OVER, Walter Percy (1874-1944), son of Walter and Honoria Over of Toronto, was born there on 3 September 1874 and educated at public schools and at the Toronto Collegiate Institute. In 1891 he entered the office of Darling, Curry, Sproatt & Pearson as an articling student and quickly gained a reputation as a proficient draftsman. In late 1892 Over and other members of the office staff were taken to St. John's, Nfld. to assist John Pearson with many of the commissions which the firm had obtained after the Great Fire there (C.A.B., vi, April 1893, 47). He received several awards for his drawings, including First Prize for sketches of the historic Canada Company Offices in Toronto (C.A.B., v, Feb. 1892, illus.) and obtained another First Premium for his design of 'A Lodge Entrance to a Park' (C.A.B., ix, Feb. 1896, illus.). In 1902 he was given a lavish dinner in his honour at the offices of the Ontario Association of Architects on the eve of his departure for Winnipeg where he took charge of Darling & Pearson's office in western Canada (C.A.B., xv, April 1902, 55).
The firm, initially called Darling, Pearson & Over, was responsible for several major commercial and institutional projects in Manitoba and Saskatchewan between 1902 and 1906, after which time the name reverted to Darling & Pearson. In early 1909 Over opened his own office in Winnipeg (C.R., xxiii, 19 May 1909, 28) and the following year formed a partnership with Lewis H. Jordan (see list of works under Jordan & Over). He served a term as President of the Manitoba Association of Architects in 1915 and continued to practise with Jordan until 1926 when the latter moved to Chicago. W.P. Over then formed a new partnership with Ewart F. Munn and the office of Over & Munn remained active until 1940. He died in Winnipeg on 11 April 1944 (obituary in the Winnipeg Free Press, 11 April 1944, 7; Winnipeg Tribune, 11 April 1944, 3; R.A.I.C. Journal, xx, May 1944, 108; biography in Who's Who in Western Canada, 1911, 302; Who's Who & Why in Canada, 1913, 633)
W. PERCY OVER (works in Winnipeg)
WINNIPEG, MAN., design of the Bishop's Chair for the interior of Holy Trinity Anglican Church, 1904 (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 8 April 1904, 5, descrip.)
WINNIPEG, MAN., residence for William Weighell, Sherbrooke Street, 1909 (Winnipeg Tribune, 4 June 1909, 10, t.c.)
OVER & MUNN (works in Winnipeg unless noted)
WINNIPEG, MAN., The Grain Inspection Laboratory, located on the 8th Floor of the Winnipeg Grain Exchange, alterations and new interiors,1927 (Winnipeg Tribune, 25 Jan. 1927, 2)
ST. BONIFACE, MAN., Nurse's Home on the grounds of the Grey Nuns Hospital, Tache Avenue, 1927 (C.R., xli, 2 March 1927, 58; R.A.I.C. Journal, v, June 1928, 232)
WINNIPEG, MAN., major addition to the Winnipeg Skating Club, Smith Street at Assiniboine Avenue, 1929 (Winnipeg Tribune, 20 June 1929, 3, descrip.; C.R., xliii, 3 July 1929, 64; Const., xxiii, April 1930, 127; R.A.I.C. Journal, vii, Oct. 1930, 374)
WINNIPEG, MAN., Bank of Nova Scotia, Portage Avenue at Garry Street, major addition incorporating the old Fashion Craft Building, 1929-30 (Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 15 March 1929, 3, descrip.; C.R., xliii, 30 Oct. 1929, 62; Western Canada Contractor & Builder, Nov. 1931, 12-13, illus.; dwgs. at the Bank of Nova Scotia Archives, Toronto)
KILLARNEY, MAN., theatre for W. Hellis, Broadway Avenue, 1939 (C.R., lii, 8 March 1939, 33)
FORT FRANCES, ONT., La Verendrye Hospital, for the Grey Nuns, 1940-41 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xviii, Aug. 1941, 139, illus.)