FINDLAY, William (1820-1874) was born in Kirkwall, Scotland and began a career as builder and architect in Halifax, N.S. in 1850. His works include a variety of residential, commercial and institutional buildings, although he had little success with the latter. In 1853 he prepared a design for a new Court House of wood frame construction on the site of the old Poor House Burial Ground (Nova Scotian [Halifax], 12 Dec. 1853, 393), but city councillors feared that their valuable records would be quickly destroyed by fire in a building of this form of construction, and his scheme was set aside until 1858 when the design for a substantial stone structure by William Thomas was accepted. He continued to practice in Halifax until May 1863 when an auction of household furniture at his residence in Sackville Street was held '..because Mr. Findlay has sold his house and is going to the country' (British Colonist [Halifax], 7 May 1863, 3). He moved to Truro, N.S. where he died on 10 August 1874 (death notice in Evening Reporter [Halifax], 11 Aug. 1874, 3; biography in M. Rosinski, Architects of Nova Scotia: A Biographical Dictionary, 1994, 91)
(works in Halifax unless noted)
GRANVILLE STREET, a pair of stores for Messrs. Humphrey, Druggists, and for Messrs. Doull & Co., 1851 (Nova Scotian [Halifax], 7 April 1851, 105)
BEDFORD ROW, at Prince Street, new block of 'three elegant shops and storehouses to be completed by early Autumn', 1852 (Nova Scotian [Halifax], 16 Feb. 1852, 50)
CITY MARKET, George Street at Water Street, 1853 (British North American [Halifax], 21 Jan 1853, 2, t.c.)
WINDSOR, N.S., King's College, a new roof, repairs and alterations to the existing building, 1857 (Minutes of King's College, 3 March 1857, 169; 3 Jan. 1859, 191)
GRANVILLE STREET, building for J.B.. Bennett & Co., 1857 (Halifax Daily Sun, 8 April 1857, 2, descrip.)
HOLLIS STREET, new shop for McIlreath & Cabot, Tailors, 1858 (Halifax Morning Sun, 3 May 1858, 2, descrip.)
MUMFORD TERRACE, Morris Street at Hollis Street, a row of six terrace houses, 1858 (Halifax Morning Star, 20 Aug. 1858, 3)
FIRE ENGINE HOUSE, Grand Parade, 1859 (Minute Book of the Halifax City Council, 17 Jan. 1859, 1)
GRANVILLE STREET, a "...neat, convenient and extremely elegant " retail store for J. Andrew Graham, "...near his former premises on Granville Street", 1859 (British Colonist [Halifax], 21 April 1859, 2, descrip.)
DEAF & DUMB INSTITUTE, Gottingen Street near North Street, addition of school rooms and dormitories, 1862 (Annual Report of the Institution for the Deaf & Dumb, 1862)