McIntosh Memorial
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
The McIntosh Memorial is a one-storey Period Revival pavilion with heavy timber posts, half-timbering and a high-pitched shingle roof. It is situated on a steeply sloping landscaped site at the Kamloops Lookout on Columbia Street West, with expansive views of Kamloops.
HERITAGE VALUE
The McIntosh Memorial, built in 1932, is significant for its association with James McIntosh (1843-1901), an influential Kamloops pioneer, businessman and community leader. Born in Ottawa, McIntosh came to Kamloops in 1865, where he was employed by the Hudson's Bay Company. McIntosh purchased land, helped build the first paddlewheeler in the region, established flour and sawmills, and installed the city's first waterworks and light system. He was also involved in the community, serving as the first magistrate, an alderman, first president of the Board of Trade and chairman of the board of the Royal Inland Hospital. His efforts led him to become known as the ‘King of Kamloops.’ Commissioned by the Rotary Club to commemorate McIntosh’s community efforts, this memorial was originally situated on the west end of Nicola Wagon Road, where it was unveiled in a ceremony on September 15, 1932. The McIntosh Memorial was moved to its current location on Columbia Street West in 1989.
The McIntosh Memorial is further valued as an example of the work of prominent Kamloops architect Iain R. Morrison (1906-1954). Born in Kent, England, Morrison opened an office in Kamloops in 1932, where he worked until his death at the age of forty-eight. The McIntosh Memorial includes traditional British stylistic elements, and is a noteworthy example of the romantic traditionalism popular between the First and Second World Wars.
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
Key elements that define the heritage character of the McIntosh Memorial include its:
- prominent location at a public lookout
- form, scale and massing, as expressed by its one-storey height, rectangular plan, central washroom core, central roof vent and steeply-pitched gabled roof
- wood-frame construction, with heavy timber posts and arched brackets made of local spruce, and cedar shingle roof
- elements of the Period Revival influence, as expressed in traditional details such as half-timbering, flared roof edges and waney-edged boards (bark-edged) in the gable peaks
From Historic Places Canada