Parr and Fee was an architectural partnership in Vancouver, Canada

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

 that functioned from 1899 to 1912.

John Edmeston Parr

John Edmeston Parr (1856-1923) was born in London, England

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, the son of architect Samuel Parr. After attending preparatory school in Gravesend, England

Gravesend, Kent

Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...

, he articled in his father’s firm, Parr & Strong. He later become a partner and the firm’s name was changed to Parr, Strong & Parr.

Parr left England in approximately 1888, living in Los Angeles, Seattle, Winnipeg, and Victoria, before settling in Vancouver in 1896. He opened a solo practice in Vancouver in 1896, and in 1897 formed a partnership with Samuel Maclure

Samuel Maclure

Samuel Maclure was a Canadian architect in British Columbia, Canada from 1890 to 1920. He was born in Sapperton, New Westminster, British Columbia on 11 April 1860. He studied painting at the Spring Garden Institute, Philadelphia, PA from 1884-5. He was a self-taught architect...

 (1860-1929). Parr’s short-lived partnership with Maclure lasted until Parr partnered with Thomas Fee in 1899.

In 1912, Parr left the partnership to form a new firm, Parr, Mackenzie, & Day (John Mackenzie and John Charles Day), which functioned until 1918.

Thomas Arthur Fee

Thomas Arthur Fee (1860-1929) was born in Drummond County, Quebec

Drummond Regional County Municipality, Quebec

Drummond is a regional county municipality in central Quebec, Canada. The regional county municipality seat is Drummondville.-Communities:*Cities & Towns**Drummondville*Municipalities**Durham-Sud**L'Avenir**Lefebvre**Saint-Bonaventure...

. He contracted polio as a child, and needed to use leg braces his entire life. Fee learned the profession while working for Harry Wild Jones

Harry Wild Jones

Harry Wild Jones was a popular Minneapolis, Minnesota-based architect who designed throughout the country and the world. Born two years before the start of the American Civil War, Jones, a twelfth generation New Englander, took his place on the American architectural stage in the late 19th century...

, an architect in Minneapolis.

Like many hotel architects of the era, Fee was both architect (with Parr) and owner of some of the hotels which he helped to design. When the firm of Parr and Fee was dissolved in 1912, Fee left the architectural profession to pursue other interests. He gained notoriety for opposing Canada’s involvement in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 and for promoting the idea that British Columbia should join the United States.

Notable Commissions

(All are in Vancouver unless otherwise specified; all are extant unless otherwise specified.)

In chronological order:

• Thomson Block (1898), 339 West Hastings Street.
• McDowell, Atkins & Watson Company Building (1899), 300 Cambie Street. Now Cambie Hostel.
• Ralph Block (1899), 126 West Hastings Street.
• Fee House (1904), 1119 Broughton Street. Designated as a heritage building by the City of Vancouver; now integrated into a newer condo building.
• Hotel Martinique (1906), 1160 Granville Street, now Howard Johnson Hotel.
• Third Malkin Warehouse (1907), 55-57 Water Street. The western section, designed by Parr and Fee, was built in 1907. J.M. McLuckie (1860-1927) designed the eastern section, built in 1912. This is now used for retail and condominiums, known as 55 Water.
• Manhattan Apartments (1908), 784 Thurlow Street at Robson Street, commissioned by lumber magnate William Lamont Tait.
• Dunsmuir Hotel (1908), 500 Dunsmuir Street at Richards Street. Now Dunsmuir International Village Student Housing.
• Hotel Europe (1909), 43 Powell Street.
• Stadcona Apartments (1909), 601 Bute Street.
• 410 West 12th Avenue (1909). House with a domed tower, a feature frequently used by Parr and Fee.
• Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church (1909), 2525 Carolina Street, now a condominium project. Designated as a heritage building by the City of Vancouver.
• Dufferin Hotel (1910), 900 Seymour Street at Smithe Street. Now Moda Hotel.
• Glen Brae House (1910), 1690 Matthews Street. Designated as a heritage building by the City of Vancouver. This mansion was commissioned by William Lamont Tait, a lumber magnate, and was noted for having a ballroom on its third floor, the floor underlaid with seaweed. The building is now Canuck Place, a hospice for children.
• Glenaird Hotel (1910), 1018 Granville Street, later Global Village Backpackers, now Samesun Backpackers Lodge.
• Hotel Barron (1911), 1002 Granville Street, later Belmont Hotel, now Comfort Inn.
• Vancouver Block (1912), 736 Granville Street. Designated as a heritage building by the City of Vancouver. The building was commissioned by Dominic Burns who had a two-story penthouse apartment at the top of the structure.
• Washington Hotel (1912), 177-179 East Hastings Street. Also known as Hotel Maple and Hastings Hotel. Designated as a heritage building by the City of Vancouver.