PETER & CATHARINE WHYTE RESIDENCE

130 BOW AVENUE, BANFF, AB.

STATEMENT OF HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE

SEPTEMBER 2016 WHYTE RESIDENCE - 130 BOW AVE.

used by the Museum to share the history of its founders: Description of the Historic Place signifcant local artists, and pioneers in the town and its cultural community. Te Whyte Residence (130 Bow Avenue) is a cross- gabled, two-storey log cabin in the pre-railroad folk architectural style, built for Peter Whyte and Catharine Heritage Value Robb Whyte in 1930-31. Te Whyte Residence is valuable and worthy of Te cabin was designed as both a home and an artists’ conservation due to its representative folk architectural studio, and the Whytes lived and worked there over a style, and its relationship to Peter and Catharine Robb ffty-year period in the mid-20th century. Te cabin Whyte, who were prominent members of the Banf initially exhibited an L-shaped two-room main foor community through its maturation in the 20th century. layout with a two-bedroom sleeping loft, and through the years experienced several additions and alterations Te residence displays a clear physical refection of Peter to meet Peter and Catharine’s changing needs over the and Catharine’s work as artists and their social life as course of their lives. hosts, as well as their modest approach to the design of their home. Originally located on a wooded property on the east bank of the Bow River, the block’s environmental It is additionally refective of their needs and desires context shifted with Peter and Catharine’s decision through the rapidly changing 20th century, and the to establish what is now the Whyte Museum of the residence may thus also yield information about life and Canadian Rockies. Today, the cabin is clustered with the changing landscape in Banf through this period. several relocated heritage homes conserved by the Whyte Its current location on the Whyte Museum grounds helps Museum, a practice that began on Catharine’s initiative to tell the important story of this institution that has during her lifetime. Te cabin sits adjacent to the Whyte been so infuential in the promotion and preservation of Museum building, and continues to be conserved and Banf’s heritage. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

Character-Defning Elements Elements from later additions that refect the original architectural character and the Whytes’ changing needs Elements that refect the Whyte Residence’s 1930s-era over time: folk architectural character: t
West-facing gable dormer Exterior: t
South-facing Dutch door into the frst extension t
East-facing interior door into the 1957 extension t
Cross-gabled roof t
Matching exterior doors on the east and west doorways t
Simple, non-ornamental approach to design t
Use of local Rundle stone along lower exterior walls and t
Use of local logs and Rundle stone horizontally-oriented wood material above t
Purlins visible along the exterior roof line of the t
Small square panes in most newer windows second foor of the original cabin t
Tick wood functional shutters on most newer windows t
Saddle-notched rounded log exteriors of each unit t
Original north and south dormers t
Wood shakes roof covering Elements that refect the Whyte Residence’s information t
Original front door (interior door), and original potential, and its relationship to Peter and Catharine door frame Robb Whyte as well as to the Whyte Museum: t
Rounded log window frames, window panes, storm windows and thick wood functional t
Te residence’s location on the Whyte Museum shutters on ten windows (two on main foor grounds facade, two on either side of chimney, the large t
Te cabin’s orientation toward Bow Avenue and north side artists’ window, two on south side of the Bow River the kitchen, south side dormer window, and two north side dormer windows) t
South side exterior coal chute Statement of Integrity Interior While the architectural additions to the Whyte Residence t
Te original L-shaped foorplan featuring the in the post-1939 period have not been entirely consistent kitchen, studio living room, two upstairs with the original design, the 1930s era cabin remains bedrooms, the upstairs bathroom, three closets and a balcony not only intact, but in very good condition. Te original t
Purlins visible along the interior roof lines on cabin remains fully furnished with Peter and Catharine’s the main and second foors, especially the original possessions. Eforts have been made to maintain design balcony purlins that extend into the current east- consistency throughout the rest of the property, notably side additions in the approach to most of the new windows, and in the t
Wide wood plank foorboards in all original exterior use of Rundle stone. Te simple workmanship foorplan rooms except the kitchen t
Remaining original wood balcony foorboards in approach remains consistent throughout the building, the current upstairs studio extension though the detailed and careful craftsmanship exhibited t
Five original interior rounded log door frames in the original building is less present in later additions. (door and frame between kitchen and living room, former back door, upstairs door into bedroom, upstairs Te environment and historical feeling of the Whyte door into former second bedroom, former upstairs property have changed signifcantly since the cabin’s balcony door, where only the inside door frame construction in the 1930s, however the shift toward remains) t
Remaining window frame in the original back a context of museum grounds is consistent with the wall (currently surrounds a cabinet) property in the later period of Peter and Catharine’s t
1939 staircase lives, when they were devoted to the establishment of a t
Rundle stone living room freplace and chimney museum through which to conserve and promote Banf’s t
Black triangular working hinge used throughout cultural heritage. the house (on doors, cabinets, original furniture) WHYTE RESIDENCE - 130 BOW AVE.

Description of the Historic Place Type of Historic Place Building Other Names n/a Street Address 130 Bow Ave. / 121 Lynx St. (Lot 12, Block A) Year of Construction/Establishment 1930-1931 Architect/Builder Earl Spencer, architect - Born in 1901, Spencer was a trapper, sawmill worker, boatman and cabin builder in the Rocky Mountains, notably active around Golden, BC, and Banf, AB. Also responsible for the Skoki Ski Lodge (which is also associated with the Whyte family) at Lake Louise.

Builders included carpenters Sam Ward and Vern Costello, and electrician Cecil Philpott. Costello appears to have been responsible for the seasonal re-installation of storm windows through to the early 1950s. Original Owners t
Sara Bell Irving: Sept. 1902-Dec. 1906 t
John Curren (Dave White’s father-in-law): Dec.1906-Aug. 1907 t
Dave White: Aug. 1907-Oct. 1936 t
Peter and Catharine Robb Whyte: Oct. 1936- Mar. 1979 t
Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies: 1979-present Heritage Value ‘Alberta Culture’ Signifcance Criteria A. Design / Style / Construction

Representative of wooded western mountain pre-railroad folk architecture, or rustic architecture: a two-unit cabin (kitchen and living room), built of rounded logs, with a loft area for sleeping. Evidenced in the simple approach to construction, with little detailing, and in the use of local building materials (Rundle stone, and lumber from the nearby Morley Reserve)

C. Institution / Person

Associated with Peter and Catharine Robb Whyte, who lived in the house for ffty years. Tey are not only signifcant local artists, but also supporters of cultural life in Banf, and notably the founders of the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, which continues to play a major role in cultural heritage promotion and preservation in Banf. Te property is also historically associated with Banf pioneers John D. Curren and Dave White. DOCUMENTATION OF SIGNIFICANCE

D. Information Potential

It is possible to better understand Banf’s morphology by studying the full property at 130 Bow Avenue. Te cabin’s orientation toward Bow Avenue is indicative that this was once the major street abutting the property, while the 1971 garage addition at the back of the house indicates that later access would occur from Bear Street.

Te home’s additions and renovations over time also have potential to yield information about changing lifestyles in Banf through the 20th century, for example through the addition of a modern kitchen and a central heating system. ‘Banf Heritage Corporation’ Tematic Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life Framework t
Architecture in Banf: Representative of vernacular architecture and the folk house aesthetic. t
Education and Social Well-Being: In Peter and Catharine’s later years, the property grounds became a gathering spot for heritage cabins in need of conservation. Today their home is a part of this collection of Whyte Museum heritage homes, which not only conserves remnants of early life in Banf, but also serves to educate visitors on Banf’s cultural history. Period of Signifcance 1930-1979 Character-Defning Elements Cross-gabled roof

Simple, non-ornamental approach to design

Use of local logs and Rundle stone

Purlins visible along the exterior roof line of the second foor of the original cabin

DOCUMENTATION OF SIGNIFICANCE

Saddle-notched rounded log exteriors of each unit

Original north and south dormers

Wood shakes roof covering

Original front door (interior door), and original door frame

Te following elements on the ten original windows: rounded log window frames; window panes; storm windows, and; thick wood functional shutters

t
Two main foor facade t
Two on either side of chimney t
Large north-side artists’ window t
Two on south side of original kitchen t
South side dormer window t
Two north side dormer windows (on either side of the former kitchen chimney, now a middle window) South side exterior coal chute

DOCUMENTATION OF SIGNIFICANCE

Te original L-shaped foorplan featuring the kitchen, studio living room, two upstairs bedrooms, the upstairs bathroom, three closets and a balcony

Purlins visible along the interior roof lines on the main and second foors, especially the original balcony purlins that extend into the current east-side additions

Wide wood plank foorboards in all original foorplan rooms except the kitchen

Remaining original wood balcony foorboards in the current upstairs studio extension

Five original interior rounded log door frames: t
Door between kitchen and living room (door and frame) t
Former back door t
Upstairs door into bedroom t
Upstairs door into former second bedroom t
Former upstairs balcony door (only the inside door frame remains)

Remaining window frame in the original back wall (currently surrounds a cabinet)

DOCUMENTATION OF SIGNIFICANCE

1939 staircase

Rundle stone living room freplace and chimney

Black triangular working hinge used throughout the house (on doors, cabinets, original furniture)

West-facing gable dormer South-facing Dutch door into the frst extension

East-facing interior door into the 1957 extension

Matching exterior doors on the east and west doorways DOCUMENTATION OF SIGNIFICANCE

Use of local Rundle stone along lower exterior walls and horizontally-oriented wood material above

Small square panes in most newer windows

Tick wood functional shutters on the 1957 windows

Te residence’s location on the Whyte Museum grounds Te cabin’s orientation toward Bow Avenue and the Bow River

Integrity Design Te Whyte Residence largely refects the design decisions made during the original cabin construction and alterations that occurred prior to the 1940s. Eforts were made especially on the exterior of additions to maintain a sense of the original design, e.g. through the inclusion of thick dark wood shutters, small square window panes, and the use of Rundle stone. Te 1957 addition to the second foor is less sympathetic; little efort is made to integrate the roof with the existing structure, and the six single-pane windows are not refective of any earlier window selections. Materials Construction materials have not been consistent with the originals. Additions have used clapboard rather than rounded logs on the building exterior, the interior walls feature light wood panels or boards rather than exposed logs, and foors are either linoleum or smaller-plank hardwood foors, rather than the wide planks original- ly used. Workmanship Te Whyte Residence refects a consistent simple approach to workmanship. Te house is largely utilitarian, and while the original cabin is aesthetically pleasing in its use of historical materials, the approach is still devoid of ornamentation. Te unique elements of the house, such as the large artists’ window in the main room, were installed for utilitarian purposes.

Despite a similarly simple style, the craftsmanship in the post-1939 additions appears signifcantly less careful and attentive to detail than that displayed in the original cabin. Te symmetry and careful handiwork in elements such as the original windows or the well- crafted saddle-notched rounded log walls are not present in the later additions. Location Te Whyte Residence remains in its original location. DOCUMENTATION OF SIGNIFICANCE

Environment Te residence relates to its environment as it did during the later years of Peter’s and Catharine’s lives, when they were working to build a museum on the block traditionally owned by Peter’s family. Te plans for their museum building necessitated the collection of historical buildings near their home, and during the Period of Signifcance they would add to this collection with the move of additional heritage homes. Te construction of the Whyte Museum changed the conception and orientation of Block A toward Bear Street, and created a sense of the entire block as a museum ground. It remains this way today. Feeling Te interior character of the original building is so strong, and the exterior character of the whole building sufciently consistent, as to continue to convey a sense of the original design. Association Te Whyte Residence retains clear evidence of the lives of Peter and Catharine Robb Whyte, not only in their possessions that still remain in the home, but also in the physical elements of the house.

Te artists’ windows both in the original cabin and in the second foor addition are evidence of their work, as is the darkroom in the east-side addition. Te elements installed for main-foor living during Peter’s illness remain built into the house. Te additions refect their changing needs over the course of their ffty years in the house, such as an interest in privatizing their studio space, living in a winterized home year round, and their need for modern kitchen space as the appliances became more widely available. Historical Photographs Living room by the artists’ window, between 1931 and 1939

Whyte Museum Archives Fireplace and loft overhead, between 1931 and 1939

Whyte Museum Archives Fireplace and loft overhead, between 1931 and 1939

Whyte Museum Archives Living room wall, looking toward the kitchen

Whyte Museum Archives

Original staircase, between 1931 and 1939

Whyte Museum Archives Original kitchen and north-facing window (now a door into the extension) and kitchen chimney (demolished in 1957)

Whyte Museum Archives Same angle, but featuring new built-in kitchen cabinet some years later

Whyte Museum Archives DOCUMENTATION OF SIGNIFICANCE

Original kitchen and south-facing win- dows. Dish cabinet now located in the opposite corner.

Whyte Museum Archives South-facing windows in the original kitchen

Whyte Museum Archives Exterior front of cabin

Whyte Museum Archives Original east-facing balcony. Enclosed due to new additions between 1939 and 1957.

Whyte Museum Archives West facade and front lawn, 1967

Town of Banf Archival Building Photos West elevation blueprint, 1930

Whyte Museum Archives

East elevation blueprint, 1930

Whyte Museum Archives

North elevation blueprint, 1930

Whyte Museum Archives

South elevation blueprint, 1930

Whyte Museum Archives

Original 1930 main foor plan

Whyte Museum Archives DOCUMENTATION OF SIGNIFICANCE

Original 1930 second foor plan

Whyte Museum Archives WHYTE RESIDENCE - 130 BOW AVE.

Main Floor Plan SITE PLAN

Second Floor Plan WHYTE RESIDENCE - 130 BOW AVE.

1905 Peter Whyte is born in Banf, Alberta, to Dave White and Annie Curren White.

1906 Catharine Robb is born to a wealthy family in Concord, Massachusetts.

1907 Dave White acquires the lease on the property at ‘Lot 12, Block A’ from his father-in-law, John Curren.

1925 Peter and Catharine meet as students at the Boston Museum School of Fine Art.

1930 Peter and Catharine are married, and Peter commissions architect Earl Spencer to design a summer home and art studio for the couple on his father’s property on the east bank of the Bow River. Spencer proposes a two-bedroom cross-gabled log cabin facing the river, with a main-foor living room studio and separate kitchen, an upstairs loft with an enclosed bedroom, and a second bedroom and bath above the kitchen. Te second bedroom would exit onto a balcony at the east side of the cabin.

1931 Construction on the original cross-gabled log cabin is complete, and Peter and Catharine arrive in Banf. Tey begin painting natural landscapes through the summer and fall, and through the winter they opt for portraits of their neighbours and members of the indigenous communities living nearby. Teir reputation as local artists grows, and they develop rela- tionships with similarly signifcant artists such as Henry George Glyde, Walter Phillips, and Group of Seven member A. Y. Jackson, many of whom are afliated with the fedgling Banf School of Fine Arts (now Banf Centre for Arts and Creativity).

1936 Peter’s father, Dave White’s, lease on ‘Lot 12, Block A’ is transferred to Peter and Catharine. Te lots immediately to the south will eventually be divided amongst the members of the White family, with Peter’s sister Lila at ‘Lot 11’, Peter’s mother Annie at ‘Lot 10’, and Peter’s brother Dave (known as Jackie) at ‘Lot 9’. Tese lots are all currently occupied by the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies.

1939 Peter and Catharine renovate their home, enclosing the loft above their studio space in order to create a larger master bedroom. Either at this time or sometime over the next ffteen years, they also build a two-storey addition at the east side of the cabin, enclosing the balcony and installing a south-facing Dutch door. Te main foor addition includes storage space, a darkroom and a woodworking shop, while the well-lit second foor addition is designed as a more private art studio, removed from peering passersby on their property.

1939- Peter is commissioned as a war artist in the Canadian army during the Second World War. 1945 Catharine occasionally travels with him to his postings.

1945- Te post-war years see numerous renovations to Peter and Catharine’s home, notably the 1952 excavation of their basement, the installation of an oil tank and burner, and a main-foor bathroom within the addition. PROPERTY HISTORY

1957 Peter and Catharine commission a major addition to the north side of their home, installing a workshop and second kitchen of their original kitchen, converting the original solely into a dining space and removing their kitchen freplace and chimney. Tis may be when Peter installs the Swiss-style built-in bench around their dining table. Te workshop features a back door facing east. At the same time, they raise the roof of the second-foor addition on the east side, creating an uneven saltbox-style gable, and they extend the addition westward so as to enlarge and install three additional windows to their upstairs studio space. At this time, they install a window in the dormer space originally covered by the kitchen freplace chimney.

1958 Peter and Catharine begin to develop an interest in the preservation of local cultural heritage. Teir social circle is inspired by the success of Norman Luxton’s local Museum of the Plains Indian. Tey establish the ‘Wa-Che-Yo-Cha-Pa Foundation’, and they begin to collect an archive of photographs, letters, recordings, interviews, books and magazines, building plans, papers, postcards and their own works for potential eventual display. Over the next fve years, their archives are located in spare buildings on the land owned by the White family, adjacent to Peter and Catharine’s home.

1965 Peter falls ill, and when he is no longer able to climb the stairs, bars are installed in the main foor bathroom, and a makeshift bedroom established by the freplace in the living room. Sliding dividers are installed to separate this bedroom from the main living area. Due to Peter’s illness, the couple accelerates their pursuit of architectural plans for a museum and archives building adjacent to their property.

1966 Peter dies in December. At the time of his death, their archival collection has been made available for research purposes, and plans are in the works for the museum building.

1968 Te Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies opens on the east bank of the Bow River. It features an art gallery, an expanded library space, and an area for archives.

1971 A two-car garage is built for Catharine to the east of her home.

1971 In the same year, through her museum foundation, Catharine begin to pursue the conservation of local historic buildings on the Whyte museum grounds adjacent to her property. Pearl Brewster Moore’s cabin is donated and moved to the intersection of Lynx Street and Bear Street, immediately east of Catharine’s home. Between 1971 and 1979, Catharine additionally facilitates the moves of Parks Canada’s Windy No. 3 warden cabin and the historic Mather cabin to her property, where they join the Peyto cabins and the Jack Sinclair cabin, presumably relocated from closer to the Bow River on site at the time of the Whyte Museum’s construction.

1979 Catharine dies, after spending her fnal years actively involved in local Banf life, and especially with the Banf Centre. In 1978 she receives the Order of Canada for her work with and support of cultural ventures, indigenous communities, and historical and natural conservation. After her death, the ‘Wa-Che-Yo-Cha-Pa Foundation’ is renamed the ‘Peter and Catharine Whyte Foundation’, and both her home and the Moore home are taken on by the museum and converted into living displays of architecture and history. WHYTE RESIDENCE - 130 BOW AVE. HERITAGE SURVEY

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Alberta on Record. Spencer, Earl. Retrieved from the Archives Society of Alberta, www.albertaonrecord.ca/spencer- earl/

Canada’s Historic Places. (1992). Skoki Ski Lodge National Historic Site of Canada. Retrieved from historicplaces. ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=2030%pid=0.

Cardell, J. (1952, October 3). Call of the Canyon. Te Banf Crag and Canyon. Retrieved from the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies Archives and Library.

C. L. H. (1957). Architectural plans for addition to residence, Block A Lot 12. (M36-955). Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies Archives and Library, Banf, AB.

Ford, A. L. (1930, November 13). Letter from Arthur L. Ford to Park Commissioner James B. Harkin. Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies Archives and Library, Banf, AB.

Hart, E. J. (2015). Banf: A History of the Park and Town. Banf: Summerthought Publishing.

Letnick, H. (1995). At Rest in the Peaks: A Guided Walk Trough the Old Banf Cemetery. Banf: Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies.

McAlester, V. & McAlester, L. (1984). Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc.

Sam Ward, Vern Costello and Cecil Philpott [photograph]. Banf, AB. Whyte Residence Photo Binder, Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies.

Skidmore, C. (2006). Tis Wild Spirit: Women in the Rocky Mountains of Canada. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press.

Spencer, E. (1930). Architectural foor plans and elevations. (M36-955). Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies Archives and Library, Banf, AB.

Stoddart, K. (1997, July 9.) If walls could talk at the Whyte home... Te Banf Crag and Canyon. Retrieved from the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies Archives and Library.

Trono, L. Whyte family gave enormously. Te Banf Crag and Canyon. Retrieved from the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies Archives and Library.

Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies. Heritage Homes. Retrieved from www.whyte.org/research-collection/ heritage-homes/

Whyte, P. (November 9, 1930). Letter from Peter Whyte to Earl Spencer. (M36-955). Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies Archives and Library, Banf, AB.

Whyte Residence Heritage Property Folder. (130 Bow Avenue). Town of Banf Department of Planning and Development Records, Banf, AB. INFORMATION SOURCES