Beaugrand-Champagne, Aristide

BEAUGRAND-CHAMPAGNE, Aristide (1876-1950) was born in St. Anicet, Que. on 27 November 1876 and studied at College Ste. Marie. In 1902-04 he commenced a career in Montreal as a landscape architect and designer of gardens, cemeteries and public thoroughfares. He took courses in architecture through the International Correspondence School and studied under Max Doumic at the Ecole Polytechnique where he graduated in 1911. He also lectured in building construction there and commenced practice under his own name in 1912. He holds the distinction of having designed the first Roman Catholic church in Quebec constructed entirely in reinforced concrete. Modeled after the historic La Madonna dell'Orto Church in Venice but executed in a modern re-interpretation of the Byzantine style, his design for St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church, Montreal was a radical departure from the standard cruciform plan of virtually every other church in the province. Beaugrand-Champagne continued this experiment with forms and materials nearly a decade later in Amos, Que. with his daring scheme for Ste. Therese d'Avila Roman Catholic Church (1923-24) which incorporates a hemispherical dome spanning nearly one hundred feet.

In 1924 he helped to form the Ecole des Beaux Arts School in Montreal and later served as dean of the faculty there. He also held the post of Secretary-General of the Royal Architectural Inst. of Canada and was the first president of the Montreal Town Planning Commission. At the time of his death on 16 December 1950 he was chief of the Board of Assessors of Outremont (obit. La Presse [Montreal], 18 Dec. 1950, 13; Gazette [Montreal], 18 Dec. 1950, 31; biog. and port. R.A.I.C. Journal, xxii, Dec. 1945, 269)

Aristide BEAUGRAND-CHAMPAGNE (works in Outremont)

DUROCHER AVENUE, residence for A. Bolduc, 1912-13 (Outremont b.p. 725, 6 Nov. 1912)
BLOOMFIELD AVENUE, residence for the architect, 1922 (Outremont b.p. 1508, 16 May 1922; R.A.I.C. Journal, xviii, April 1941, 66, illus.; Montreal, Les Residences, 1987, 64-5, illus.)
McDOUGALL AVENUE, residence for D.C. Bourgoin, 1925 (Outremont b.p. 1973, 22 Sept. 1925)
STUART AVENUE, row of four triplex houses for J. Rosario Loyer, 1927-28 (Outremont b.p. 2292, 2 Nov. 1927)
OUTREMONT TOWN HALL, Ste. Catherine Road at Davaar Avenue, major addition, 1928 (Outremont b.p. 2361, 11 May 1928; Montreal, Les Residences, 1987, 48-51, illus.)
BLOOMFIELD AVENUE, residence for J.O. Lacroix, 1928 (Outremont b.p. 2394, 6 June 1928)
DOLLARD AVENUE, row of three triplex houses for Loyer & Dufresne, 1928 (Outremont b.p. 2414, 5 July 1928)
COTE STE. CATHERINE ROAD, residence for Alfred Lacroix, 1929 (Outremont b.p. 2574, 6 July 1929)
COTE STE. CATHERINE ROAD, residence for William E. Williams, 1929 (Outremont b.p. 2610, 7 Oct. 1929; Montreal, Les Residences, 1987, 757, illus.)
KELVIN AVENUE, two houses for J.P. Tremblay, 1929-30 (Outremont b.p. 2627 and 2628, 12 Nov. 1929)
LORD MELCHETT APARTMENTS, Stuart Avenue at Van Horne Avenue, for Kahan & Nathanson, 1930 (Outremont b.p. 2668, 12 May 1930)
DOLLARD AVENUE, row of five triplex houses for Kahan & Nathanson, 1930 (Outremont b.p. 2699, 12 Sept. 1930)
WISEMAN APARTMENTS, Wiseman Avenue, 1930 (Outremont b.p. 2706, 9 Oct. 1930)
SPRING GROVE CRESCENT, residence for Henry Nathanson, 1933 (Outremont b.p. 2853, 27 Jan. 1933)
CHAMPAGNEUR AVENUE, duplex house for Mrs. M. Mallin, 1949 (Outremont b.p. 4430, 21 Jan. 1949)
SPRING GROVE CRESCENT, residence for Marcel Piche, 1949-50 (Outremont b.p. 4609, 14 Dec 1949)

Aristide BEAUGRAND-CHAMPAGNE (works in Montreal)

MOUNT ROYAL PARK, outdoor cafe, public Lookout, and outdoor terrace at the summit, 1903-05 (Montreal Daily Star, 5 Aug. 1903, 1, descrip.; and 6 Aug. 1903, 1, illus. & descrip.; Gazette [Montreal], 6 Aug. 1903, 5, descrip.; La Presse [Montreal], 13 Sept. 1905, 7, illus. & descrip.; and 16 Sept. 1905, 19, illus. & descrip.; Montreal Daily Star, 22 Sept. 1905, 14, illus. & descrip.). The commission was later given to Marchand & Haskell working with E. & W.S. Maxwell in 1906.
ST. EUSEBE DE VERCEIL ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, Fullum Street, begun 1913-14; completed in 1919-21 by J.H. Caron (Montreal, Les Eglises, 1981, 194-7, illus.)
ST. MICHAEL'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, St. Urbain Street at St. Viateur Street, 1914-15 (C.R., xxviii, 15 July 1914, 910, illus. & descrip.; and xxix, 1 Sept. 1915, 900-01, illus. & descrip.; Const., xvi, Jan. 1916, 18-20, illus. & descrip.; Building News [London], cx, 28 June 1916, 634, descrip. & plate illus.; Montreal, Les Eglises, 1981, 336-9, illus.; H. Kalman, History of Canadian Architecture, 1994, 728, illus. & descrip.)
ACADEMIE NOTRE DAME, Fairmont Avenue, addition for Nurse's Residence, 1919 (Montreal, Les Edificies Scolaires, 1980, 166)
ACADEMIE QUERBES, Bloomfield Avenue, addition of a gymnasium, 1925 (Montreal, Les Edifices Scolaires, 1925, 192-5)
MOUNT ROYAL PARK, restaurant chalet, 1931 (C.R., xlv, 18 Feb. 1931, 51; Montreal, Les Edifices Publics, 1981, 56-61, illus.)
WESTMOUNT, residence for P. Prescesky, Westmount Boulevard at Sydenham Avenue, 1931 (C.R., xlv, 24 June 1931, 57)

Aristide BEAUGRAND-CHAMPAGNE (works elsewhere)

AMOS, QUE., Ste. Therese d'Avila Roman Catholic Cathedral, 1922-23 (C.R., xxxvi, 5 April 1922, 57)
SWANTON, VERMONT, U.S.A., Church of the Nativity (Roman Catholic), Canada Street near Dunning Street, 1925-26; still standing in 2023 (inf. Rev. Romeo Trahan, Colchester, Vermont)
(with J. A. Gravel) LACHINE, QUE., major addition to the Roman Catholic Convent for the Sisters of Ste. Anne, St. Joseph Boulevard at 12th Avenue, 1940 (Gazette [Montreal], 10 April 1940, 21; inf. Scott Edwards)
MAGOG, QUE., hotel for an unnamed client, 1945-46 (Canadian Hotel Review, xxiii, 15 Dec. 1945, 62)