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Upland Gates
(1. Beach Drive at
Thorpe Place 2. Uplands Road at Cadboro Bay Road 3. Beach Drive at
Cadboro Bay Road)
In 1907, the Franco-Canadian Trust Company and its
subsidiary, Uplands Ltd., began development of 465
acres, formerly the Hudson’s Bay Company
Uplands Farm established in 1851. The company engaged John Olmstead of
Olmstead Brothers - foremost North American landscape architects - who
designed New York’s Central Park and Mount Royal Park in Montreal,
to design the subdivision. Francis Mawson Rattenbury as company architect,
was responsible for building design approval.
The gates were commissioned in 1912 and designed by architects
Jennings and Boulanger as part of a promotional plan, in conjunction
with the Uplands
development. Their intent was not one of protection – as we see in
today’s gated communities – but rather to signify the status
of properties within the gates. John Olmstead disapproved of their construction,
believing them meaningless, given that eight roads lead into the Uplands.
The three sets of gates are unique in design and purpose. Each set of gates
is different, while having certain design features and proportions in common.
The original architectural plans called for posts to be made of concrete,
with iron connecting pieces and bronze plaques. However, the south-east
gates at Beach and Thorpe place are constructed of granite block, linked
to smaller posts by a curved iron fence:
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the south-west gates at Uplands and Cadboro Bay Road are concrete
panels, of similar design and proportion: the north Beach
Drive set, similar
in design to the concrete south–west gates, but without the
secondary posts and iron connections.
The Uplands Gates are a significant landmark within Oak
Bay, defining the properties known as “The Uplands” and
providing a sense of status to the community. The gates
are on their original sites and are
structurally sound. The eastern pillar at the North Gates received substantial
damage from an automobile accident, but was recently restored by Stewart
Monumental, using the original Jennings and Boulanger design.
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