A Progressive Traditionalist absorbs Spacing

Ontario history buffs can expect satisfaction from Glenn McArthur's impressively researched tome on John M. Lyle, architect of several prominent and distinctly Canadian landmarks such as Union Station, the Runnymede Branch Library, the Hamilton High Level Bridge, and various branches of the Bank of Nova Scotia.

Lyle was already versed in the art of drawing previous to his architectural education in the United States and at the Ecole Des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Documenting his return to Toronto, McArthur builds upon historical context as well as Lyle's personal life and motivation. The architect's return had shortly preceded the Great Fire of 1904, which ravaged several buildings in the downtown core. Lyle began to pursue plans for what in his mind was part of the revitalization and development of both city and country, which often included highly detailed sculptural programs.

The subsequent Modernist movement spurred by the Great Depression proved a challenging shift in the development of his career. However, Lyle did eventually embrace the new aesthetic ideal. The only remaining interior example of his work in this style is at Parkwood Estate, Oshawa, the former home of philanthropist and businessman Colonel R.S. Mclaughlin, at which Lyle boasted an impressive bedroom and bath fit for any contemporary dandy's abode.

A Progressive Traditionalist maps a Canadian visual tradition and personality through not only the composition of a building, but the images of flora, fauna, and commerce that decorate its form. Indispensable to the architectural and historical enthusiast alike, the book offers an absorbing collection of insights into the ideology Lyle shared with other early-twentieth-century Canadian architects who fostered and expanded a Canadian national aesthetic and heritage.