White, George N.

WHITE, George N. (1874-1964) served as Chief Architect for the Province of Ontario from 1934 until 1942 and was directly responsible for the design and construction of buildings erected for provincial use during this period. Born in Dundee, Scotland on 25 November 1874 he was educated at the Glasgow School of Art and at Heriot Watt College in Edinburgh. He articled with Alex Hutchison in Dundee (in 1890-95) and worked as his assistant until 1898, then moved to Glasgow to work for Burnett & Boston before joining the City Architect's Office in Edinburgh. In 1911 he emigrated to Canada and obtained a position with Darling & Pearson, the largest architectural office in Toronto, and remained with them until May 1913. At that time he joined the staff of the Provincial Architect's Dept., working directly under the supervision of F.R. Heakes, who trained him as his chief assistant over the next fifteen years.

When Heakes retired in late 1926 White was appointed Acting Provincial Architect, a post he held until 1934 when he assumed the full post of Provincial Architect. His major works from this period include the Administration Building at the Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, Ont., designed in a stripped Collegiate Gothic style (1930-32), and the special hospital and home at Callendar, Ont., built to accommodate the Dionne quintuplets. White retired in 1942 and was succeeded by George Williams. White continued to work in Toronto before returning to his native city in Scotland in 1947. He died there on 21 February 1964 (obit. Courier & Advertiser [Dundee], 22 Feb. 1964, 5; inf. Ontario Assoc. of Architects; R.I.B.A., Directory of British Architects 1834-1914, 2001, ii, 974). The Ontario Archives holds numerous sets of drawings for buildings designed by White and his staff during the period from 1927 to 1942 (OA, RG15-13).

ONTARIO GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS

GUELPH, ONT., Administration Building and Student Residence, on the campus of the Ontario Agricultural College (now the University of Guelph), 1930-32 (Const., xxiv, Nov. 1931, 336-44, illus. & descrip.; C.R., xlv, 25 Nov. 1931, illus. in advert.)
GALT, ONT., on the Galt-Preston Highway, Industrial School for Girls, for the Provincial Government, a 2 storey School and residence building overlooking the Grand River Valley, 1932 (Kitchener Daily Record, 5 March 1932, 3, detailed descrip.)
CALLENDAR, ONT., Dafoe Hospital for the Dionne Quintuplets, 1935; and Residence A and B, chapel and school, 1938 (dwgs. OA)
LONDON, ONT., Province of Ontario Savings Bank, Richmond Street at King Street, 1935 (dwgs. OA)
ST. CATHARINES, ONT., Province of Ontario Savings Bank, St. Paul Street at James Street, 1935 (dwgs. OA)
TORONTO, ONT., Province of Ontario Savings Bank, Danforth Avenue at Fenwick Avenue, 1936; converted to retail restaurant c. 1980; still standing in 2023 (dwgs. OA)
COBOURG, ONT., Nurse's Residence, at the Ontario Hospital, 1937 (dwgs. OA)
OTTAWA, ONT., Province of Ontario Savings Bank, Dalhousie Street at George Street, 1937-38 (dwgs. OA)
GUELPH, ONT., major addition to Guelph Reformatory, 1937 (C.R., l, 31 March 1937, 29)
TORONTO, ONT., major addition and new buildings at the Ontario Hospital for the Insane, Lakeshore Road, Mimico, 1937-38 (C.R., 1, 1 Sept. 1937, 29)
BRAMPTON, ONT., Tuberculosis and Mental Hospital, 1937 (C.R., l, 21 July 1937, 33)
ST. ANDREW'S, ONT. [near Cornwall], restoration of the Cemetery, and new cemetery entrance and gates, located near the burial site of The First Premier of Ontario. Hon. J.S. McDonald, 1938 (Evening Journal [Ottawa], 25 June 1938, 13, descrip.)
BELLEVILLE, ONT., power house at the Ontario School for the Deaf, 1939 (dwgs. OA)