Andrew R. Cobb

Andrew Randall Cobb (1876- 1943) was an architect and urban planner. In his day, Cobb was the most renowned architect in Atlantic Canada. He is one of the first graduates of the Ecole des Beaux Arts (Paris, France) to practice architecture in Atlantic Canada.

His homes are famous for their comfortable interiors, well-crafted details and built-in furniture. As an urban planner he created towns using garden city design techniques.

Major works:

• The plan, and many of the buildings, for the Dalhousie University Campus.
• Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia - EMMERSON HALL, built in 1913, is particularly interesting for the variety of building stones used. In 1967 Emmerson Hall was converted to classrooms and offices for the School of Education. It is a registered Heritage Property.
• Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia - HORTON HOUSE, designed by Andrew R. Cobb in the Georgian style, and built by James Reid of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia was opened in 1915 as Horton Academy. Today, Horton House is a co-educational residence.
• Theatre has been performed on the site of Neptune Theatre in Halifax, Nova Scotia since 1915. Originally known as the Strand Theatre, it is reputed to be the first vaudeville house designed and built specifically as a theatre.
• Dartmouth, Nova Scotia - Greenvale School: After a fire in 1914, the new school was built and reopened in April 1915. Built by Rhodes and Curry of Amherst, Nova Scotia, it was built so well that it withstood the Halifax Explosion of 1917, and used as an infirmary and a sanctuary for the homeless after the Halifax Explosion. One of few schools that remained operational after the Halifax Explosion. Dozens of trees were planted more than 100 years ago, and they are now protected as heritage trees. Greenvale School has a list of firsts, including the FIRST kindergarten class in Canada. It was Dartmouth's FIRST high school in 1934.
• Dartmouth, Nova Scotia - First Baptist Church, built in 1922, replaced the original church, built in 1843 and destroyed in the 1917 Explosion. The stones used are rubble stone and the walls are 30-inches thick, which enabled the building to withstand the concussions of another explosion (at the military magazine) in July 1945 without damage.
• Truro, Nova Scotia - 710 Prince Street - This is an example of a well-designed and well-crafted Tudor Revival House built in 1924 for Frank and Emmie Lewis of Lewis Ltd. As-of 2000, the house is used by Burchell MacDougall for their offices.
• Corner Brook, Newfoundland[?] - the largest commission of his career, he designed the houses for the city as it was being developed for the Newfoundland Pulp and Paper Company[?]. Many of the structures were inspired by the Arts and Crafts Movement. Townsite, as the development was known, contained over 175 houses.
• Corner Brook, Newfoundland[?] - The Glynmill Inn, designed in 1923 and constructed by the English firm of Armstrong-Whitworth Co., is certainly the town's best-known building. Early in the 1920's Armstrong-Whitworth Company Limited of England decided that their senior staff required living quarters that would enable them to feel at home while they were supervising construction of what was, up to that time, the largest project ever undertaken in the history of paper making. In 1923, Cobb designed the Tudor-style "Staff House" and in his honor the street leading to it was named Cobb Lane. A spot was reserved for the inn on the outskirts of Corner Brook between the town and the mill. Glynmill Inn is the finest building of its type in Western Newfoundland, and one of the best examples of a Tudor-inspired building in the province. The original Tudor Style half-timbering is still in place. The interior design was influenced by the Craftsman Style and remains relatively intact with few alterations.

External Document

• Architecture and Planning of the Townsite Development Corner Brook 1923-5 (http://www.heritagefoundation.ca/townsite.pdf)