SCHREIBER, John William (1886-1955) has been mistakenly (and repeatedly) referred to as the “architect” of the Tower Automotive Building located on Sterling Road in Toronto. Erected in 1919-20, this tall ten-storey landmark of industrial architecture was, in fact, designed by the talented Winnipeg architect John W. Woodman, partner in the Manitoba firm of Woodman & Cubbidge, Architects. The building was originally commissioned by the Northern Aluminum Co. Ltd. of Toronto, which was later renamed ALCAN Ltd. in 1925. This structure still stands, and has now become the home of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) as of early 2018. An examination of the original architectural drawings show that they bear the name of “J.W. Schreiber, Architect, with Woodman & Cubbidge, Associate Architects of Winnipeg, Man.” (City of Toronto b.p. 23988, dated 30 June 1919). The building permit lists the name of Schreiber alone, and he may have styled himself as an architect for the purposes of gaining permission from officials at the City of Toronto Building Department to erect the structure.
Schreiber was a mechanical engineer who spent his entire life in Pittsburgh, Penn. as an employee with the Aluminum Co. of America (later called ALCOA). Born in Pittsburgh on 15 June 1886, he graduated from Western University of Pennsylvania with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1908, and he joined ALCOA soon after. He had no formal education in architecture, nor was he trained as an architect. Instead, he held the post of Supervising Mechanical Engineer with that company, and at the time of his retirement in 1952, he was Chief Construction Engineer, overseeing the planning and construction of all major manufacturing facilities for ALCOA in the United States and Canada. Schreiber later died in Pittsburgh on 7 September 1955. A full obituary article on Schreiber, with a photographic portrait, was published in Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 8 September 1955, 24, and confirms his professional role as mechanical engineer.