White, Andrew

WHITE, Andrew (c. 1783-1832), a builder, contractor and, on occasion, an architect and one of the first to earn a livelihood in the profession in early 19th century Montreal. He arrived in Canada before 1806 and began work as a carpenter and joiner. By 1815 he was acting as general contractor for the construction of residential and commercial buildings in the city and in 1818 received the contract to design and build the three storey headquarters of the Bank of Montreal, St. James Street, MONTREAL, QUE. Upon its completion in 1819 it had already drawn public attention as 'the elegant and commodious building, erected for the Bank of Montreal n a style calculated to do great credit to the architect, Mr. Andrew White, of this city' (Canadian Courant [Montreal], 19 April 1819, 2). A view of the finely proportioned Georgian facade of the bank can be found in the Picture Collection of National Archives of Canada (NAC C-16492) These published references left little doubt about his role as an architect, a professional occupation alluded to again in 1826 at the marriage ceremony of Margaret White 'eldest daughter of Andrew White, architect of this city' (Montreal Herald, 7 June 1826, 3). White was also active as property developer and businessman, later becoming chief contractor for important public works projects including excavations for the Lachine Canal (1821-24) and the construction of locks on the Rideau Canal (1827-30). He died in Montreal during the cholera epidemic on 11 July 1832 (biog. Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vi, 1987, 811-13; inf. Stephen A. Otto, Toronto)