Aquin, William Pierre | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada

AQUIN, William Pierre (1891-1936) was active in Montreal from 1932 until his sudden death in 1936. Born in Montreal he graduated from the School of Architecture at the University of Montreal and worked with the architectural staff of the Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian Vickers Ltd. He moved to New York City after 1919 and joined the successor firm of the office of McKim, Mead & White to assist with the designs of the Masonic Temple, Newark, N.J., and the Beth Israel Hospital, New York City. He returned to Montreal and commenced his own practice in 1931; one of his earliest proposals was for a refined Art Deco theatre and recreation hall on Canora Road at Graham Boulevard, TOWN OF MOUNT ROYAL, QUE. (Daily Commercial News [Toronto], 29 Oct. 1931, illus.), but it is uncertain if this project was realized. In 1932 he designed a retail store and warehouse for D. Hushion Ltd., Mountain Street, MONTREAL, QUE. (C.R., xlvi, 19 Oct. 1932, 49). A lack of construction activity during the Depression resulted in a dearth of architectural commissions, and he often collaborated with Maxwell M. Kalman from 1933 onward. He died in Montreal on 25 January 1936 (obituary in La Presse [Montreal], 27 Jan. 1936, 20; Gazette [Montreal], 27 Jan. 1936, 5).