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Walter Henderson Shillinglaw
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Engineer, architect.
Born at Staffa, Ontario on 29 September 1864, son of James Shillinglaw (1832-1910) and Elizabeth Deans (1837-1897), he was educated at Albany, Missouri before moving with his family to Portage la Prairie in 1880 then to Brandon in March 1882. His father was a builder, and together they erected the family home in the east end of Brandon where he lived most of his life.
He attended the School of Science in Toronto for three years, after which he returned to Brandon in 1888 and began designing buildings, ranking as the city’s most important early architect as well as its longest-lived practitioner. From 1896 to 1909, he was civic engineer for the City of Brandon, being responsible for installation of bridges, sewers, and water works.
Returning to private practice in 1909 following a scandal arising from construction of the First Street Bridge, he joined David Marshall in the architectural firm of Shillinglaw and Marshall, which was responsible for the design of many important buildings in Brandon, including the Exhibition Building for the 1913 Dominion Fair. After military service in the First World War from 1916 to 1918, in which he rose to the rank of Major, he returned to his architectural practice.
On 19 September 1899, he married nurse Elizabeth Monteith (1865-1950) at Virden. They had no children. He was a member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, Brandon Curling Club, and Presbyterian church. His recreations included golf, curling, and rifle shooting. He served on the Brandon city council (c1913).
He died at Brandon on 20 November 1957 and was buried in the Brandon Cemetery.
Some of his architectural works in Manitoba included:
Building
Location
Year
Status
707 Louise Avenue, Brandon
1888
Alexander, RM of Whitehead
1889
East Ward School
Fourth Street, Brandon
1889
West Ward School
Fifteenth Street, Brandon
1889
705 Princess Avenue, Brandon
1890
Central School
Lorne Avenue, Brandon
1891
841 Rosser Avenue, Brandon
1892
Douglas, RM of Elton
1893
41 Ash Street, Melita
1893
Oak Lake, RM of Sifton
1893
Souris
1894
Carberry
1895
RM of Cornwallis
1896
Griswold, RM of Sifton
1896-1898
Griswold, RM of Sifton
1897
Cartwright
1897
Crystal City
1898
Altona
1899
225 Elizabeth Street, Baldur, RM of Argyle
1899
Pipestone, RM of Pipestone
1899
321 Eighth Street, Brandon
1900-1901
Destroyed by fire (1986)
Beresford, RM of Whitehead
1901
Zink Block
825-829 Rosser Avenue, Brandon
1902
Rathwell, RM of South Norfolk
1903
706 Lorne Avenue, Brandon
1903
Ninette, RM of Strathcona
1908-1909
603 Eleventh Street, Brandon
1908-1909
Oakwood School No. 439 (expansion)
Oak Lake, RM of Sifton
1909
Alexander, RM of Whitehead
1912
1605 Victoria Avenue, Brandon
1912
1133 Princess Avenue, Brandon
1912
Brandon Fair Grounds
1913
2320 Louise Avenue, Brandon
1914-1915
339 Twelfth Street, Brandon
1928
First Street, Brandon
1928
Demolished (1988)
540 Eighteenth Street, Brandon
1928-1929
Dominion Post Office Building (supervision)
1039 Princess Avenue, Brandon
1929-1930
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Shillinglaw House (302 Russell Street, Brandon)
Marriage registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
A History of Manitoba: Its Resources and People by Prof. George Bryce, Toronto: The Canadian History Company, 1906.
“Plaintiff awarded one dollar damages,” Brandon Sun, 25 March 1909, page 10.
“Old timer dead,” Brandon Sun, 8 September 1910, page 2.
1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
The Story of Manitoba by F. H. Schofield, Winnipeg: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1913.
Who's Who and Why, Volumes 6 and 7, 1915-1916, pages 732-733.
Attestation papers, Canadian Expeditionary Force, Library and Archives Canada.
Obituary [Mrs. W. H. Shillinglaw], Brandon Sun, 13 February 1950, page 9.
“Pioneer architect dies at 93,” Brandon Sun, 21 November 1957, page 2.
Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.
Holy Ground: The Story of the Manitoba Sanatorium at Ninette by David B. Stewart, J. A. Victor David Museum, 1999.
Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950 by Robert G. Hill, Toronto.
We thank Nathan Kramer and Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 8 September 2024
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