HEWITT, David Alexander (1869 - 1961) was born on 23 October 1869 and became a member of the Achitectural Draughtsmen's Association of Toronto in January 1887. He served an apprenticeship with William R. Strickland in 1886-87 and was employed as draftsman by Strickland & Symons in Toronto from 1888 until 1892. It was there that he met his future business partner John P. MacLaren and together they opened an office in Brantford in March 1895. The following year MacLaren moved to Buckingham, Que. to operate a local branch of their business. The Brantford practise of Hewitt & MacLaren was offered for sale in September 1897 '.....including office fixtures and good will' (C.R., viii, 2 Sept. 1897, 1) and both partners moved their office to Ottawa in November of that year. By November 1898 the partnership had been dissolved and Hewitt accepted a temporary appointment as draftsman in the Public Works Dept. under David Ewart on 10 April 1900, a position which became permanent on 1 September 1908. He was still active in the Department in 1938 when he was honoured with a Farewell Dinner upon the event of his retirement (Ottawa Journal, 25 April 1938, 5). Hewitt died in Ottawa on 12 January 1961 (death notice Ottawa Citizen, 12 Jan. 1961, 38; inf. OA, Minute Book of the Architectural Draughtsmen's Association of Toronto, 286; Canada, Sessional Papers, 1919, No. 30, Civil Service List, 431-5).
HEWITT & MacLAREN
CAYUGA, ONT., commercial block of stores with apartments and Masonic Lodge Room, 1895 (C.R., vi, 16 May 1895, 2, t.c.)
BUCKINGHAM, QUE., commercial block for C.W. Pearson, 1895 (C.R., vi, 15 Aug. 1895, 2, t.c.)
BRANTFORD, ONT., a school building for the Balfour Street Presbyterian Mission, 1896 (Brantford Expositor, 6 June 1896, 4, t.c.; C.R., vii, 18 June 1896, 3)
BRANTFORD, ONT., commercial block of retail stores with offices above, at 100 Dalhousie Street, 1896 (Brantford Expositor, 24 July 1896, 1, advert.)
BRANTFORD, ONT., major addition and alterations to Brantford Collegiate Institute, George Street, 1897 (Brantford Expositor, 20 March 1897, 7; and 27 May 1897, 1, t.c.; C.R., viii, 15 July 1897, 3)
OTTAWA, ONT., major addition to Davidson Block, Sparks Street, 1898 (C.R., ix, 23 March 1898, 4)
OTTAWA, ONT., major alterations to residence for Dr. John D. Courtnay, Metcalfe Street at Lisgar Street, 1898 (C.R., ix, 20 April 1898, 3)
OTTAWA, ONT., residence for George F. McCormick, Wilbrod Street near Chapel Street, 1898 (C.R., ix, 24 Aug. 1898, 4)
D.A. HEWITT, Public Works Dept., Ottawa
DARTMOUTH, N.S., outdoor decorations for the Coronation of the King George V of London, including decorations for the Dartmouth Post Office, and for the Dartmouth Town Hall, 1911 (Evening Mail [Halifax], 17 June 1911, 16, descrip.)
COMPETITIONS
BRANTFORD, ONT., Albion Street Public School, 1896. The Brantford office of Hewitt & McLaren was one of three architects who submitted a design for this project in late 1896 (Brantford Expositor, 18 Feb. 1897, 3). The winner was Beaumont Jarvis of Toronto.