Hidden Cities: Art and Design in Architectural Details of Vancouver and Victoria

Denise Jakal is an architecture writer in Edmonton.

Hidden Cities is a “photo survey” that celebrates the richness of
carved ornament found on historical buildings in British Columbia’s
largest cities. Author/photographer Edwards has assembled a plea for the
preservation of such buildings that expresses a wistful hope for the
return to the use of sculptural detail in architecture. Hidden Cities is
organized thematically—first by subject matter and then by style of
ornamental detail—for example, there is one part on “Lions” and a
later one on “Classical Motifs.” Within the parts is an awkward and
fragmented narrative that is difficult to follow, though it is
punctuated with interesting tidbits of historical data, anecdotes, and
speculation as to the meaning of specific motifs.

Hidden Cities cannot claim to make any contribution to the scholarly
study of architecture in Canada—and, indeed, scholars are not its
intended audience. The maps included at the back of the book, together
with “sightseeing tips,” encourage the average citizen to revel in
the unexpected sculptural delights to be found in Vancouver and
Victoria. Given the thematic nature of the first part of the book, it is
next to impossible to match the suggested walking tours with the
descriptive narrative. On the other hand, Edwards seems more interested
in making us look for ourselves than in directing our vision.

Although a light-hearted approach would seem to complement the book’s
intent, some of the narrative moves beyond the whimsical to the bizarre.
In one passage a pomegranate motif is tenuously linked to the birthplace
of Western theatre: Edwards informs us that a theatre was indeed
constructed next door—some seven years after the building bearing the
motif was completed.

In some places the book’s layout is confusing to the eye, and there
are occasional awkward passages of writing (for example, “while many
of the purely decorative motifs found upon the older styles of
architecture were taken from organic sources”). The “photo survey”
is well illustrated with both color and black-and-white photographs.