Photos and text, Clifton Bertram
Government has always been the most important patron of architecture in Canada, says the Canadian Encyclopedia, and I'm inclined to believe that is true. Certainly, it was government funding - at the federal, provincial and municipal levels - that made possible an explosion of modernist architecture in Canada in the mid-1960s, infrastructure spending in honour of Canada's Centennial (1967) that left a legacy of very impressive public buildings, and provided the architectural inspiration for many of the privately funded modern architecture edifices that were to follow.
Right in my backyard is an excellent example of what I have come to call 'Centennial Modern', the St Thomas Public Library, my favourite modern building in St Thomas. Funded by a Federal Provincial Winter Capital Fund grant, the library opened in 1974, featuring the statue 'Mother and Child' by sculptor Jiri Hanzalek at the structure's entrance.
The following are some other fine examples of 'Centennial Modern'.
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Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg MB
U of T Robards Library, Toronto.
National Arts Centre, Ottawa.
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