Written by Siqi Gao(Claire) 2022 Cohort
This Halloween week, we went to Roedde house museum on a field trip; I was amazed that the house is still beautiful after 100 years. It was built in 1893 for the family of Gustav Roedde, Vancouver’s first bookbinder. It is a restored cultural heritage building that recreates the daily life of a middle-class immigrant family in the last century.
During the trip, what impressed me the most was the house architect and designer, Francis Rattenbury, probably because I used to study landscape architecture, and I “felt” the interior.
I was most impressed by the kitchen and the second-floor closet; the design is very user-friendly; even after more than 100 years and people look again, there are still many places designers and residents can learn from.
The Roedde house is one of Francis Rattenbury’s works; his work is amongst the most memorable in the region, from the Vancouver art gallery to the Roedde House Museum, to the Chateau Lake Louise. The architectural style of the museum we visited was Victorian; as the industry developed rapidly at the time, the railroad and manufacturing boom brought more and more people into town, and a series of townhouses were built to solve people’s housing problems and save the land. Rattenbury was known for being picky and difficult to work with, but he commissioned many great projects in the area. His nickname was “Old Ratz” for a reason.
The cause of Francis Rattenbury’s death is still veiled in mystery. This talented architect was killed in 1935 after his move to England, and a carpenter’s mallet was the murder weapon. George Stoner, his wife’s lover, was found guilty of the crime. The extraordinary tale of sex, drugs, and betrayal was the basis for many books, a stage production in London, and television plays. An opera is currently being created. Some people continue to think that Mr. Rattenbury’s killer avoided capture. Even if the plot is rich, there is a fascinating possibility that his young wife, Alma Rattenbury, was the real murderer.
Source:
Victorian architecture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_architecture