Fournier, Joseph | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada

FOURNIER, Joseph (1790-1832) was a master mason and the designer of the first Roman Catholic cathedral erected in Montreal. Begun in 1823, St. Jacques Roman Catholic Cathedral, St. Denis Street, MONTREAL, QUE. was completed in 1826 but burned to the ground in 1852 (O. Maurault, Saint-Jacques de Montreal, 1923, 18-24, illus. & descrip.; L. Voyer, Eglises Disparues, 1981, 92-3, illus. & descrip.). The plaque placed within the cornerstone, inscribed 'J. Fournier, Architecto', was salvaged from the ruins of the church on 9 July 1852. The church was rebuilt by John Ostell in 1854-57. Fournier's neoclassical design for the colonnaded facade may have been inspired by the competition- winning scheme by Giovanni N. Servandoni for the Church of Saint Sulpice, Paris, constructed in 1737.