DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE

Wm. Notman & Son, Musée McCord Museum, II-297450, Amy Redpath Roddick lived in the family home until her death in 1954. This image shows her some twenty years after the shootings. For more information about this image please click here

The Redpath family home at 1065 Sherbrooke Street West, corner Redpath St., was typical of Square Mile family homes. Unfortunately for us the house was demolished in 1955, which means we must rely on photographs and descriptions for information on the design of the building. Designed by Montreal architect John James Browne, the Redpath house was one of about a dozen Redpath houses occupying a vast plot of land stretching from Sherbrooke Street to present-day Dr. Penfield Avenue.

Clifford’s father John James Redpath, who died in 1884, was less interested than his brother Peter in the business of refining sugar. Still, the economic status of the John James and Ada Redpath family home, where the tragedy of 1901 took place, was evident through its architecture. How does the Redpath house express the wealth of its inhabitants? What does the arrangement of a house tell us about people's lives? What was the purpose of the large rooms on the main floor? Who worked in them and who lived in them? Where were the real working rooms of the house, such as the laundry room and the kitchen?

Since we have no drawings or photographs of the house from 1901, we look to the Redpaths’ closest neighbour for clues about the building. The David Morrice house was also designed by Browne in 1870. Can you guess from the photos which rooms were for men and which for women? Were there special rooms for children? Where did servants sleep?

Diaries, Journals or Reminiscences

Journal Articles

Unknown, John James Browne - Obituary, The Canadian Architect and Builder, August 31, 1893

Newspaper or Magazine Articles

Photographs, Paintings or Drawings