Jean Wallbridge was born in Edmonton in 1912. She was privately educated, first in Edmonton, then in Victoria, Switzerland, and England, and afterwards, she enrolled at the University of Alberta in an architecture program. She was one of four women to earn a Bachelor of Applied Sciences degree in the entirety of the twenty-seven years of the program. She graduated in 1939 and also received a Bachelor of Arts the following year. Fresh out of university, her first job was with the architectural firm of Rule Wynn and Rule. Wallbridge then went on to spend the World War II years working in New Brunswick with the Town Planning Commission in St. John. Upon her return to Edmonton in 1946, Wallbridge began to work as a draughtsman in the department of the City Architect and Inspector of Buildings.

Mary Imrie was born in Toronto in 1918. She moved to Edmonton with her family in 1921. She enrolled at the University of Alberta in 1938 but was only able to complete a year in the Architecture program when the retirement of Professor Cecil Burgess abruptly ended the program; Burgess had earlier taught Wallbridge. Imrie was able to transfer and enrol as a second-year student in the architecture program at the University of Toronto. Imrie often returned home to Edmonton in the summers, where she found employment in the office of Rule Wynn and Rule. After completing her degree, she worked briefly in Toronto, then in Vancouver, before returning to Edmonton in 1944, where she was employed with the City Architect and Inspector of Buildings from 1946 to 1950. Whether through fate or circumstance, Imrie and Wallbridge found each other.

The impeccable work record of Wallbridge and Imrie spoke for itself; the City Architect recommended they be given a three-month study leave for a working tour of Europe. The tour was comprised of architects from across North America, intended to study the devastation of the war and subsequent architectural reconstruction. Wallbridge and Imrie were the only Canadians chosen to participate in the study group. This accomplishment was celebrated in the local press, with an article about their trip itinerary and study plans—and luggage. One wonders if the Edmonton Journal would have devoted an entire paragraph to the difficulties of packing had it been two male architects.

The European excursion proved to be invaluable for their careers. Not long after their return to the city, Max Dewar, City Architect and their boss, recommended their wages be increased—to $3000/year. Dewar told the City Commissioner, “Although these two persons are ladies, I see no reason why they should be treated differently than male employees.” The Commission declined on the grounds they couldn’t justify “more than two registered architects.” Dewar suggested a compromise in which the city would make Wallbridge a “Technical Assistant in Town Planning” and Imrie a “Junior Architect.” Not long after, Dewar quit the City and entered into private practice. Subsequently, Wallbridge and Imrie resigned from their positions, intending to carry out a year of travel and personal research in South America.

When the world travellers returned from their research trip, they opened a downtown office of their own at 8 Merrick Block. The practice, called “Architects Folles,” followed the larger trend of women in architecture, which mainly involved taking on the projects male architects wouldn’t do. Here, their time with the City Architect served them well. They knew some of the loopholes that builders needed to jump through, and their expertise in navigating city bureaucracy earned them their first commission: three medium-sized apartment buildings. These stand today as the Queen Mary apartments on 109 Avenue.

Wallbridge and Imrie remained in business for over thirty years, taking on 224 projects, only 23 of which were commercial projects. The rest of the work involved designing private residences and other domestic projects. Most other Edmonton (male) architects viewed domestic work as non-lucrative, especially given the extensive consultation time needed with clients. Imrie acknowledged this fact in a 1954 letter to her former professor, stating, “That is probably one of the disadvantages of being female. People will get us to do their houses, be thrilled with them, and go to larger male firms for their warehouses and office buildings.”

That clients were happy with the work of Wallbridge and Imrie wasn’t in doubt. One client suggested how other architects could learn from them, particularly their “ability to combine business with pleasure. You didn’t feel as if they were punching a time clock.” Another stated, “they listened and they advised” and was amazed at “how they could produce a house that pleased us so well with so little instruction.” Even other architects noted their skills, one saying, “they were quick to understand what was wanted and able to interpret that architecturally.” He thought Wallbridge and Imrie “enjoyed doing houses, chiefly because they enjoyed people, and I think the two go hand in hand.”

Wallbridge and Imrie’s firm received the Canadian Housing Design Council Award in 1957, the same year they closed their downtown office and built a new home and office in one. This property, called Six Acres, would be home for the rest of their lives. Also in 1957, the two took another overseas trip, this time to Afghanistan, northern India, and the Middle East. This trip was also extensively documented, and all of their many travel diaries were later donated to the Provincial Archives of Alberta.

In September of 1979, Jean Wallbridge passed away from cancer. Two days later, Imrie closed their firm. She finished her last project and retired from architectural practice. One more trip awaited Imrie: a 1980 return to South America and the Amazon.

After Imrie’s death in 1989, Six Acres was bequeathed to the Alberta Recreation, Parks, and Wildlife Foundation. A wetland reserve at the Devonian Botanical Garden bears her name. The Canadian Architect noted that “it is a bittersweet epitaph that she may be better remembered for this contribution to Alberta’s natural heritage than for her contribution to Canadian architecture.”

Elna Nash, a friend of the couple, related how the women's personalities were as important to note as their architectural accomplishments. Nash spent many a Sunday afternoon with the two at their home in Six Acres and recalled them both as tomboys, “especially Mary,” she said. “She had to be pretty tough to survive in this world,” Nash related, not only could Wallbridge and Imrie out-design most men, but they could also out-drink and out-golf them. Their home at Six Acres reflected the simplicity with which they lived their lives. They had both grown up with wealth and privilege but had rejected it. The only signs of their status could be found in their many trips.

A cousin of Imrie, Mark Slater, related how “Mary Louise was always looking to help people who couldn’t help themselves. That’s why she and her partner focused on schools and hospitals. I think they all felt a great sense of accomplishment while doing it, and on top of it, at the end, what a legacy she left.”

A tribute from the Province of Alberta noted: “the ingenuity, energy and exuberance of Mary Louise Imrie and her partner, Jean Wallbridge, coupled with the soundness of their architectural projects, attracted a large circle of business and professional people who soon became friends and admirers.” A love whose name may not have been able to be publicly spoken at the time has forever left an imprint on our city, environment, and hearts.