FABBRO, Louis Nicholas (1908-1992) maintained a successful architectural practise in Sudbury, Ont. for more than fifty years. Born in Copper Cliff, Ont. on 1 May 1908, he received his junior schooling there, and he graduated from the School of Architecture at McGill University in Montreal in April 1936. By late 1936 he had opened an office in his hometown, and his first major work there was the modern Gothic design for St. Clement’s Anglican Church, 1936 (still standing in 2023). He was among the first architects to introduce the progressive modernist style of architecture to Northern Ontario, best seen in his distinctive glass block tower for the Sudbury Brewing & Malting Co. (1938-39). In 1946 Fabbro had a narrow escape from death when the small aircraft in which he was a passenger crashed near Little Current, Ont., and both pilot and passenger escaped before the plane sank (North Bay Daily Nugget, 26 Oct. 1946, 3). After 1955 Fabbro was in partnership in Sudbury with Sidney A. Townend, as Fabbro & Townend, Architects, until 1964. Fabbro retired from the profession in 1988 and died in Sudbury on 25 April 1992 (obituary Sudbury Star, 26 April 1992, B12).
Louis N. FABBRO (works in Sudbury unless noted)
ST. CLEMENT’S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, Albert Street at Eyre Street, 1936; still standing in 2023 (The Gazette (Montreal), 7 Dec. 1936, 2, descrip.)
NORTH BAY, ONT., Quintland Theatre, Main Street, on the Rankin Property directly opposite the Capitol Theatre, for Leo Mascioli, 1936-37 (North Bay Nugget, 18 Nov. 1936, 1 & 2, descrip.; and 20 Jan. 1937, 3)
YOUNG MEN’S CHRISTIAN ASSOC., Elm Street East at Drinkwater Street, c. 1938 (list of works by Fabbro included in the P.Q.A.A. Application Form submitted by Arthur Lacoursiere, architect dated March 1940)
ALL SAINTS ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, Bellevue Street at John Street, c. 1938 (list of works by Fabbro included in the P.Q.A.A. Application Form submitted by Arthur Lacoursiere, architect dated March 1940)
RIO THEATRE, Hazel Street near Lorne Street South, c. 1938 (list of works by Fabbro included in the P.Q.A.A. Application Form submitted by Arthur Lacoursiere, architect dated March 1940)
EMPIRE BRASS CO., Elgin Street South, show room, c. 1938 (list of works by Fabbro included in the P.Q.A.A. Application Form submitted by Arthur Lacoursiere, architect dated March 1940)
SUDBURY BREWING & MALTING CO., Lorne Street South at Victoria Street, major addition to brewery complex, 1938-39 (C.R., li, 31 Aug. 1938, 33; Building in Canada [Toronto], Spring 1941, 74, illus.)
NORTH BAY, ONT., St. Regis Hotel, Klock Avenue (now called Algonquin Avenue), extensive alterations and improvements to the Old Pacific Hotel, 1939 (North Bay Nugget, 10 May 1939, The St. Regis Supplement, p. 1 to 18, illus. & detailed architectural descrip.)
HOTEL FRONTENAC, Beech Street East, for Davis & Turpin, 1939-40 (C.R., lii, 1 Nov. 1939, 56)
DE MARCO BROTHERS BLOCK, Elgin Street at Beech Street, a 3 storey commercial block, 1946 (North Bay Daily Nugget, 18 June 1946, 8, illus. & descrip.)
CANADIAN LEGION MEMORIAL HALL, Frood Road at College Street, 1947-48 (C.R., lx, May 1947, 124; North Bay Daily Nugget, 28 Oct. 1947, 10, descrip.)
SUDBURY GENERAL HOSPITAL, for the Sisters of St. Joseph, Paris Street near McNaughton Street, 1948-49 (C.R., lxi, April 1948, 144; Financial Post, 17 March 1951, 44, illus. in advert.)
EMPIRE THEATRE, Elgin Street North, for the Northern Empire Theatre Co., 1949 (C.R., lxii, June 1949, 120)
(with J.B. Sutton) SUDBURY HIGH SCHOOL, College Street at Davidson Street, 1949-50 (C.R., lxii, Oct. 1949, 144)
(with J.B. Sutton) RAMSAY, ONT., sanatorium for the Sudbury-Algoma Sanatorium Association, Kirkwood Drive, 1950 (C.R., lxiii, Feb. 1950, 126)
TORONTO, ONT., factory for the Fruehauf Trailer Co. of Canada, Main Street, Weston (in North York), 1950 (C.R., lxiii, Sept. 1950, 134)
ROMAN CATHOLIC SEPARATE SCHOOL, 1950-51 (C.R., lxiii, Dec. 1950, 109)
NORTH BAY, ONT., Roman Catholic Separate School, Morin Street at McLeod Street, 1951-52 (North Bay Daily Nugget, 13 April 1951, 17, descrip.; and 26 Nov. 1951, 3, descrip.; and 26 March 1952, 1, descrip.)
ST. JOSEPH’S ROMAN CATHOLIC HOSPITAL, major addition facing Algonquin Avenue, 1954-55 (North Bay Nugget, 15 Oct. 1954, 3)
FABBRO & TOWNEND (works in Sudbury)
SUDBURY MINE MILL CAMP, 1957 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xxxiv, Dec. 1957, 481-83, illus. & descrip.)
MANDARIN GARDENS MOTEL, Regent Street South, 1958 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xxxv, Dec. 1958, 467, illus.)
DILL TOWNSHIP, Dining Lounge, 1958 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xxxv, Dec. 1958, 479, illus.)