“Brick, a ubiquitous object that inhabits the compositions of so many of the structures throughout our landscape; so commonplace, most likely do not often reflect on their history and the ways in which bricks are tied to the development of our capitalist systemic structures.”
- Sam Dodd, Architectural Ceramics: Boom and Bust Brick (summarized by Mychelle Moritz)
The clay brick is the most fundamental unit to the built environment of historic Canadian and American cities, representing resource extraction, industrial development, skilled labour, material culture, and the establishment of the nation’s first institutions. The brick’s simple form has only slightly evolved since its earliest known uses in Jericho (7000 BCE) and can be traced through nearly every human civilization. Many forms of this technology continue to be used worldwide, whether sun-baked, mixed with straw, or fired and glazed; various techniques exist across all cultures. Although adobe brick existed in North America long before colonization, British and Dutch colonizers brought the manufacturing of fired brick to America as early as the 17th century. As the colonies grew, brick remained chosen by builders and architects because of its superior building strength, longevity, fire and weather resistance, and the aesthetic value of its natural properties. The unglazed brick thus became the most common symbol of North American colonial structures, and through the inherent colour of the clay itself, it retains a reference to the original site of its extraction. Across North America, clay deposits vary due to the geologic processes that lead to their formation. Namely, the erosion of rock by rivers and rain, but also the sedimentary deposits caused by melting glaciers and deposits of volcanic ash. However, it is the process of colonialism that will shape the extraction of this resource, leaving a trail of brick manufacturing across the continent, linking the city to its landscape. This paper will explore how institutions were built to extract profit from the land and establish the colonial state. Bricks are used to build cheap and long-lasting structures, to house and protect us, and in doing so, lay the class divisions of our society.
Bricks are perhaps one of the most anthropomorphic building materials. Each one has a unique personality, burnt slightly differently by the kiln from which it was born. As a modular individual unit, fitting into the palm of a hand, it can be intuitively pressed into the mortar of a structure, one onto the other, until a wall is formed. This process of making bricks into structures has remained largely unchanged since it began in Jericho nearly 10,000 years ago. Industrialization has since brought about many technological efficiencies while also reducing carbon cost. In Canada, the principal fuel used in the manufacturing of clay brick is natural gas. However, brick yards still consume vast amounts of energy and are one of the largest stationary sources of black carbon.1 Kilns bricks are made using a special process and clay that fires to a pale yellow color. Organic matter is also added, which burns out, leaving insulating air pockets and creating a heat-resistant “soft-brick.” They are then used to build a numerous variety of kiln structures, each representing a functionalist architecture unique to the site. These places can be identified by their tall chimneys as they develop around cities or occasionally in remote areas where large clay deposits are available. Quarries and kiln yards are the birthplace of early colonial expansion and represent the need for extraction, expansion, and dominance of the landscape. The form of the brick, in this sense, perfectly encapsulates the Western desire to contort the natural realm, transforming the earth into a sharp rectangular form which is easily controlled and measured.
Left: Wikipedia contributors, “Present-day view of the Brickworks.” Don Valley Brick Works 2011.
Right: Jeffery J. Nichols, “Medalta Potteries.” Oct. 9, 2017.
Bottom: “Claybank – More Than Bricks and Mortar,” n.d.
To understand how bricks have carried colonization, various kiln yards will be analyzed as sites of extraction from which our modern institutions were born. Following the spread of kiln yards across Canada to understand where the landscape was extracted and for what purpose. Many of these sites are dysfunctional and abandoned today, with only a few scholars or community groups engaging their history. In Sam Dodd’s 2024 lecture from the online educational series A-B Projects, he offers an opportunity to reconsider, through brick, the stories we tell about places and objects. He points out that “bricks are easily replicated, produced and reproduced, and as entities are makers within the material making systems… Bricks are made in structures that make bricks… it takes bricks to make more bricks”1. When the colonists first came to the Americas, establishing the manufacturing of brick was crucial. Aboard the first voyages from England to Jamestown in the early 1600s were two bricklayers and a mason. Brick was also carried as both cargo and a stabilizer for the boats. Jamestown is now home to the oldest brick structures in North America, many of which are plantations, reflecting the colonial violence enacted upon both the landscape and the slaves whose manual labour was exploited.
In Eastern Canada, one of the largest and most important brick sites is the Don Valley Brickworks in Toronto, Ontario, which at its peak, employed the use of three types of brick production. A heritage review conducted by the City of Toronto in 2002 elaborates: “The Don Valley Brick Works was the longest operating brickworks in Toronto and Ontario. The company used the most advanced technical processes and equipment of the time, often simultaneously, and installed one of the earliest continuous kilns in Ontario.” This kiln style operates as a conveyor belt requiring a constant flow of material to produce bricks more rapidly and in larger quantities. It was also largely responsible for the reconstruction of the city following the Great Fire of 1904 and providing the brickwork for many large buildings such as Osgoode Hall, the Ontario Legislative Building, and Massey Hall.3
Arild Vågen, “Massey Hall,” Wikipedia, April 27, 2024.
Towards the prairies is the Claybank Brick Plant in Saskatchewan, where a rare type of fire clay was discovered. Fire clay can withstand high temperatures and is well-suited for fireplaces. Its discovery and subsequent connection to the Canadian Northern Railway in 1910 brought this special clay into use across Canadian and American Industries. It could soon be found lining the fireboxes of CN Rail and CP Rail locomotives as well as the boilers for Corvette warships produced during World War II. Additionally, the site contained a special colour of buff clay that was suitable as facing brick and was used extensively for the iconic Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City.
Bernard Gagnon, “Château Frontenac,” Wikipedia, May 7, 2024.
This type of orange brick comes from clay that formed with only a slight amount of iron. It isn’t as widespread as red brick and lends itself to the uniqueness of the Château which has become a national symbol for Canadian architecture. Continuing further west, we arrive in Medicine Hat, Alberta, where we find Canada’s longest continuously running brick and pottery plants. Presently, I-XL Industries, occupies an area which produced pottery, bricks, sewage pipes, and all sorts of ceramic products for over 100 years. Both natural gas and clay are plentiful at the site, and so the small community and many of its buildings are intimately connected to this historic industry.
Bricks establish a physical foundation for our homes as well as a visual foundation for our communities through their repeated use across a range of structures. What types of brick are available to a growing city makes for certain architectural trends and socio-economic conditions. Historically, in Montreal, the many ethnic communities have left their trace through their respective material choices: notably, the grey stone of many Irish apartments and institutions. One such example is the Saint Patrick's Basilica on René-Lévesque, a historic pillar for the Irish community. A primary example of socially-binding-bricks in Montreal is the association with red brick factories. Being the most readily available clay type, red brick was often used as a cheaper option for large historic factories such as the Molson Brewery and Canada Malting silos near Montreal’s Old Port.
CBC News. “How Old Are Each of Montreal’s Buildings?,” n.d.
Simultaneously, this red brick is the most common type for many apartments in Montreal’s historically working-class neighbourhoods such as Hochelaga. In this way, the red brick became a symbol of Canadian working class unity, finding use across the country in many schools, homes, and factories. It is even humble in its materiality: most red clay in Canada produces a low-fire brick, vitrifying at around 1100ºC, requiring less energy to produce.4
Engel & Völkers. “Montréal (Mercier/Hochelaga-Maisonneuve), QC,” n.d.
Analyzing the phases of Montreal’s public institutions, we can also trace various architectural trends through brick choice. During the interwar period, Montreal constructed many yellow brick institutions, such as schools and hospitals. This trend showcases the slow transformation from the Beaux Arts style seen in The High School of Montreal (1914), towards a more Art Deco style seen in l’Hôpital Notre-Dame (1924), École Primaire Supérieure du Plateau (1931), and Pavillon Roger-Gaudry, UdeM (1943). In the earlier buildings, such as The High School of Montreal, the combined use of yellow brick, stone blocks, and classical columns lends itself to the feeling of permanence that these institutions provide. Moving from the earlier stages of colonization to the development of a state, it was necessary to establish public institutions that would last multiple generations. The yellow brick resembles sandstone in these heavy facades, complementing the feeling of longevity with historical references. Its lighter tone also differentiates it from the cheaper red brick, establishing a hierarchy that these institutions sought to create.
Alexis Hamel. “Face School” (The High School of Montreal.) Montréal, Images, n.d. https://imtl.org/montreal/building/Ecole-Face.php?id=585.
Montreal student newspaper Le Campus provides an in-depth review of the Université de Montréal campus, which is largely made up of yellow brick buildings, stating: “The modest influence of Art deco can be read in the vertical elements of recessed brick and stone insertions. This yellow brick was preferred by institutions during this period, evidenced by its use in a significant number of institutional buildings in Côte-des-Neiges and around Mount Royal.” The Pavillon Roger-Gaudry is perhaps one of the most striking institutions to follow this trend. Sitting atop Mont-Royal, its yellow bricks, sourced from Ohio, bask in the sun and set a striking example for Quebec's public institutions. At the time of its construction, the Pavillon Roger-Gaudry was the largest university building in the world. With so many public works using this same type of brick, a strong statehood is cemented with this cohesive impression of French institutions. This effect continues to be important for political groups today, seeking to maintain a distinct Quebec identity within Canada.
Montréal, Images. “University of Montreal - Montreal,” n.d.
Being a port city, Montreal features a wide mixture of brick types and colours ranging from across North America. Its location along the Saint Lawrence River also situates it along a historic route of the early brick industry in Canada. The visual diversity of Montreal’s bricks in some ways represents its diverse communities. Comparatively, in rural Canadian cities such as Sarnia, Ontario, the same type of yellow brick, used on a smaller scale, has a unifying effect. Instead of being reserved to a particular type of structure, it is used across residential, community, and religious buildings. An obvious connection to the processing of local materials within the community is established, and the opposite effect of the yellow brick institutions of Montreal is achieved.
“St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church - Sarnia, Ontario - Presbyterian Churches On Waymarking.com,” n.d.
In Sarnia, buff yellow clay brick is shared between St. Andrew’s church, Mackenzie House, Bright’s Grove Library, and many more. This transforms the brick wall as a functionally divisive structure into a bridge between public and private space. Beginning as a practical solution for this community, using locally sourced yellow brick over the more expensive, imported red brick, it becomes a nostalgic symbol for this small town. Additionally, the yellow brick’s use across southern Ontario speaks to the history of colonial extraction as this material has nearly been totally exhausted by Canadian brickworks, or as is the case for Sarnia, where it now lies buried under their International Airport. How we choose to honour the natural landscape that birthed our communities speaks volumes to how the legacy of Canada acknowledges the lands that existed before colonization.
“Mackenzie House,” City of Sarnia, Feb. 23, 2017.
Within a city or community, we’ve seen how brick can establish both building typology and identity. We can also see how the departure from brick towards modern materials can also reflect racial and class hierarchies in American society and architecture. Following World War II and the establishment of the American suburb, many wealthy, predominantly white families reunited to find their cities in a dilapidated state. As many inner cities, particularly New York and Detroit, were continuously underfunded and overlooked by politicians with racist agendas, the cityscape fell further into ruin. Large apartment buildings were often burned down by landlords keen to cash out through insurance fraud. This culminated with the process of “white flight,” which further exacerbated this lack of economic activity in inner cities across America: “Between 1947 and 1963, Detroit lost approximately 150,000 manufacturing jobs to suburban factories.” This social division matched the visual divide between suburbs built in post-war white stucco style and inner cities filled with deteriorating brick tenements and factories: “Following World War II, societal trends started to pivot away from the use of brick in housing construction due to mid-century consumers’ desire for suburban homes that stood apart aesthetically from their urban counterparts.” The brick fell out of favour in America's new middle class and became a symbol of urban decay. This aesthetic difference further segregated the suburbs from the city. “This move out of Detroit proper created a large racial divide. The automotive industry employed many African American employees and offered fair wages… However, when African Americans attempted to make the move to suburban areas, they were widely rejected from home ownership, effectively forcing the workers to remain centralized in the inner city. This segregation led to tension and a series of riots in the city, most notably the 12th Street riot.”7 Across America, the brick was left behind to crumble, becoming a signifier for those who were left behind–who was and who was not allowed to live the American Dream was forcibly marked by the architecture of these communities. Large abandoned brick structures came to represent many American cities following the era of white flight. Frames of their former selves absent of windows and detailing, with just their brick shell left to the elements. The brick would represent a failed society, crumbling from the structure of its wall, available to be transformed into something new in the hands of those neglected and left behind.
John Fekner, “Urban decay. Falsas Promesas Broken Promises, Charlotte Street Stencils” Wikipedia, South Bronx, NY 1980.
During societal uprisings, bricks symbolize the deconstruction of this fundamental pillar of our lives. Their removal from a wall indicates the destruction of this wall. The ability to rebuild with old brick lends itself to new functions as a tool for resistance. The first brick thrown at the Stonewall Riots cemented it as a cultural symbol for queer communities fighting for a place in their cities. Even the brick wall can be re-appropriated as an empty canvas, providing a suitable surface for graffiti and political messages. This re-appropriation of bricks continuously occurs, as seen in 2023, where French protestors built a wall of cement blocks to prevent the construction of a new highway.
Photo: Christian Bellavia/SIPA (AP)
Brick has also been used by artists in order to transform public spaces. Albertan artist James Marshall uses the brick's permanence as a medium for public storytelling. These murals find their place in front of fire stations, on the fields of cemeteries, and integrated directly into the architecture of provincial buildings. These murals contribute greatly to the community's historical awareness. Bringing attention to the town’s historical brick industry, its colonial past, and more recent memorials such as the Riverside Veterans' Memorial Park where the community came together to pool its funds after a devastating flood in 1995. Although Marshall’s use of the brick interprets function in a way that isn’t limited to structure, it is still rooted in its colonial origin and, therefore, feels stuck in the past in some ways. Marshall’s first mural depicts the Legend of the Saamis, from which the City of Medicine Hat draws its name.17 This mural is located at the City Hall building and serves as a reminder to the workers here of the pre-colonial, indigenous history. However, this begs whether Marshall is the best artist to tell this story and if the brick, rooted in so much troubled history, is the best material to immortalize this myth.
“James Marshall, Brick Artist,” PBS, November 1, 2012.
"Legend of the Saamis," Legislative Hallway at City Hall.
Through all these interpretations, across disciplines, social class, and industrial history, the brick remains mostly unchanged compared to the earliest clay bricks produced by humans. Although it has become deeply entrenched by colonial history, its cultural identity extends far beyond this, and it remains available for recontextualization. The symbol of the brick contains a vast history within its continued use in modern structures. Each brick placed contains the mark of its maker and the hand of the bricklayer. The colour helps us trace the brick to its original clay deposit, and its surfacing helps identify how it was fired. A kiln powered by sawdust will produce a smokey brick, while a plain facade is likely produced in a more modern kiln using natural gas. As industrial efficiencies improved the modern brick, architects and planners were able to upscale their structures based on this widely available and reliable material. In any brick structure, one can usually spot natural variations in the clay or where repairs and additions have been made. On the other hand, a plain brick wall with no variations allows this material to blend in with the architectural form, distancing itself from its natural origin. Although bricks are no longer the first choice for modern structures, they remain a popular aesthetic choice for exterior facades. Their prolific use across Canadian and American cities will forever remain embedded in our cultural imaginations, holding a reference to their material extraction, colonial past, and the beginnings of our modern cities. If we are able to pay more attention to this material and the sites that transformed the landscape into our institutions, we may better understand our own societal structures and the divisions they produce. Additionally, their durability means that even if our homes and institutions lie in ruins, the bricks will survive in a pile, awaiting the day they will be cleaned up, mortared and laid once more to build again.
Works Cited
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Architectural Digest. “Architect Explores Chicago’s Hidden Architecture & History | Walking Tour | Architectural Digest,” November 15, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nualB4Fl88k.
Alexis Hamel. “Face School” (The High School of Montreal). Montréal, Images, n.d. https://imtl.org/montreal/building/Ecole-Face.php?id=585.
Boyle, Andrew, “The Rise, Fall, and Resurgence of the Detroit Auto Industry (1898-2014),” August 8, 2023. https://www.cjponyparts.com/resources/death-motor-city-infographic.
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Cameron, Christina, Claudine Déom, and Nicole Valois. Le Campus : Le Patrimoine Architectural et Paysager de l’Université de MontréAl = the Architectural and Landscape Heritage. Montréal QC: Presses de l’Université de Montréal, 2010. http://books.openedition.org/pum/6920.
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Flood, Joe. “Why The Bronx Burned.” New York Post, May 16, 2010. https://nypost.com/2010/05/16/why-the-bronx-burned/.
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“Mackenzie House”, City of Sarnia, Feb. 23, 2017.
https://www.facebook.com/cityofsarnia/photos/mackenzie-house-316-christina-st-n-sarniaheritagethis-house-was-built-by-alexand/1243840532378859/?paipv=0&eav=AfYlloUXsmV9gsy5fa-xcQI9l02XlfsXt8CgyHj4YioiXFGFjwZ7gW0XWXZdToYwKjw&_rdr
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Wikipedia contributors. “Medalta Potteries.” Wikipedia, January 23, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medalta_Potteries.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claybank_Brick_Plant.