Architecture of Andrew Thomas Taylor

By the year 1900, architect Andrew Taylor had designed Bank of Montreal branches across the continent and much of McGill University, helped found the McGill School of Architecture, and played a critical role in creating the first professional organization for Quebec architects. In The Architecture of Andrew Thomas Taylor, Susan Wagg presents a groundbreaking study of the life and work of a major figure in nineteenth-century Canadian architecture. Born in Edinburgh and trained in Scotland and England, Taylor spent two decades in Canada between 1883 and 1904, designing some of Montreal's most iconic landmarks. Wagg places his career amidst the wealth of opportunities provided by Canada's high society and captains of industry. Taylor's Canadian relatives, Montreal's powerful Redpath family, brought him into contact with the small group of financiers and entrepreneurs who controlled Canada's destiny. With the support of such influential patrons as Sir William Macdonald and the Bank of Montreal, Taylor successfully confronted dramatic changes in building technology as iron and steel were increasingly used and buildings grew ever taller. He innovatively adapted English and American styles to the Canadian environment, designing structures distinctively suited to their place in history. Positioning Taylor's extensive designs within the context of his time, The Architecture of Andrew Thomas Taylor firmly establishes his work as a cornerstone of Canadian architecture.

Susan Wagg is an independent architectural historian and curator. A longtime resident of Montreal, she currently lives in Hanover, NH.