BUTLER, William Frederick (1867-1918) was born in St. John's, Nfld. on 2 June 1867 and worked as a carpenter's assistant there before moving to Toronto in 1888. He was employed as a carpenter by various contractors and attended courses in architecture and building construction at the Toronto Technical School. In early 1893 he went to Chicago to superintend the erection of several buildings on the site of the World's Fair and was able to familiarize himself with the work of some of the leading Beaux-Arts architects in America. In 1894 he moved to Madison, Wisc. where he was a building construction supervisor for N.F. Frederickson & Sons. Butler returned to St. John's in late 1894 and opened his own office in 1897 (Evening Telegram [St. John's], 26 July 1897, 4). He became known as a designer of palatial Queen Anne style residences commissioned by some of the leading businessmen in that city after 1900.
In 1908 he formed a partnership with John M. MacDonald of Sydney, N.S. and the firm operated offices in Cape Breton, N.S. and in Newfoundland; Butler attended to the affairs of the St. John's office and MacDonald handled the work of the Sydney office. In 1910 they won the competition for the County Academy at Sydney (1910), an eclectic work combining Queen Anne details and a Romanesque Revival tower which dominated the skyline of Sydney. Their partnership was dissolved after January 1912 and Butler continued to work alone until his tragic death on 26 February 1918 when he drowned in the sinking of the passenger ship Florizel off the coast of Newfoundland (obituary in the Daily News [St. John's], 27 Feb. 1918, 4; biog. and list of works in H.M. Mosdell, When Was That, 1923, 16; biog. in MacMillan Encyclopedia of Architects, 1982, Vol. 1, 359; biog. in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Vol. 14, 1998, 166-67; S. Sexty, 'William Frederick Butler: Research in Progress', in Newfoundland Quarterly [St. John's], ciii, No. 1, Summer 2010, 14-18, 49, illus.)
W.F. BUTLER
DELGADO BLOCK, Water Street, for Andrew A. Delgado, 1896 (Evening Telegram [St. John's], 24 March 1896, 1, t.c.)
MILITARY ROAD, pair of houses for John Murphy, 1897 (Evening Telegram [St. John's], 16 Aug. 1897, 4)
HARVEY ROAD, at Parade Street, Methodist School, 1898; demol. (Evening Telegram [St. John's], 20 Aug. 1898, 1, t.c.)
CIRCULAR ROAD, residence for John Paul, 1898 (Evening Telegram [St. John's], 10 Oct. 1898, 1, t.c.)
WALDEGRAVE STREET, pair of houses for M.J. Summers, 1899; demol. (Evening Telegram [St. John's], 4 May 1899, 4)
WATER STREET, store for Mary J. Feehan, 1899 (Evening Telegram [St. John's], 30 Dec. 1899, 3, illus. & descrip.)
PROVINCIAL LUNATIC ASYLUM, Waterford Bridge Road, new extensions and wings, with major alterations to existing building, 1900 ( Evening Telegram [St. John's], 29 Sept. 1900, 4)
STANDARD MFR. CO. LTD., Water Street, Hoylestown, a factory, 1903 (Evening Telegram [St. John's], 9 May 1903, 1, t.c.)
WOMEN'S CONVALESCENT HOME, adjacent to the General Hospital, 1903 (Evening Telegram [St. John's], 20 May 1903, 3, descrip.)
ORDNANCE STREET, residence for Allan Findlater, 1904 (Daily News [St. John's], 23 April 1904, 4; Evening Telegram [St. John's], 23 April 1904, 3)
ORDNANCE STREET, residence for Henry T. Coubrey, 1904 (Daily News [St. John's], 23 April 1904, 4; Evening Telegram [St. John's], 23 April 1904, 3)
RENNIES MILL ROAD, 'Winterholme', a residence for Marmaduke G. Winter, 1905 (list of works in Who's Who and Why in Canada, 1912, 193)
TOPSAIL ROAD, 'Rosemont', a residence for the architect, c. 1905 (Evening Telegram [St. John's], 15 Feb. 1908, 1, descrip. in advert.)
CIRCULAR ROAD, 'Bartra', a large residence for Walter Stanley Monroe, 1906 (inf. Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland & Labrador, Designation statement 2002 [online])
EVENING HERALD BLOCK, an office building for P.T. McGrath, Editor, Prescott Street, 1907 (Daily News [St. John's], 5 Sept. 1907, 6)
BUTLER & MacDONALD
WESLEY METHODIST CHURCH, Patrick Street, 1907-08 (Daily News [St. John's], 1 Oct. 1907, 1, descrip.)
NEWFOUNDLAND GOLF & TENNIS CLUB, clubhouse, 1909; burned 1936 (C.R., xxiii, 15 Sept. 1909, 25)
COMMERCIAL CABLE CO., Water Street, office block, 1909 (C.R., xxiii, 15 Sept. 1909, 25)
BOARD OF TRADE BUILDING, Water Street, for J.W. Withers, 1909 (C.R., xxiii, 15 Sept. 1909, 25)
RENNIES MILL ROAD, residence for James Ryan, 1909 (C.R., xxiii, 15 Sept. 1909, 25)
MONKSTOWN ROAD, residence for John R. Bennett, 1909 (C.R., xxiii, 15 Sept. 1909, 25)
WATER STREET, residence for C.R. Thomson, 1909 (C.R., xxiii, 15 Sept. 1909, 25)
TORBAY ROAD, residence for Judge George M. Johnson, 1909 (C.R., xxiii, 15 Sept. 1909, 25)
JAMES BAIRD LTD., unnamed street, fish plant, 1909 (C.R., xxiii, 15 Sept. 1909, 25)
(with Delano & Aldrich, of New York City) KING GEORGE V SEAMEN'S INSTITUTE, Water Street, designed 1909; built 1911-12 (C.R., xxiii, 15 Sept. 1909, 25; Daily News [St. John's], 24 June 1911, 9, descrip.)
unnamed street, residence for Sir William D. Reid, c. 1910 (list of works in Who's Who and Why in Canada, 1912, 193)
KINGS BRIDGE ROAD, 'Vigornia', a residence for John Browning, c. 1910; burned (inf. Shane O'Dea, St. John's)
SYDNEY, N.S., County Academy, Townsend Street, 1910 (C.R., xxiv, 13 April 1910, 27, t.c.; xxvii, 8 Oct. 1913, 90, illus. in advert.; Halifax Herald, 22 April 1910, 2)
GABARUS, N.S., Presbyterian Church, 1911 (C.R., xxv, 15 March 1911, 54)
W.F. BUTLER
PORT-AU-PORT, NFLD., Our Lady of Mercy Roman Catholic Church, Main Street, designed in 1912; construction began in 1914, but church not completed until 1925 (inf. Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland & Labrador, Designation statement May 1997 [online])
unnamed street, residence for Hon. William C. Job, 1913 (dwgs. in the possession of Shane O'Dea, St. John's)