BOYDE, John Robert (1877-1955) of Windsor, Ont. was a partner in the remarkably prolific partnership of Pennington & Boyde for more than fifteen years. Born in Buffalo, N.Y. on 20 June 1877 he came to Canada in 1882 and was raised in Hamilton, Ont. where he articled with Robert Clohecy (in 1892-95), then worked in several local offices including W.P. Witton (in 1895-98), for Charles Mills (in 1898-1900), and with Stewart & Witton (in 1900-06). In late 1906 he moved to Detroit and became chief draftsman for Albert Kahn, assisting him with the design of the Ford Motor Co. assembly plants at Highland Park (1909-18) and at River Rouge (1917-20). In June 1920 he moved to Windsor and accepted an invitation to join James C. Pennington in partnership (see list of works under Pennington & Boyde). The following year he was named winner (with John P. Thompson) of the competition for the High School at Walkerville, Ont. (Const., xiv, July 1921, 200-03, illus. & descrip.). After the dissolution of the firm of Pennington & Boyde in 1935, Boyde held the position of Diocesan Architect for the Roman Catholic Diocese of London, Ont. for more than two decades, and was credited with the design of nearly thirty churches in the region. He died in Windsor on 19 June 1955 (obit. and port. Windsor Star, 20 June 1955, 5; obit. R.A.I.C. Journal, xxxii, Aug. 1955, 307; biog. Border Cities Star [Windsor], 11 June 1921, 15; biog. National Reference Book, 1929-30, 49; inf. Ontario Assoc. of Architects). A photographic portrait of John Boyde was published in the Border Cities Star [Windsor], 21 Sept. 1922, Section Two, p. 12.
WINDSOR, ONT., residence for H.E. Guppy, Ouellette Avenue "...on the old bowling green", 1907 (Evening Record [Windsor], 16 Oct. 1907, 7)
WINDSOR, ONT., major addition to the Hotel Dieu Hospital, Ouellette Avenue, 1911 (C.R., xxv, 19 July 1911, 59)
WALKERVILLE, ONT., St. Anne's Roman Catholic Church, Huron Street at Argyle Road, 1912 (C.R., xxvi, 17 April 1912, 66)
(with John P. Thompson) WALKERVILLE, ONT., High School, Huron Street, between Devonshire Road and Monmouth Road, 1921 (Border Cities Star [Windsor], 23 June 1921, 3, illus. & descrip.)
PAINCOURT, ONT., reconstruction of Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church, 1937 (C.R., vol. 50, 12 May 1937, 37)
WINDSOR, ONT., Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church, Drouillard Road at Metcalfe Street, designed 1942; built 1948 (dwgs. at Windsor City Archives)
WINDSOR, ONT., St, John The Divine Russian Orthodox Church, Drouillard Road at Richmond Street, 1949, a rebuilding of the church originally constructed in 1916, but burned in 1946 (inf. Ian Mason, Sarnia)
WINDSOR, ONT., Gracanica Serbian Orthodox Church, Meldrum Road at Tecumseh Road East, 1950-52, modeled after the historic Monastery located in Gracanica, Kosovo, and originally built in 1321 AD (signed drawings at the Serbian Heritage Museum, Windsor; inf. Anne Dube, Windsor; inf. Ian Mason, Sarnia)