MONETTE, Georges Alphonse (1870-1941), a prolific architect in Montreal who devoted much of his career to commissions he received from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Montreal where he designed ecclesiastical, educational and institutional works in the east end of the city. He also drew plans for several commercial buildings and for private residences in the towns of Westmount and Outremont on the Island of Montreal. Born in Montreal on 13 March 1870, he was the son of Georges Monette Sr., a prominent building contractor. He was educated at the Christian Brothers School, and at the age of 17 he entered the office of Alexander F. Dunlop and served a five year apprenticeship term (from 1887 to 1891). He then moved to Boston and spent two years working as an assistant to Wetherell & Bigelow, Architects, a leading firm in that city, and with another Boston firm of Hartwell, Richardson & Driver. After his return to Montreal in late 1893 he became chief assistant in the office of Perrault & Mesnard, where he worked for two years. He opened his own office in 1895 and many of his early works were for small residential projects. In 1897 he obtained the appointment of Professor of the Architecture and Construction at the School of the Council of Arts & Manufacturers of the Province of Quebec (C.A.B., x, June 1897, 108; La Minerve [Montreal], 1 Dec. 1898, 3; 12 Dec. 1898, 6; 24 Feb. 1899, 4, advert.).
His best known works include St. Leon Roman Catholic Church in Westmount (1901-03, with the new façade and tower, 1919-20), the Univ. of Montreal School of Dental Surgery (1912), and the Ecole Bourget, a carefully studied essay in the Renaissance Revival style. Much of his institutional and commercial work, however, is somewhat reserved and not particularly innovative, and his designs lack the refinement and architectural scholarship evident in the work of his colleagues such as J.O. Marchand or Edward & W.S. Maxwell.
Monette became a registered member of the Province of Quebec Assoc. of Architects on 2 March 1893 and soon became a respected advocate for his profession. His colleagues elected him to two separate terms as President of the P.Q.A.A., the first in 1918, and again in 1925. He was also an Associate member of the Architectural League of New York, and exhibited his work at the annual exhibitions of the Art Association of Montreal (E. McMann, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts - Spring Exhibitions, 1988, 270). Monette died in Montreal on 16 July 1941 (obit. Montreal Daily Star, 16 July 1941, 16; Le Devoir [Montreal], 17 July 1941, 7; La Presse [Montreal], 16 July 1941, 22, with port.; R.A.I.C. Journal, xviii, Nov. 1941, 192, with list of works; biog. In W.H. Atherton, Montreal from 1535 to 1914, pub. 1915, iii, 518-19). One of his sons was Antoine Monette, an architect active in Montreal. A photographic portrait of G.A. Monette was published in the R.A.I.C. Journal, xvii, Dec. 1940, 215.
G.A. MONETTE (works in Montreal)
ST. ANTOINE STREET, residence for Pierre O. Tremblay, 1895 (C.R., vi, 24 Oct. 1895, 2)
SHERBROOKE STREET WEST, three houses for S. Dumont, 1896 (C.R., vii, 13 Aug. 1896, 2)
ST. JAMES STREET, two houses for Benjamin Ethier, 1897 (C.R., viii, 10 June 1897, 2)
WESTMOUNT, two houses for M. Adolphe Mongeau, Cote St. Antoine Road, 1897 (C.R., viii, 5 Aug. 1897, 3, t.c.)
WESTMOUNT, residence for Jeremie L. Decarie, Cote St. Antoine Road, 1897 (C.R., viii, 21 Oct. 1897, 2, t.c.)
CANNING STREET, tenement for Benjamin Ethier, 1897 (C.R., viii, 7 Oct. 1897, 3)
CITY HALL AVENUE, cottage for L.F. Richer, 1898 (C.R., ix, 2 March 1898, 3)
ST. CHARLES BORROMEE STREET, two stores for Mrs. Pierre Dubois, 1898 (C.R., ix, 13 July 1898, 4)
PRECIOUS BLOOD ROMAN CATHOLIC MONASTERY, Decarie Boulevard, 1901 (C.R., xii, 27 Feb. 1901, 3; Montreal, Les Couvents, 1984, 268-71, illus.)
WESTMOUNT, St. Leon Roman Catholic Church, Western Avenue at Clarke Avenue, 1901-03; and new facade and bell tower, 1919-20 (Montreal Daily Star, 23 May 1901, 9, t.c.; 3 July 1901, 6; C.R., xii, 29 May 1901, 3, t.c.; La Presse [Montreal], 10 Oct. 1903, 5, illus.; Montreal, Les Eglises, 1981, 306-11, illus.; City of Westmount, Westmount: A Heritage to Preserve, 1991, 41, illus.)
LAVAL AVENUE, residence for Rev. Joseph Charette, 1902 (C.R., xiii, 30 April 1902, 3)
WESTMOUNT, residence for Benjamin Ethier, Souvenir Avenue, 1902 (C.R., xiii, 20 Aug. 1902, 3, t.c.)
ONTARIO STREET, two stores and tenements for Alfred Binette, 1903 (C.R., xiv, 25 March 1903, 4)
(with J.O. Turgeon) LA PATRIE BUILDING, Ste. Catherine Street at City Hall Avenue, 1905 (Montreal Daily Star, 20 Dec. 1905, 15, illus. & descrip.; Const., i, July 1908, 28-33, illus. & descrip.)
ACADEMIE ST. BRIGIDE, Papineau Avenue, 1905 (C.R., xvi, 19 April 1905, 6; La Presse [Montreal], 10 June 1905, 5, illus. & descrip.)
SALABERRY APARTMENTS, Sherbrooke Street East at St. Denis Street, west wing, 1906; east wing, 1908 (Montreal, Les Appartements, 1991, 346-8, illus.)
ST. JOSEPH BOULEVARD WEST, residence for F.X. Decarie, 1908 (C.R., xxii, 4 Nov. 1908, 26)
OUTREMONT, annex to the Roman Catholic Boy's School, 1909 (C.R., xxiii, 6 Jan. 1909, 21)
WESTMOUNT, residence for P. Gillespie, Montrose Avenue, 1909 (C.R., xxiii, 5 May 1909, 20; Montreal, Les Residences, 1987, 276-7, illus.)
OUTREMONT, residence for J.E. Goodwin, Hutchison Street, 1909 (C.R., xxiii, 5 May 1909, 20)
NOTRE DAME DE GRACE, Roman Catholic Girl's School, 1909 (C.R., xxiii, 5 May 1909, 20)
H. LABELLE & CO., Ste. Catherine Street East at City Hall Avenue, store and warehouse, 1910 (La Presse [Montreal], 2 May 1910, 14, illus.; Montreal, Les Magasins Les Cinemas, 1985, 197-9, illus.)
ST. JEAN BERCHMAN'S SCHOOL, Shaw Street at Comte Street, chapel and school, 1910 (C.R., xxiv, 6 July 1910, 27)
COUVENT DE LA TRINITE, Notre Dame Street East, major addition to Roman Catholic convent, 1910-11; burned 1922; rebuilt by J.O. Marchand (Montreal, Les Couvents, 1984, 78-81, illus.)
SOEURS DE MARIE-REPARATRICE, Mount Royal Avenue, Roman Catholic convent, 1911-12; major addition of two lateral wings, 1919-20 (C.R., xxv, 10 May 1911, 54-5; Montreal, Les Couvents, 1984, 234-7, illus.)
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS HALL, Sherbrooke Street East, 1911-12 (C.R., xxv, 22 Nov. 1911, 59)
ECOLE LEMOYNE, Boyer Street, 1911 (Montreal, Les Edifices Scolaires, 1980, 78-81, illus.)
ROBERVAL APARTMENTS, Berri Street at Labelle Street, 1911 (C.R., xxv, 15 Nov. 1911, 39, illus. & descrip.)
OUTREMONT, a large residence for F.X. Prenoveau, Cote Ste. Catherine Road, 1912; demol. 1971-72 (inf. Yves Guillet, St. Lambert)
SCHOOL OF DENTAL SURGERY, University of Montreal, St. Hubert Street at De Montigny Street, 1912 (La Presse [Montreal], 3 Oct. 1912, 19, illus.; R.A.I.C. Journal, iii, Jan./Feb. 1926, 10, illus.)
WESTMOUNT APARTMENTS, Sherbrooke Street West at Greene Avenue, for Brillon & Jarry, 1913-14 (C.R., xxvii, 2 July 1913, 70; Montreal, Les Appartements, 1991, 201-03, illus.)
ECOLE BOURGET, Mountain Street, 1915 (C.R., xxix, 20 Jan. 1915, 54, t.c.; Montreal, Les Edifices Scolaires, 1914, 20-1, illus.)
ACADEMIE ST. JOSEPH, Cote des Neiges Road, 1916-18 (C.R., xxx, 19 April 1916, 385, illus. & descrip.; Montreal, Les Edifices Scolaires, 1980, 246-9, illus.)
ST. DOMINIE'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, Delorimier Avenue, presbytery for the church, 1922 (C.R., xxxvi, 9 Aug. 1922, 51)
FERNHILL APARTMENTS, Ste. Catherine Road near Mount Royal Avenue, 1923 (Montreal, Les Appartements, 1991, 111-12, illus.)
ST. JAMES STREET, restaurant for Jean Versailles, 1928 (C.R., xlii, 26 Sept. 1928, 67)
HOLY CROSS ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, Jolicoeur Street, presbytery for the church, 1928-29 (C.R., xlii, 21 Nov. 1928, 50-1)
EGLISE ST. LEONARD DE PORT MAURICE, Jarry Street East, reconstruction of the church after a fire, 1930-31 (Montreal, Les Eglises, 1981, 312-15, illus.)
G.A. MONETTE (works elsewhere in Quebec and Ontario)
ST. LAMBERT, QUE., Roman Catholic Church, Lorne Avenue, 1896; interior decoration, 1902; burned 1936 (La Minerve [Montreal], 28 April 1896, 4; C.R., vii, 9 July 1896, 2-3; xiii, 23 April 1902, 4; inf. Yves Guillet, St. Lambert)
BOUCHERVILLE, QUE., summer hotel on Grosbois Island in the St. Lawrence River, 1896 (C.A.B., ix, April 1896, plate illus.; May 1896, 65, descrip.; L. Maitland, Queen Anne Revival Style in Canadian Architecture, 1990, 196, illus. & descrip.)
ST. GABRIEL, QUE., three tenements for J.P. St. Denis, 1896 (C.R., vii, 2 April 1896, 3)
STE. JULIE, QUE., Roman Catholic church, 1899 (C.R., x, 24 May 1899, 3, t.c.)
BOUCHERVILLE, QUE., two cottages for Octave Lawrence, 1902 (C.R., xiii, 25 June 1902, 3)
ST. LAURENT, QUE., major addition to the Pensionnat de Notre Dame des Anges, Ste. Croix Boulevard, 1904 (Montreal, Les Couvents, 1984, 304-11, illus.)
SAULT AUX RECOLLETS, QUE., cottage for Joseph Filiatrault, 1909 (C.R., xxiii, 20 Oct. 1909, 21)
LAPRAIRIE, QUE., presbytery for the Roman Catholic church, 1910 (C.R., xxiv, 30 March 1910, 25)
ST. EUSEBE, QUE., presbytery for the Roman Catholic church, 1910 (C.R., xxiv, 28 Sept. 1910, 25)
LACHUTE, QUE., residence for J.E. Valois, 1910 (C.R., xxiv, 28 Sept. 1910, 26)
LAPRAIRIE, QUE., Roman Catholic school, 1911-12 (C.R., xxv, 22 Nov. 1911, 59)
ST. JOHN'S, QUE., St. John's College, 1912 (C.R., xxvi, 17 April 1912, 66)
ST. VIATEUR, QUE., Roman Catholic college, 1915 (C.R., xxix, 6 Jan. 1915, 53)
JOLIETTE, QUE., St. Pierre Roman Catholic Church, 1916 (Archives de la Societe Historique de Joliette)
LAVAL RAPIDS, QUE., Laval Sur-Le-Lac Golf Club, Cedars Street, near Peupliers Street, a new clubhouse, 1919; burned 1951 (Montreal Daily Star, 15 April 1919, 3)
ASSUMPTION, QUE., Roman Catholic college, 1930 (C.R., xliv, 4 June 1930, 65; A. Forget, Histoire du College de l'Assumption, 1933, 83-4)
JOLIETTE, QUE., Norman & Mission School for the Clerics St. Viateur, 1929 (C.R., xliii, 9 Oct. 1929, 52)
JOLIETTE, QUE., Notre Dame de Lourdes Roman Catholic Church,, 1930-32 (l'Action Populaire [Joliette], 23 June 1932)
NORTH BAY, ONT., St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church, Wylde Avenue, 1932 (C.R., xlvi, 25 May 1932, 132)
ST. REMY, QUE., new facade for the Roman Catholic Church, 1940 (ANQ, files of Gerard Morissette)