 2 July 1921, 5, descrip.; and 20 Dec. 1922, 22, descrip.; and 14 June 1923, 17, t.c.; and 17 Nov. 1923, 15, illus. & detailed architectural descrip.; M. Segger & D. Franklin, Exploring Victoria's Architecture, 1996, 193, illus.)
OAK BAY HIGH SCHOOL, major addition, Oak Bay Avenue, 1921 (Victoria Daily Times, 25 June 1921, 1)
OAK BAY, residence for C.E. Phillips, Central Avenue at St. Patrick Street, 1921 (Victoria Daily Times, 25 June 1921, 1)
LINDEN AVENUE, near McClure Street, residence for Frederick J. Williams, 1921 (Victoria Daily Times, 25 June 1921, 1)
COLWOOD GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB, Goldstream Avenue, a new clubhouse, 1922; burned 1929 (Calgary Herald, 2 Sept. 1922, 17, descrip.; inf. Robert Hamilton, of Hamilton, Ont.)
KING GEORGE TERRACE, residence for Maj. Frederick V. Longstaff, 1922 (BCPA, MSS 502)
PEMBERTON ROAD, at Angus Road, large residence for Hon. Peter S. Lampman, 1922 (Victoria Daily Times, 22 April 1922, 1; C.H.G., iii, Dec. 1926, 30, illus.; R.A.I.C. Journal, v, Nov. 1928, 407, illus.)
SHASTA PLACE, residence for Helen Nation, 1923 (Victoria Heritage Foundation, This Old House: Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods, Vol. 3, 2021, 233, illus. & descrip.)
(with F.M. Rattenbury) CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY TERMINAL, Belleville Street at Menzies Street, 1923-24 (Canadian Railway & Marine World, xxvii, Dec. 1924, 602, illus.; M. Segger & D. Franklin, Victoria, 1979, 160-1, illus.; dwgs. at BCPA, RP 7)
(with F.M. Rattenbury) CRYSTAL GARDEN, Douglas Street at Belleville Street, 1924-25 (Victoria Daily Times, 13 Nov. 1924, 1 & 2, descrip.; and 25 June 1925, 10-12, illus. & descrip.; C.R., xxxix, 15 April 1925, 360-1, illus. & descrip.; Const., xviii, July 1925, 228-30, illus. & descrip.; Pierre Berton et al, Crystal Garden: West Coast Pleasure Palace, 1977, 78-89, illus.)
CENTRAL SAANICH, B.C., The Waddling Dog Inn, Patricia Bay Highway at Mount Newton Cross Road, an "Old English style Inn" for Mrs. E. Alexander, 1926; the original two storey portion still standing in 2022, and now owned by Quality Inn Hotels Inc., with later additions by others (Victoria Daily Times, 27 March 1926, 1; Rosemary Cross, Percy Leonard James - Architect, 2005, 182, list of works; inf. Donald Luxton, Vancouver)
SUPERIOR STREET, at Montreal Street, residence for Frederick P. Walker, 1926 (Victoria Daily Times, 27 March 1926, 1)
SOOKE, B.C., residence for Major P.W. Taylor, 1927 (BCPA, Prints & Dwgs. Coll., 579)
THETIS ISLAND, B.C., country house for H. Hunter, 1927 (BCPA, Prints & Dwgs. Coll., 578)
OAK BAY, residence for Henry Burt-Smith, Beach Drive, 1927 (S. Stark, Oak Bay's Heritage Buildings, 1986, 49, illus.)
OAK BAY, residence for Mrs. R.A. Hall, St. David Street near Brighton Avenue, 1927 (Victoria Daily Times, 12 March 1927, 1)
SYLVAN LANE, residence for Ernest H. Bird, 1927 (R.A.I.C. Journal, v, Nov. 1928, 401, illus.)
SAANICH, B.C., residence for Cecil L.H. Branson, Seaview Road near Cadboro View, 1928 (M. Segger & D. Franklin, Exploring Victoria's Architecture, 1996, 194, illus.; BCPA, MSS 502)
SAANICH, residence for Robert H.B. Ker, Arbutus Road, in Gordon Head, 1928 (Victoria Daily Times, 10 March 1928, 4)
OAK BAY, residence for Malcolm Bell-Irving, Linkleas Avenue at Island Road, "...of Elizabethan design", 1928 (Victoria Daily Times, 10 March 1928, 4; Rosemary Cross, Percy Leonard James - Architect, 2005, 184, list of works)
TERRACE AVENUE, residence for Arthur B. Cotton, 1928 (BCPA, MSS 502)
VICTORIA COLD STORAGE & TERMINAL WAREHOUSE, at Ogden Point in the outer harbour, a large 6 storey cold storage building for E.H. James of Montreal, 1929 (Victoria Daily Times, 1 Feb. 1929, 15; and 3 Aug. 1929, Section Four, p. 1, illus. & detailed architectural descript.)
OAK BAY, residence for Maj. P.E. Thacker, Lansdowne Road near Uplands Road, 1929 (BCPA, MSS 502)
OAK BAY, residence for Mrs. Mary I. Hutchinson, Uplands Road at Dewdney Avenue, 1929 (BCPA, MSS 502)
OAK BAY, residence for J.E. Semmes, Beach Drive near Suffolk Street, 1929 (BCPA, MSS 502)
OAK BAY, residence for Norman W. Whittaker, Weald Road near Cotswold Road, 1929-30 (Victoria Daily Times, 9 Nov. 1929, 2)
OAK BAY, residence for Mrs. E.C. Wilson, Beach Drive at Somass Drive, 1930 (BCPA, MSS 502)

JAMES & SAVAGE (works in Victoria unless noted)

OAK BAY, residence for Charles H. Carpenter, Lansdowne Road, 1927 (S. Stark, Oak Bay's Heritage Buildings, 1986, 112, illus.)
OAK BAY, residence for Judge Peter S. Lampman, Nottingham Road, 1928 (S. Stark, Oak Bay's Heritage Buildings, 1986, 112, illus.)
CADBORO BAY ROAD, near Cedar Hill Cross Road, residence for Howard M. Archibald, 1928 (R.A.I.C. Journal, x, Aug. 1933, 144, illus.)
OAK BAY, Branksea Court Apartments, Estevan Avenue at Beach Drive, a conversion of a large residence facing Willows Beach into five apartments, 1928 (Victoria Daily Times, 10 March 1928, 4, descrip.)
UPLANDS ROAD, at Cadboro Bay Road, residence for Joseph A. Merrick, 1928 (Larry McCann, Imagine Uplands, 2016, 288, illus.)
OAK BAY, residence for Kenneth C. Allen, Shore Road at Tarn Place, 1929 (Victoria Daily Times, 21 May 1929, 1; C.R., xliii, 3 July 1929, 64; S. Stark, Oak Bay's Heritage Buildings, 1986, 117, illus.; Larry McCann, Imagining Uplands, 2016, 288, illus.)
SAANICH, "Queenswood", the residence for Col. Alan A. Sharland, Queenswood Drive at Arbutus Road, c. 1928-29; residence later burned c. 1955 and demol. c. 1965, but Gamekeeper's Cottage still standing, Queenswood Drive near Arbutus Road (R.A.I.C. Journal, x, Aug. 1933, 146-7, illus.; Donald Luxton & Jennifer Barr, Saanich Heritage Structures, 2008, 27, illus. & descrip.)
COLWOOD, B.C., clubhouse for the Colwood Golf & Country Club, 1929 (Victoria Daily Times, 15 March 1929, 15, descrip.; Const., xxii, April 1929, 133; C.R., xliii, 31 July 1929, 60)
ST. CHARLES STREET, residence for Mrs. D. Savage, 1929 (C.R., xliii, 21 Aug. 1929, 99)
UPLANDS, large residence for Maj. General Percival F. Thacker, 1929, Lansdowne Road, on the opposite side of the street as the new residence for his brother Herbert C. Thacker (Victoria Daily Times, 14 May 1929, 15, descrip.; and 21 May 1929, 1)
UPLANDS, large residence for Maj. General Herbert C. Thacker, 1929, Lansdowne Road, on the opposite side of the street as the new residence for his brother Percival F. Thacker (Victoria Daily Times, 14 May 1929, 15, descrip.)
SAANICH, "Stranton Lodge", a residence for Thomas W. Hall, Burnside Road West near Mildred Street, c. 1930 (Parks Canada, Canada's Historic Places, historic designation, 27 July 1992)
OAK BAY, "Eagles Nest", a large residence for F. Forbes Sayward-Wilson, Beach Drive near Rutland Road, in the Uplands area, 1930; altered (Victoria Daily Times, 2 July 1930, 15, descrip.)
ROCKLAND AVENUE, at Terrace Avenue, residence for Capt. W. Hobart Molson, 1930 (Victoria Daily Times, 18 July 1930, 1; C.R., xliv, 6 Aug. 1930, 68)
UPLANDS, an "English Cottage", designed for an unnamed client by James & Savage, and built in 1929-30 (Victoria Daily Times, 28 May 1932, Magazine Section, p. 7, with descrip. & illus.)
OAK BAY, residence for H.C. Victor Macdowell, Uplands Road near Lansdowne Road, 1930 (Larry McCann, Imagining Uplands, 2016, 289, illus.; BCPA, MSS 502)
OAK BAY, residence for J. Harman, York Place, 1931 (S. Stark, Oak Bay's Heritage Buildings, 1986, 38, ills.; M. Segger & D. Franklin, Exploring Victoria's Architecture, 1996, 168, illus.)

P.L. JAMES (works in Victoria unless noted)

CADBORO BAY ROAD, residence for William B. Pease, 1935 (BCPA, MSS 502)
OAK BAY FIRE HALL, Monterey Avenue, 1938 (S. Stark, Oak Bay's Heritage Buildings, 1986, 21, illus.)
CHRIST CHURCH ANGLICAN CATHEDRAL, a new rectory and residence called 'The Deanery', Burdett Avenue, 1938 (BCPA, Prints & Dwgs. Coll., 86; Victoria Heritage Foundation, This Old House: Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods, Vol. 4, 2009, 146, illus. & descrip.)
YARROW MEMORIAL ANGLICAN CHAPEL, Vancouver Street, for the Anglican Bishop, 1939 (Victoria Heritage Foundation, This Old House: Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods, Vol. 4, 2009, 145, illus. & descrip.)
CHRIST CHURCH ANGLICAN CATHEDRAL, a new Sunday School for the church, Niagara Street at Medina Street, in the James Bay neighbourhood, 1938; still standing in 2023 (Victoria Daily Times, 30 Dec. 1938, 11; Victoria Heritage Foundation, This Old House: Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods, Vol. 2, 2018, 167-68, illus. & descrip.; BCPA, Prints & Dwgs. Coll., 86)
DENISON ROAD, near Sylvan Lane, residence for Edgar W. Griffith, 1938-39 (Building in Canada, xx, Sept. 1940, 36, illus. & descrip.)
OAK BAY, residence for J.H. Johns, Somass Drive, 1939-43 (M. Segger & D. Franklin, Exploring Victoria's Architecture, 1996, 198, illus.)
ST. CHARLES STREET, residence for Mrs. Peter S. Lampman, 1941 (BCPA, MSS 502)
SAANICH, residence for Joseph Cook, Queenswood Drive, 1942 (Donald Luxton & Jennifer Barr, Saanich Heritage Structures, 2008, 22, illus. & descrip.)
CRESCENT ROAD, residence for Ernest A.M. Williams, 1945 (BCPA, MSS 502)
EAST SAANICH ROAD, 'Orchard Gate', residence for Norman A. Yarrow, 1950 (M. Segger & D. Franklin, Exploring Victoria's Architecture, 1996, 266, illus.; BCPA, MSS 502; Donald Luxton & Jennifer Barr, Saanich Heritage Structures, 2008, 128, illus. & descrip.)
OAK BAY JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL, Cranmore Road, 1950-51 (C.R., lxiii, June 1950, 124; Victoria Daily Times, 30 Oct. 1950, 2)

COMPETITIONS

VICTORIA, B.C., Y.M.C.A. Building, Blanchard Street at View Street, 1909. The office of P.L. James of Victoria was one of 6 local architects who submitted a design (Evening Post (Victoria), 16 July 1909, 5). His submission was passed over and H.S. Griffith was declared the winner.
WINNIPEG, MAN., City Hall, 1913. P.L. James teamed up with his brother Douglas James, and they were one of 39 architects from across Canada who submitted plans in this national competition, but they were not among the five finalists (City of Winnipeg Archives, Council Communications, 1913, Box A169, Item 9741, list of entrants). The winners were Clemesha & Portnall of Regina, but their scheme was never built.