I am seeking information in relation to a Canadian Architect (also set designer) known as William (Bill) McCrow. I am working on project to allow a Frank Lloyd Wright style house designed by William McCrow whilst working as a set designer on a famous UK film to be rebuilt. The house which is currently structurally unsound has to be rebuilt on a different more sensitive Green Belt site and can only be rebuilt if more information can be found which justifies its special significance. I attach some JPGs from a presentation I made to a Design Review Panel about the unique English house in the Frank Lloyd Wright style however in preparing the report I was unable to find any information relation to William McCrow’s architectural work.
I subsequently found the following article is based on a Canadian broadcaster called Lister Sinclair and interestingly notes that:
Soon after settling in Toronto, Mr. Sinclair and wife, Alice, whom he had met at UBC, became part of an artist's community in Kleinberg, north of Toronto.
"The community was called Windrush and the houses were designed by Bill McCrow who was a set designer at the CBC," said Peter Sinclair, a technology entrepreneur who is his son from his first marriage.
I also noted the following article which talks about Kleinberg and references:
In the 1940s Pierre Berton, the writer and broadcaster, settled here with a group of CBC types, tucking 10 Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired homes into the verdant valleys in a kind of arts colony they called Windrush. Promoting the town’s Binder Twine Festival in 1968, Mr. Berton noted that, “we still seek the countryside with nostalgia, affection and longing.”
Any information that anyone might have on this architect, now deceased, and his other architectural work might be extremely useful in helping to ensure that this unique building (the only UK building I am aware of that has strong Frank Lloyd Wright references) can be retained.
I have also contacted the City of Vaughan Council in which Windrush is based and the RAIC.
If anyone has any additional information that would be really helpful.
Query from England on Canadian Architect William (Bill) McCrow
Hello,
I am seeking information in relation to a Canadian Architect (also set designer) known as William (Bill) McCrow. I am working on project to allow a Frank Lloyd Wright style house designed by William McCrow whilst working as a set designer on a famous UK film to be rebuilt. The house which is currently structurally unsound has to be rebuilt on a different more sensitive Green Belt site and can only be rebuilt if more information can be found which justifies its special significance. I attach some JPGs from a presentation I made to a Design Review Panel about the unique English house in the Frank Lloyd Wright style however in preparing the report I was unable to find any information relation to William McCrow’s architectural work.
I subsequently found the following article is based on a Canadian broadcaster called Lister Sinclair and interestingly notes that:
Soon after settling in Toronto, Mr. Sinclair and wife, Alice, whom he had met at UBC, became part of an artist's community in Kleinberg, north of Toronto.
"The community was called Windrush and the houses were designed by Bill McCrow who was a set designer at the CBC," said Peter Sinclair, a technology entrepreneur who is his son from his first marriage.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/lister-sinclair/article20415556/
I also noted the following article which talks about Kleinberg and references:
In the 1940s Pierre Berton, the writer and broadcaster, settled here with a group of CBC types, tucking 10 Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired homes into the verdant valleys in a kind of arts colony they called Windrush. Promoting the town’s Binder Twine Festival in 1968, Mr. Berton noted that, “we still seek the countryside with nostalgia, affection and longing.”
http://nationalpost.com/news/canada/in-kleinburg-legacy-might-not-be-enough
Any information that anyone might have on this architect, now deceased, and his other architectural work might be extremely useful in helping to ensure that this unique building (the only UK building I am aware of that has strong Frank Lloyd Wright references) can be retained.
I have also contacted the City of Vaughan Council in which Windrush is based and the RAIC.
If anyone has any additional information that would be really helpful.
Thanks,
James Ellis
[email protected]
1 Featured Comment
James, contact the canadian centre for architecture in montreal. They hold tons of records with many searchable directly on their website.
https://www.cca.qc.ca/en/
All 1 Comments
James, contact the canadian centre for architecture in montreal. They hold tons of records with many searchable directly on their website.
https://www.cca.qc.ca/en/
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