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John Danley Atchison
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Architect.
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John Danley Atchison
Click to enlarge
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Born at Monmouth, Illinois on 17 February 1870, son of Nathaniel Atchison and Elizabeth Danley, he was trained at the Chicago Art Institute and the Chicago Manual Training School before moving to Winnipeg in 1905. He served as President of the Manitoba Association of Architects (1911) and was a member of the Art Committee of the Winnipeg School of Art from 1913 to 1923. Atchison was the most important “Chicago style” architect in Winnipeg, designing nearly 100 buildings.
He and wife Grace Relyea Abeel (1871-?) had four children, the youngest two of whom were born in Winnipeg: Isabel Relyea Atchison (1902-1978), Elizabeth Danley “Betty” Atchison (1905-?), John Danley Atchison (1907-1968), and Robert Abeel Atchison (1910-1993). In September 1923, the family moved to Los Angeles, California where he continued his architectural practice.
He died at Los Angeles, California on 20 June 1959 and was buried there.
Some of his architectural works in Manitoba included:
Building |
Location |
Year |
Status |
Alexandria Block |
389-393 Graham Avenue, Winnipeg |
1905 |
Demolished (1979) |
Balmoral Court |
540 Balmoral Street, Winnipeg |
1905 |
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Kennedy Block |
315 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg |
1906 |
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Wardlaw Apartments |
544 Wardlaw Avenue, Winnipeg |
1906 |
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Hample Building |
271 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg |
1906 |
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Holyrood Court |
563 William Avenue, Winnipeg |
1906 |
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Lee Court |
217 Donald Street, Winnipeg |
1906 |
Demolished (?) |
Bon Accord Block |
637 Main Street, Winnipeg |
1906-1907 |
|
Fairchild Building |
110-120 Princess Street, Winnipeg |
1907 |
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Jordan Block |
305 Fort Street, Winnipeg |
1907 |
Demolished (?) |
Peck Building (addition) |
33 Princess Street, Winnipeg |
1907 |
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Elliott House |
16 Ruskin Row, Winnipeg |
1908 |
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Dennistoun House |
166 Roslyn Road, Winnipeg |
1908 |
Demolished (2017) |
Inglis Building (addition) |
291 Garry Street, Winnipeg |
1908 |
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Devon Court |
376 Broadway, Winnipeg |
1908 |
Demolished (1982) |
Russell House |
213 Kingsway, Winnipeg |
1908 |
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Winnipeg Police Court (renovation) |
223 James Avenue, Winnipeg |
1908 |
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Canada Permanent Mortgage Building |
296-298 Garry Street, Winnipeg |
1909 |
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Edmonton Block |
383-389 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg |
1909 |
Demolished (?) |
Grosvenor Court |
161-165 Stafford Street, Winnipeg |
1909 |
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Oldfield, Kirby and Gardner Building |
234 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg |
1909 |
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Maltese Cross Building |
66 King Street, Winnipeg |
1909 |
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Paterson Block |
54 Donald Street, Winnipeg |
1909 |
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MacKenzie House |
408 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg |
1909 |
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Welland Court |
409 Balmoral Street, Winnipeg |
1909 |
Demolished (?) |
Great West Life Building |
177 Lombard Avenue, Winnipeg |
1909-1911 |
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Chevrier House |
106 Balmoral Street, Winnipeg |
1910 |
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Eastern Townships Bank |
367-369 Main Street, Winnipeg |
1910 |
Demolished (?) |
Orpheum Theatre |
283 Fort Street, Winnipeg |
1910 |
Demolished (1946) |
Belvidere Apartments |
275 Colony Street, Winnipeg |
1910 |
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Chevrier House |
104 Balmoral Street, Winnipeg |
1910 |
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Dingwall House |
52 Roslyn Road, Winnipeg |
1910 |
Demolished (?) |
Consolidated Plate Glass Warehouse |
375 Balmoral Street, Winnipeg |
1911 |
Demolished (?) |
Gooderham House (Harold Dean Gooderham) |
323 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg |
1911 |
Demolished (?) |
Nanton Block |
391 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg |
1911 |
Demolished (1985) |
Allan Killam McKay Building |
364 Main Street, Winnipeg |
1911-1912 |
Demolished (?) |
Boyd Building |
388 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg |
1912 |
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Kirkwood Block |
575 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg |
1912 |
Destroyed by fire (2022) |
Cadomin Building |
280 Main Street, Winnipeg |
1912 |
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Carlton Building |
354 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg |
1912 |
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Industrial Bureau Exposition Building |
Main Street at Water Avenue, Winnipeg |
1912 |
Demolished (?) |
Mac Building |
585 Ellice Avenue, Winnipeg |
1912 |
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Union Tower Building |
387 Main Street, Winnipeg |
1912 |
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All Souls Unitarian Church |
103 Furby Street, Winnipeg |
1913 |
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Merchants Bank |
1386 Main Street, Winnipeg |
1913 |
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Sunnycrest Apartments |
667 Wolseley Avenue, Winnipeg |
1913 |
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Union Trust Building |
191 Lombard Avenue, Winnipeg |
1913 |
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Tribune Building |
257 Smith Street, Winnipeg |
1913-1914 |
Demolished (1983) |
Ames Holden McCready Building |
318 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg |
1914 |
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Curry Building |
227-249 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg |
1915 |
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Lord Kitchener School |
1490 Henderson Highway, Winnipeg |
1915 |
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Lord Wolseley School |
939 Henderson Highway, Winnipeg |
1915 |
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Salisbury School No. 1 |
795 Prince Rupert Avenue, Winnipeg |
1915 |
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Bank of Hamilton |
395 Main Street, Winnipeg |
1916-1918 |
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St. George's Anglican Church |
168 Wilton Street, Winnipeg |
1916 |
Demolished (1957) |
Willys-Overland Building |
686 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg |
1916 |
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Lord Nelson School |
820 McPhillips Street, Winnipeg |
1917 |
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National Theatre (alterations) |
300 Fort Street, Winnipeg |
1917 |
Demolished (1930) |
Emerson Town Hall and Court House |
104 Church Street, Emerson, Municipality of Emerson-Franklin |
1917-1918 |
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Bank of Commerce |
315 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg |
1919 |
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Red Cross Lodge, Fort Osborne Barracks |
Tuxedo |
1919 |
Demolished (?) |
Alaska Bedding Warehouse (addition) |
129 Gomez Street North, Winnipeg |
1920 |
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Manitoba School for the Deaf |
500 Shaftesbury Boulevard, Winnipeg |
1921-1922 |
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Medical Arts Building |
Graham Avenue at Kennedy Street, Winnipeg |
1922-1923 |
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Hunter House |
105 Yale Avenue, Winnipeg |
1923 |
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See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Samuel Sinnott “Sam” Kennedy (1877-1961)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Bank of Toronto Building (456 Main Street, Winnipeg)
John D. Atchison Was Here by Gail Perry
Prairie History, Number 1, Winter 2020
Sources:
Birth registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Winnipeg’s big building development during 1908,” Winnipeg Tribune, 19 December 1908, page 31.
“New building for Garry Street,” Winnipeg Tribune, 9 May 1911, page 1.
“Building permits,” Manitoba Free Press, 5 July 1911, page 16.
1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
“Reach $5,000,000 mark,” Manitoba Free Press, 17 May 1911, page 10.
The Story of Manitoba by F. H. Schofield, Winnipeg: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1913.
The Leading Financial, Business & Professional Men of Winnipeg, published by Edwin McCormick, Photographs by T. J. Leatherdale, Compiled and printed by Stone Limited, c1913. [copy available at the Archives of Manitoba]
“Tenders for building,” Manitoba Free Press, 17 June 1914, page 2.
“East Kildonan building three fine new schools,” Manitoba Free Press, 30 April 1915, page 4.
“Society,” Winnipeg Tribune, 19 September 1923, page 8.
Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.
“Temple facade to get new life,” Winnipeg Free Press, 10 July 1985.
Crescentwood, A History by R. R. Rostecki, Winnipeg: Crescentwood Home Owners Association, 1993.
John Danley Atchison, Geni.
John Danley Atchison, FindAGrave.
We thank Nathan Kramer, Murray Peterson, and Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 25 August 2023
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