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Peter Heinrich (Henry) Caspari, architect, real estate developer (born 22 April 1908 in Berlin, Germany; died 1 October 1999 in Toronto, ON). After fleeing Nazi Germany, Caspari established himself as an architect in the United Kingdom before moving to Canada in 1951. (See also Canada and the Holocaust.) He is known for designing International Style, mid-century apartment complexes in Toronto and Calgary and is recognized as a major figure of architectural modernism in Canada. (See also Architectural History: 1914–1967.)
Early Life
Peter Caspari studied architecture at the Städtische Baugewerkschule in Berlin and graduated in 1931. He built a cenotaph in the Weissensee Cemetery, a Jewish cemetery, in Berlin in the 1930s. Caspari was politically active and opposed the Hitler Youth, an organization of the Nazi Party. One day, he received a tip from the family chauffeur that he was going to be arrested. He fled to Switzerland with his wife, Erika. His mother, Charlotte, soon joined them. The family’s vast wealth, including homes and businesses, was expropriated by the Nazis. (See also Canada and the Holocaust.)
Career in the UK
In July 1933, the family moved to London, United Kingdom, where Peter Caspari first worked for Davis Estates Ltd. and its subsidiary, Central London Building Company. Caspari’s architectural projects included residential houses and apartment buildings. By 1934, Caspari had established his own architectural practice.
His early London apartment blocks were in the Streamline Moderne style, a style characterized by curving horizontal lines with an aerodynamic and futuristic aesthetic. (See also Architectural History: 1914–1967.) Notable examples include: Weech Hall (1933) in Hampstead Gardens Suburb, Kingsley Court (1933–34) in Willesden, Grosvenor Court (1934) in Brondesbury, Crescent Court (1934) in Surbiton, West End Court (1935) in Hampstead Gardens Suburb, Greendale in Mill Hill, Middlesex, Greenbanks in Sudbury Hill, Middlesex, Cannons Park in Middlesex, and Glyn Court, Regent House in Euston. Later projects, such as Coleman Court in Wandsworth and Moss Hall Court in Finchley, evolved into the International Style, an architectural style dominated by angular lines. In 1939, he built houses in the St. John’s Wood suburb of London.
During the Second World War he volunteered for the Pioneer Corps, where he built anti-aircraft installations. In December of 1945, he was released from military service and he returned to work as an architect. In 1950 he built Woodgrange House, an office building, in the Borough of Ealing in London.
Career in Canada
In 1948, Caspari took an exploratory trip to North America to assess his career prospects. By 1951, he and his family had moved to Toronto, Canada.
After the Second World War, Canada experienced a housing shortage. Neighbourhoods in cities like Toronto required redevelopment to address population density and the demand for affordable housing. With experience building multi-residential apartments in the United Kingdom and more recently Canada, Caspari also had the financial support of backers in England, which would allow him to undertake private, large-scale development projects across Canada.
One of his early projects was the Brent Building (1953) in Regina, Saskatchewan, a two-storey commercial structure. Caspari also built Vincent Court (1953) and Buckingham Court (1954), two multi-unit apartment buildings in the International Style on Eglinton Avenue in Toronto. The Savoy-Plaza (1955) and Medical Arts Building (1955) in Edmonton are also examples of residential and commercial structures designed by Caspari.
His two largest multi-residential developments were built simultaneously in Toronto and in Calgary.
City Park Apartments, Toronto
The area enclosed by Wellesley, Jarvis, Wood and Yonge streets in the early 1950s contained derelict housing. In 1954, Caspari revealed plans for the largest private residential development in Toronto and Canada. Original plans for City Park Apartments included four 15-storey towers with 1,150 apartment units. The project was to be built on lands assembled in a single ownership and were enclosed by Alexander, Church, Wood and Yonge streets. The final development that opened to the public on 1 October 1955 comprised three 14-storey buildings with 774 apartment units, to allow for more green spaces and light.
Built in the International Style and using reinforced concrete to ensure fireproofing and soundproofing, the development included many modern amenities, including underground garages and power-operated garage doors. (See also Architectural History: 1914–1967.)
The apartments contained two-way speakers connected to the entrance vestibules along with remote controls to open the front doors. Caspari created design standards that exceeded the norm for apartment buildings in Toronto.
“The City Park Apartment complex was the first major high-rise residential development in Canada and is still considered by many architects and planners to be a signature example of high-rise, high-density planning.” – Peter Caspari fonds, City of Toronto Archives
Rideau Towers, Calgary
In 1954, Caspari revealed plans to build six six-storey apartment buildings on a barren escarpment overlooking the Elbow River and downtown Calgary. Rutland House was the first building to be completed in 1955, and it was followed by Cumberland, Devonshire and Renfrew houses, running along the eastern side of the escarpment. The remaining two buildings, on the west side of the Rideau Place cul-de-sac, were never completed. The development, known as Rideau Towers, was constructed during a period of economic transformation in Calgary triggered by the oil find in Leduc, Alberta, in 1947.
Built in the International Style, with ample green space between buildings, continuous slab balconies and large wall-length windows, the development contained underground heated garages and other conveniences similar to Toronto’s City Park Apartments. (See also Architectural History: 1914–1967.) The Rideau Towers were also the first buildings in Calgary to be constructed using suspended lift slab technology, a technique in which concrete is cast at ground level and raised into place.
The development received “Mention” in the category of “Apartment Houses” for the 1958 Massey Medals for Architecture. More recently, Rideau Towers has been recognized as representing Calgary’s move towards building luxury, multi-residential developments after the Second World War.
Before retiring, Caspari constructed other large-scale and ambitious projects, such as a the 34-storey commercial tower (1972) on 2 Bloor Street West in Toronto and the Sheppard Centre (1973–1974) at 4841 Yonge St, North York. As described in a 2014 article for the Globe and Mail, Caspari “left an incredible bricks-and-mortar legacy to his adopted city.”
Legacy
In building City Park Apartments and Rideau Towers, Peter Caspari raised the standard for multi-residential developments not only in terms of scale, but also in comfort and modern conveniences, which had not been known before in Canada. In 2021, Heritage Toronto unveiled a plaque commemorating the City Park Apartments, which contributed to the development of the city’s Church-Wellesley Village. Heritage Calgary also added Rideau Towers to that city’s Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources in 2006.
A Peter Caspari fonds, which pertains to his early works, is held at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal. Records of his British and later Canadian works are held at the City of Toronto Archives.
