Reid, Watson Elkinah | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada

REID, Watson Elkinah (1858-1943), a member of the well-known family of Reid Brothers Architects, of San Francisco, Calif., was credited with many landmarks in that state including the Hotel Coronado at San Diego (1887-88), the Call Tower, San Francisco (c. 1897), the Merritt Block, Los Angeles, and the Carnegie Library at San Rafael, Calif. The three brothers included James M. Reid (1851-1943), Merritt J. Reid ( -1932) and Watson E. Reid, and all were born near Saint John, N.B. James was educated at McGill University and worked as a draftsman in Saint John after the Great Fire there in June 1877. Watson E. was born in Harvey, N.B. and educated at Mount Allison University. After studying architecture he joined his brother's firm of Reid Brothers in San Francisco, and took charge of their San Diego branch. In 1899 Watson E. returned to New Brunswick and for the next twelve years served as secretary to Hon. A.R. McClelan, the Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick. He also carried on an architectural practice, although his name can be linked with only a few works. With the influence and support of McClelan, his plans were selected for the Albert County Court House at Hopewell Cape, N.B. in 1904. That same year he also submitted plans for the Carleton County Court House at Woodstock, N.B., but his design was not accepted. After the death of his wife in 1908 he moved to Vancouver where he was engaged in the building business as a contractor until 1936 when he retired. He died there on 28 December 1943 (obit. Vancouver Sun, 29 Dec. 1943, 13; Province [Vancouver], 30 Dec. 1943, 5; Saint John Telegraph Journal, 17 Jan. 1944, 2). Information on American works by the Reid Brothers can be found in Richard E. Ritz, Architects of Oregon, 2002, 330-31.

HOPEWELL HILL, N.B., residence for Senator McClelan, 1892 (Daily Sun [Saint John], 6 May 1892, 2)
HOPEWELL HILL, N.B., layout and plan of the village cemetery, 1892 (Daily Sun [Saint John], 29 Sept. 1892, 2)
HOPEWELL CAPE, N.B., Albert County Court House, 1904-05 (M. Carter, Early Canadian Courthouses, 1983, 65, 208, illus.)
RIVERSIDE-ALBERT, N.B., Consolidated School, 1904, still standing in 2024 (Evening Mail [Halifax], 25 June 1904, 16; Amherst Daily News, 6 Aug. 1904, 3; C.R., xvi, 19 April 1905, 6; J. Leroux, Building New Brunswick-An Architectural History, 2008, 104, illus.)
RIVERSIDE, N.B., Anglican Church, Church Street at Main Street, 1906, still standing in 2024 (Daily Sun [Saint John], 12 Sept. 1906, 7, descrip.)