CURRIER, James Monroe (1818-1893) of Springfield, Mass. designed several works in Canada, the most notable of which now serves as the official residence of the Prime Minister of Canada in Ottawa. Situated at 24 Sussex Drive, the original Gothic mansion was built in 1867 for the lumber baron and MPP Joseph M. Currier, brother of the architect. The house remained in private hands until 1949 when the federal government acquired the property and, under the supervision of the DPW Chief architect Gustave Brault, made extensive alterations and additions to the house so that it bore little resemblance to the original dwelling (Andrew Waldron, Exploring the Capital: An Architectural Guide to the Ottawa-Gatineau Region, 2017, 122-23, illus. & descrip.)
Currier was born in North Troy, Vermont on 27 August 1818 and worked as a carpenter's apprentice in Manchester, N.H. and in Palmer, Mass. From 1853 to 1873 he worked as carpenter and builder with the firm of Currier & Richards in Springfield and was listed variously as 'architect' or 'architect and builder' from 1859 until 1877. In June 1877 he moved to Canada and opened an office in Saint John, N.B. shortly after the Great Fire there on 20 June 1877. He formed a partnership with John L. Faxon of Boston, but their collaboration lasted only a few months and was dissolved in January 1878 (Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 3 Jan. 1878, 1, advert.). Currier remained in Saint John until late 1879 then returned to Springfield. His works there included Abbe's Block, the Oak Street School, and large residences for Dr. Brooks, George Dyutton and A.S. Dwelly. He also designed public libraries at Brattleboro, Vt., at Winchester, N.H. and at Pittsfield, Mass. Currier died in Springfield on 26 July 1893 (obit. and port. Springfield Graphic, 29 July 1893, 3-4; biog. & list of works Leading Manufacturers & Merchants of Central & Western Massachusetts, 1886, 214; inf. Edward Lonergan, Springfield, Mass.)
J.M. CURRIER
OTTAWA, ONT., mansion for Joseph M. Currier, Sussex Drive, New Edinburgh, 1867; major alterations and additions, 1950 (Ottawa Citizen, 1 Nov. 1867, 3, descrip.; J.C. Bond, City on the Ottawa, 1967, 41; H. Kalman, Exploring Ottawa, 1983, 130-1, illus.)
CURRIER & FAXON
SAINT JOHN, N.B., residence for A.L. Palmer, Queen Street facing Queen Square, 1877 (Daily News [Saint John], 18 Dec. 1877, 3)
SAINT JOHN, N.B., residence for P.J. O'Keefe, Brittain Street, 1877 (Daily News [Saint John], 31 Dec. 1877, 3)
J.M. CURRIER
SAINT JOHN, N.B., Palmer Chambers, Princess Street near Germain Street, commercial block, 1878-79 (Daily Sun [Saint John], 28 Jan. 1879, 3, descrip.)