ROBITAILLE, Ludger Amedee (1885-1946), active in Quebec City for his entire career, either under his own name, or in partnerships that included:
L. Robitaille 1914-19
Robitaille & Robitaille 1919-21
L. Robitaille 1922-26
Robitaille & Desmueles 1927-35
L. Robitaille 1936-46
Born in Quebec City on 6 December 1885, he studied classics at the Quebec Seminary (in 1895-1903), and enrolled in the Faculty of Arts at Laval University in 1905. His early training was with J.P.E. Dussault in Quebec City (1907-08), and briefly with the firm of Tanguay & Lebon in the summer of 1911. In 1908 he moved to Montreal to study at the School of Architecture at the Ecole Polytechnique, and later graduated from that school in 1912. He was both talented and ambitious; in 1913 he was one of 39 architects from across Canada who submitted plans in the national competition for the City Hall at Winnipeg, Man., but he was not among the five finalists (City of Winnipeg Archives, Council Communications, 1913, Box A169, Item 9741, list of entrants). The winners were Clemesha & Portnall of Regina, but their scheme was never built.
By 1914 he had opened an office in Quebec City under his own name, and designed a number of residential and commercial works. The most important commission executed by him during this period was the elaborate yet highly eclectic design of St. Coeur de Marie Church, Quebec City (1919-20), completed in the “Romano-Byzantine’ style and dominated by a 165 foot-tall tower resembling a mediaeval fortress. The interior roof of the church is covered by two domes, each 40 feet in diameter and constructed by the famous Guastavino Tile Company of New York City, utilizing timbrel vault construction techniques.
In 1919 he formed a partnership with his brother Gustave Robitaille, but their collaboration was brief, and by 1922 Ludger Robitaille was again working under his own name. During this period, he also served as Professor of Drawing at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Quebec in 1922, as Professor of Architecture in 1923, and as Professor of Construction in 1925-26. In 1927 he invited one of his students at the Ecole, Gabriel Desmeules, to form a partnership with him; their best know work was the design for the ‘Palais Montcalm’ in Quebec City (1931-32). After the dissolution of the partnership in 1935 Robitaille continued to work on his own, but only one major commission by him during this period has been located, that for a federal government regional office building in Quebec City for the Dept. of National Defense. Robitaille died in Quebec City on 19 November 1946, and his son Gabriel Robitaille continued the work of his office (obit. L’Action Catholique [Quebec City], 20 November 1946, 13; obit and port. Le Soleil [Quebec City], 20 Nov. 1946, 3 and 5; biog. and port. National Reference Book, iii, 1929-30, 373-74; inf. Province of Quebec Assoc. of Architects)
(works in Quebec City unless noted)
L. ROBITAILLE
D’ARTIGNY STREET, duplex house for C. Achille Langlois, 1914 (City of Quebec b.p. 349, 31 March 1914)
SAINT-AMABLE STREET, duplex house for Joseph Thivierge, 1914 (City of Quebec b.p. 518, 27 May 1914)
CAISSE d’ECONOMIE de NOTRE DAME DE QUEBEC, 4th Avenue at 5th Street, in the Limoilou Quarter, 1914 (S. Thivierge, Inventaire des marches de construction des actes Notaires de la Ville de Quebec 1900-1920, 67)
MAISONNEUVE STREET, tenement block for J.A. Chiquette, 1914 (City of Quebec b.p. 548, 8 June 1914)
De ARTILLERIE STREET, tenement block for Honore Gingras, 1914 (City of Quebec b.p. 559, 11 June 1914)
ARAGO STREET, tenement block for Mrs. Beaule, 1914 (City of Quebec b.p. 675, 5 Aug. 1914)
ST. JEAN STREET, store for Joseph Cote, 1915 (City of Quebec b.p. 867, 16 Jan. 1915)
BERTHIERVILLE, QUE., residence for V.A. Polland, 1915 (S. Thivierge, Inventaire des marches de construction des actes Notaires de la Ville de Quebec 1900-1920, 176)
ST. JOSEPH STREET, at St. Valier Street, store with two apartments, 1915 (City of Quebec b.p. 1256, 10 May 1915)
LACHEVROTIERE STREET, store and residence for J. Noel Rondeau, 1915 (City of Quebec b.p. 1778, 27 Sept. 1915)
COTE D’ABRAHAM, three tenements for Hormidas Pare, 1915 (City of Quebec b.p. 1823, 7 Oct. 1915)
ARTILLERY STREET, duplex house for Honore Gingras, 1916 (City of Quebec b.p. 2101, 28 March 1916)
BEGIN STREET, tenement for Joseph Lafrance, 1916 (City of Quebec b.p. 2215, 19 April 1916)
ST. JULIE STREET, at St. Eustache Street, residence for Hon. Cyrille F. Delage, 1916 (City of Quebec b.p. 2600, 28 June 1916)
CAISSE d’ECONOMIE de NOTRE DAME DE QUEBEC, St. Joseph Street at Caron Street, 1916 (City of Quebec b.p. 2624, 19 May 1916)
ST. CYRILLE STREET, duplex house for C.A. Hurteau, 1916-17 (City of Quebec b.p. 3027, 20 Nov. 1916)
LACHEVROTIERE STREET, tenement house for Honore Gingras, 1917 (City of Quebec b.p. 3394, 12 May 1917)
LAURIER AVENUE, residence for Arthur Legendre, 1918 (City of Quebec b.p. 4002, 18 April 1918)
ST. JEAN STREET, residence for Albert Racine, 1918 (City of Quebec b.p. 4311, 15 Aug. 1918)
ST. COEUR DE MARIE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, Grande Allee at Scott Street, 1919 (C.R., xxxiii, 29 Jan. 1919, 38; xxxv, 28 Sept. 1921, 853, illus. & descrip.; City of Quebec b.p. 4553, 17 April 1919; P.M. Dagnaud, La Paroisse du Saint Coeur de Marie, 1928, 33-44, 84-97, illus. & descrip.; D. Blanchet, Decouvrir la Grande Allee, 1984, 40, illus.; Prof. Luc Noppen et al, Quebec Monumental 1890-1990, 45, illus. & descrip.; Prof. Luc Noppen, " French Architects in Early Twentieth-Century French-Canadian Church Architecture" in the Journal of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada, xl, No. 1, Spring 2015, 59-73, descrip. & illus.) )
ROBITAILLE & ROBITAILLE
LAURIER AVENUE, residence for the architect, 1919 (City of Quebec b.p. 4938, 20 Aug. 1919)
TERREAU & RACINE LTD., St. Paul Street, large warehouse, 1919-20 (C.R., xxiii, 3 Sept. 1919, 47, t.c.; City of Quebec b.p. 4941, 11 Sept. 1919)
SALABERY AVENUE, residence for P.J. Cote, 1920 (City of Quebec b.p. 5685, 22 Oct. 1920)
CHARLESBOURG, QUE., novitiate for the Eudiste Fathers, 1922-23 (C.R., xxxvi, 8 March 1922, 50; 6 Dec. 1922, 47)
L. ROBITAILLE
LAVAL APARTMENTS, for Victoria and Ernest Germain, Laval Avenue, 1922 (City of Quebec b.p. 7081, 8 June 1922)
ROMAN CATHOLIC NOVITIATE, for the Sisters of Hope, 1922-23 (City of Quebec b.p. 7718, 15 Nov. 1922)
ST. LOUIS ROAD, at des Erables Avenue, apartment block with 15 units for O.A. Beriau, 1922-23 (City of Quebec b.p. 7732, 24 Nov. 1922)
ECOLE DES BEAUX ARTS, St. Joachim Street, new east and west wing, 1922; portico for façade, with rear addition, 1923; addition of one storey, 1924 (City of Quebec b.p. 7014, 27 May 1922; City of Quebec b.p. 8366, 28 June 1923; City of Quebec b.p. 9453, 23 May 1924)
LUCIEN FRIGON PAPER MFR. CO., St. Francois Street, warehouse, 1923 (City of Quebec b.p. 8257, 7 June 1923)
HOTEL ST. ROCH., St. Francois Street, 1923 (City of Quebec b.p. 8285, 12 June 1923)
ST. LOUIS ROAD, residence for Louis and E.L. Jean, 1923 (City of Quebec b.p. 8361, 17 June 1923; Le Prix Courant [Montreal], lvi, 13 July 1923, 8)
LAURIER AVENUE, two houses for H.B. Premont, 1923 (City of Quebec b.p. 8755, 12 Oct. 1923)
QUEBEC BASEBALL CLUB, 3rd Street at 2nd Avenue, outdoor stadium, 1924 (City of Quebec b.p. 9202, 13 May 1924)
TACHE AVENUE, at Laurier Avenue, large residence for Gaston Beaupre, 1924 (City of Quebec b.p. 9738, 7 Oct. 1924)
DE LA TOUR AVENUE, residence for Alfred Marois, 1924-25 (City of Quebec b.p. 9886, 22 Dec. 1924)
DE LA TOUR AVENUE, residence for Charles Delagrave, 1926 (City of Quebec b.p. 697, 2 Oct. 1926)
BLACK & WHITE TAXI CO., Berthelet Lane, 1926-27 (City of Quebec b.p. 771, 5 Nov. 1926)
HOTEL VENDOME, St. Paul Street at Vallieres Street, large hotel, 1927 (City of Quebec b.p. 875, 4 March 1927)
ROUYN, QUE., large hotel with 100 rooms for the Chateau Rouyn Co. Ltd., 1927 (C.R., xli, 23 Feb. 1927, 115)
ROBITAILLE & DESMEULES
CREDIT FONCIER, de la Montagne Road, new façade and interior alterations, 1927-28 (City of Quebec b.p. 1696, 22 Nov. 1927)
CLARIDGE APARTMENTS, Grand Allee at de la Tour Avenue, an eleven storey block for R.E. McKay, 1928-29 (C.R., xlii, 23 May 1928, 45; 10 Oct. 1928, 57, 59; xlv, 5 Aug. 1931, 921-25, illus. & descrip.; City of Quebec b.p. 2024, 11 May 1928; Luc Noppen et al, Quebec Monumental 1890-1990, 49, illus. & descrip.)
MATANE, QUE., large 3 storey hotel on Perron Boulevard for the The Matane Gaspe Hotel Co. Ltd., 1929 (C.R., xliii, 27 Feb. 1929, 147; Canadian Hotel Review, vii, April 1929, 27; June 1929, 26, descrip.)
ST. JEAN STREET, two stores, one residence and one school for Jean Bant, 1929 (City of Quebec b.p. 2772, 20 Feb. 1929)
ST. JEAN STREET, store for T.D. Dubuc, 1929 (City of Quebec b.p. 2998, 10 May 1929)
BOUGAINVILLE AVENUE, residence for Georges Gascon, 1929 (City of Quebec b.p. 3238, 21 June 1929)
ECOLE TECHNIQUE, Langelier Boulevard, major addition, 1929 (City of Quebec b.p. 3628, 16 Aug. 1929)
ST. CYRILLE STREET, a 3 storey apartment block with five units, for Wilfrid Legare, 1929-30 (City of Quebec b.p. 3688, 22 Oct. 1929; C.R., xliii, 30 Oct. 1929, 65)
ST. EUSTACHE STREET, at St. Patrick Street, apartment block with 22 units, for an unnamed client, 1929 (City of Quebec b.p. 3795, 30 Oct. 1929)
HOTEL STE. URSULE, St. Louis Street, major addition, 1929 (C.R., xliii, 30 Oct. 1929, 61)
J.E. SAMSON INC., St. Vallier Street at St. Roch Street, commercial building, 1929 (City of Quebec b.p. 2946, 22 April 1929)
SCOTT STREET, at Prevost Street, apartment block for Francois Delisle, 1930 (City of Quebec b.p. 4226, 28 May 1930)
ST. JOACHIM APARTMENTS, St. Joachim Street, for Abel Turcotte, 1930 (City of Quebec b.p. 4333, 25 June 1930)
DE LA TOUR AVENUE, residence for Mrs. Paul Robitaille, 1930 (City of Quebec b.p. 4707, 21 Oct. 1930)
MONTCALM PALACE, Youville Place, 1931-32 (C.R., xlvi, 2 Nov. 1932, 1260; Const., xxvii, March-April 1934, 47-50, illus. & descrip.; Luc Noppen et al, Quebec - trois siecles d’architecture, 1979, 319, illus.; Luc Noppen et al, Quebec Monumental 1890-1990, 28, illus. & descrip.)
EGLISE DES JESUITES, Auteuil Street, altertations to building designed 1818 by Francois Baillairge, including new façade, heightening the walls of the nave, and interior alterations, 1931 (Luc Noppen et al, Quebec - trois siecles d’architecture, 1979, 175, illus.)
L. ROBITAILLE
DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENSE, Divisional Building, Laurier Avenue, 1938 (C.R., li, 16 March 1938, 30; 24 Aug. 1938, 34)