When you set to work assembling the entries for this bibliography, what surprised you about what you found?

I began assembling a collection of entries on New Brunswick architecture back in 2006 when I was writing my first major book on the subject. They’ve been amassing ever since, and their subjects inevitably make me ask myself why so few people—especially New Brunswickers—are aware of the range and qualities of the built environment around these parts. Getting people interested about architecture and architectural history is not simply about dates and facts but about human stories (sometimes modest, but real nonetheless) and aspiring to achieve cultural worth. For example, here’s a passage from my foreword:

“Who knew that a Catholic church in a small town on the Northumberland Strait is linked to one of the most famous modern buildings in Mexico? Or that the cover of a Minnesota architect’s recent monograph features one of the world’s most celebrated houses of the new millennium on the rocky shore of the Bay of Fundy? There’s also the contribution of New Brunswick architects outside our borders: the Albert County-born Reid brothers who, after moving to California well over a century ago, became known for designing San Diego’s famous Hotel del Coronado and San Francisco’s ‘Call Building’ skyscraper; and John Medley, the Anglican Bishop of Fredericton, whose efforts contributed significantly to the spread of Gothic Revival church architecture throughout North America. All of these stories can be found in the published sources listed in this volume.”

What kinds of readers do you think might find this book useful and interesting?

I wrote the book with the goal of making something that was compelling and eye-opening rather than simply a listing of source information, and I hope that I’ve achieved this. Most of the bibliography entries have a brief descriptive element that describes the building’s story and suggests why we should care. Architecture surrounds us at every turn, and with the rise in consciousness around issues such as sustainability, historic preservation and focusing on ‘the local’, architecture touches our communities in ways far beyond our notions of the antiquated, the monumental or the beautiful. There is deep merit in thinking about the cultural aspects of industrial sites, bridges, barns and fishing huts. They have much to tell us who we were, who we are and who we want to be.

I also hope that readers will feel that there are places and chapters that speak to them, and that I list places of value that may have been otherwise overlooked until this book. From New Brunswick’s major cities to its smallest of communities, there is no corner of the province that isn’t explored. And it was important to me that sources dealing with French/Acadian architecture and Indigenous architecture/material culture were present. By gathering all these materials together into a book, I hope that I’ve been able to highlight the richness of New Brunswick’s architecture and to encourage readers to treat this legacy with the respect and care it deserves.