DREW, George (1870- c. 1923) was active in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario where he was in partnership with John Gourlay from early 1912 to February 1914. After that date, he operated under his own name until 1921 before leaving northern Ontario. Born in the Borough of Islington, London, England in April 1870, he was educated at London University Grammar School where he graduated in 1887, and became a member of the Architectural Association in 1889. He articled with Alfred Barr, FRIBA in London for five years, and then joined the office of William M. Brutton, a leading theatre architect in London. Under Brutton, he gained extensive experience with the design of theatres, assisting him with drawings for the Alhambra Theatre extension in London, and with Hammersmith's Palace Music Hall, also in London. He also had charge of the Army and Navy Buildings in Westminster, and for the Waterworks at Hartfordshire for Lord Salisbury, as well at all municipal buildings in the county of Hartfordshire, and the Italian Hospital in London.
Armed with this extensive architectural experience, Drew made the decision to leave England at age 40 and to move to Canada in 1910, settling in Sault Ste. Marie where he worked briefly for the Algoma Central Railroad, overseeing the construction of buildings and bridges. In early 1912 he joined with John Gourlay, an architect from Scotland who had been educated at the London Technical School, but their partnership was dissolved in February 1914 (Sault Star, 3 Feb. 1914, 2), and Drew continued to live and work in the city until late 1920. No information on Drew after 1921 has been found, but he may be the same “George Drew, architect” who was listed in Oshawa, Ontario in late 1923 as company architect for the Oshawa Realty Syndicate (C.R., xxxvii, 12 Dec. 1923, 1191; biography and engraved portrait for both Drew and Gourlay in The Sault Star, 28 March 1913, 1).
DREW & GOURLAY (works in Sault Ste. Marie)
INDOOR SKATING RINK Gouin Street, 1912-13 (Sault Star, 5 June 1912, 1, descrip.; 31 Oct. 1912, 2, t.c.; 2 Dec. 1912, 4, descrip.)
PUBLIC GRANDSTAND, at the Agricultural Fairgrounds, 1912 (Sault Star, 14 Aug. 1912, 2, t.c.)
QUEEN'S THEATRE, Queen Street at Dennis Street, for A.W. Mayberry, with stores, office and apartment block adjacent, 1912-13 (Sault Star, 28 Nov. 1912, 1, descrip.; 31 March 1913, 1, descrip.)
CAHILL THEATRE, east side of Gore Street, for Mark Cahill, 1912-13 (Sault Star, 19 Aug. 1912, 1, descrip.; C.R., xxvii, 5 March 1913, 70)
ALGOMA PRODUCE CO., major addition to warehouse, 1913 (Sault Star, 20 March 1913, 1)
GEORGE DREW (works in Sault Ste. Marie)
ROMAN CATHOLIC MOTHER HOUSE, or Convent, for the Sisters of Wisdom, St. George's Avenue, a three storey brick block, 1920 (Sault Star, 31 March 1920, 2, descrip.)
LABOUR TEMPLE, Gore Street at Cathcart Street, a large three storey commercial block, 1920 (C.R., xxxiv, 28 April 1920, 61; Sault Star, 7 May 1920, 3, illus. & descrip.)
COMPETITIONS
SAULT STE. MARIE, ONT., a new ten room school, on the site of the Central School, 1912. The firm of Drew & Gourlay were one of five local architects who submitted plans for this new building, but it is unclear who won the competition (Sault Star, 23 May 1912, 2).