LAFOND, Charles (1867-1937) maintained an office as a successful architect in the province of Quebec in three different locations, including:
Charles Lafond & Bros., Montreal, 1895 -1901
Charles Lafond, architect, Shawinigan, 1901-04
Charles Lafond, architect, Trois Rivieres, 1904 to 1914
Lafond & Denoncourt, architects, Trois Rivieres, 1915-18
Charles Lafond, architect, Trois Rivieres, 1919 until after 1930
Lafond was born in Montreal, Que. on 5 December 1867 and served an apprenticeship in the busy Montreal office of Perrault & Mesnard from 1887 until 1892. He opened a small office in Montreal with his brother Arthur Lafond in 1895 and completed several small projects there. He was accepted as a registered member of the Province of Quebec Association of Architects on 13 September 1898. In 1901 he moved to Shawinigan, Que. and received the commission to design the new Town Hall, and maintained an office there until 1904 when he relocated to Trois Rivieres. The Great Fire which swept through Trois Rivieres in June 1908 provided Lafond with a major opportunity to help rebuild the town, and he remained to live and work there until after 1930. He died there on 18 December 1937 (obituary and port. Le Nouvelliste [Trois Rivieres], 20 Dec. 1937, 3; obit. Gazette [Montreal], 20 Dec. 1937, 9; inf. P.Q.A.A., Montreal; inf. Prof. Luc Noppen, Montreal).
(works in Montreal)
WESTMOUNT, two cottages for Antoine Belanger, 1896 (C.R., vii, 20 Aug. 1896, 3)
BERRI STREET, two houses containing six flats, for Mrs. L.X. Carriere, 1896 (C.R., vii, 20 Aug. 1896, 3)
ST. DENIS STREET, large residence for J.A. Robin, 1896 (C.R., vii, 24 Sept. 1896, 2)
ST. DENIS STREET, large residence for Vitalien Pauze, 1896 (Le Prix Courant, xix, 18 Sept. 1896, 126)
PARC AVENUE, tenement with 3 flats for Thomas Goulet & Co., 1899 (Le Prix Courant, xxiv, No. 8, May 1899)
(works in Shawinigan, Que.)
TOWN HALL, 1901 (Gazette [Montreal], 31 July 1901, 5; Montreal Daily Star, 3 Oct. 1901, 16, t.c.)
ST. BERNARD ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, c. 1902 (list of works in obituary)
ST. MARC ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, c. 1902 (list of works in obituary)
SHAWINIGAN BAY, QUE., Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, c. 1903 (list of works in obituary)
(with J.G. Bussieres) STE. THECLE, QUE., Roman Catholic Church, St. Jacques Street, 1903-05 (Province of Quebec, Inventaire des lieux de culte du Quebec [online])
HEROUXVILLE, QUE., St. Timothee Roman Catholic Church, St. Pierre Street, 1904 (Province of Quebec, Inventaire des lieux de culte du Quebec [online])
(works in Trois Rivieres unless noted)
ACADEMIE DE LA SALLE, 1907 (La Presse [Montreal], 16 Aug. 1907, 9, illus.)
J.L. FORTIN DEPARTMENT STORE, c. 1910 (list of works in obituary)
PROVINCIAL NORMAL SCHOOL, c. 1910 (list of works in obituary)
ROMAN CATHOLIC CONVENT, for the Dominican Sisters, c. 1910 (list of works in obituary)
GIRARD & GODIN MFR. CO., factory, c. 1910 (list of works in obituary)
ST. PHILIPPE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, Bureau Street, 1910-11 (Daily News [Port Arthur], 25 July 1912, 2, which states that the design of this this church was used as the basis of a virtually identical copy of the church designed by Lafond and later built in Port Arthur, Ontario - see listing below).
ST. CUTHBERT, QUE., St. Viateur-d'Anjou Roman Catholic Church, York Street, 1911 (Province of Quebec, Inventaire des lieux de culte du Quebec [online])
PORT ARTHUR, ONT., St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, Archibald Street South, 1912 (Daily News [Port Arthur], 25 July 1912, 2)
ALEXANDER STREET, at Notre Dame Street, commercial block for Lamothe & Hebert, 1921 (Le Prix Courant, liv, 28 Jan. 1921, 72)
NOTRE DAME STREET, retail store for G. Barakett, 1921-22 (Le Prix Courant, liv, 21 Oct. 1921, 60)
STE. MARIE STREET, two stores for L.D. Ouellette, 1921-22 (Le Prix Courant, liv, 23 Dec. 1921, 64)
BONAVENTURE STREET, retail store for J.F. Bellefeuille, 1922 (Le Prix Courant, lv, 21 April 1922, 42)
ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOOL, 1923 (Le Prix Courant, lvi, 2 March 1923, 25)
MELABETCHOUAN - LAC-A- LA-CROIX, QUE, St. Jerome Roman Catholic Church, St. Andre Street, 1926-28 (Province of Quebec, Inventaire des lieux de culte du Quebec [online])
ROBERVAL, QUE., City Hall, St. Joseph Boulevard, 1928-29 (Continuite [Quebec City], No. 39, Spring 1988, 27; No. 47, Spring 1990, 47, 51, illus.; Parks Canada, Town Halls of Canada, 1987, 274, illus.)