THE ADVOCATE 941
VOL. 79 PART 6 NOVEMBER 2021
LEGAL ANECDOTES
AND MISCELLANEA
By D. Michael Bain, Q.C.*
THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE AND DEATH OF FRANCIS MAWSON RATTENBURY
The Heritage Vancouver plaque on the side of the old Vancouver courthouse
(currently the Vancouver Art Gallery) tells only a fraction of the
story. “This Neoclassical building”, it says, “has massive ionic columns, a
central dome, formal porticos and ornately carved stonework. F.M. Rattenbury
won a design competition for the building in 1905. At the time he was
B.C.’s most prominent architect having also designed the Parliament Buildings
and the Empress Hotel in Victoria.” Apart from being a prominent
architect, what on earth could be so interesting about Rattenbury to inspire
* D. Michael Bain, Q.C., is the editor of the Advocate.