FOWLER, Joseph Ades (1850-1921) was the son of Henry and Ellis Ades Fowler of Brighton, England and was born there on 19 August 1850. He attended local grammar schools and the South Kensington School of Art in London. In 1865 he moved to Renfrew, Scotland to take technical courses in engineering and attend lectures at the University of Glasgow. He returned to Brighton in late 1866 and entered the office of Goulty & Gibbins, Architects; upon the death of Goulty he moved to London to work with Sir William Emerson and he prepared drawings under his supervision for major buildings at Allahabad, India. Fowler emigrated to Canada in 1870 and after settling in Toronto he formed a partnership with Silas James in January 1872. The firm of James & Fowler won First Premium of $200 in the competition for the new Ottawa City Hall, but their plans were later rejected by City Council as too costly (Michael Newton, Lower Town Ottawa 1854-1900, 1981, 458). Their partnership was dissolved in August of 1872 and Fowler began a practice under his own name. During 1874-75 he assisted the ailing William G. Storm with drawings for both the Carlton Street Methodist Church and St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Toronto, '...every detail of which was prepared by him during Mr. Storm's illness' (Goderich Signal, 17 March 1921, 10).
In early 1886 he formed a partnership with Thomas Cuthbertson of Woodstock, Ont., (see list of works under Cuthbertson & Fowler), but it is unclear if Fowler was directly involved in the activity of the Woodstock office since tender calls under his name continue to appear in Toronto newspapers from 1886 to 1894. After the untimely death of his Woodstock partner in April 1894 he arranged for his son Henry Ades Fowler to join his Toronto office, but within a year the partnership of Fowler & Son was dissolved; his son moved to Chicago and Fowler moved to Clinton, Ont. in July 1895 to supervise the completion of the Huron County House of Refuge. By 1898 he had taken up residence in Goderich, Ont. and remained active there until 1916. His best know work in the town is the bold Romanesque Revival design for the Carnegie Library (1903), a distinctive landmark sensitively situated on an awkward triangular site on Montreal Street. He died in that town on 5 March 1921 (obituary in the Goderich Signal, 17 March 1921, 10; biography and list of works in Dominion Illustrated [Toronto], 1891-92, 128; R.I.B.A., Directory of British Architects 1834-1914, 2001, i, 680)
J.A. FOWLER (works in Toronto unless noted)
GRACE ANGLICAN CHURCH, Elm Street near Elizabeth Street, 1875; demol. (Mail [Toronto], 22 June 1875, 4, descrip.; Globe [Toronto], 20 Aug. 1875, 4, descrip.)
BLOOR STREET WEST, residence for Col. William S. Durie, 1877 (Mail [Toronto], 2 May 1877, 2)
MONCK STREET, row of five houses for Charles Powell, 1877 (Mail [Toronto], 2 May 1877, 2)
SUMACH STREET, at Beech Street, two houses for Edward Taylor, 1877 (Mail [Toronto], 2 May 1877, 2)
BELLWOODS AVENUE, near Dundas Street West, residence for M.H. Fowler, 1877 (Mail [Toronto], 2 May 1877, 2)
SPADINA AVENUE, at Cecil Street, a block of nine houses for an unnamed owner, 1878 (Globe [Toronto], 10 April 1878, 3, t.c.)
QUEEN STREET WEST, west of Euclid Avenue, commercial block of six stores, 1881 (Telegram [Toronto], 2 April 1881, 2, t.c.)
BROCKTON TOWN HALL, Dundas Street West at Brock Avenue, 1881 (Globe [Toronto], 27 Aug. 1881, 8, t.c.)
DRAPER STREET, row of fourteen semi-detached houses, 1881 (Telegram [Toronto], 3 Sept. 1881, 5, t.c.)
BALDWIN STREET, near Huron Street, row of five houses for Richard & Winchester (Toronto b.p. 39, 6 March 1882)
McCAUL STREET, pair of houses for William Pudifin, 1882 (Toronto b.p. 94, 31 May 1882)
JOHN ABELL CO., Queen Street West at Abell Street, factory and row of worker's housing on Abell Street, 1882 (Globe [Toronto], 28 June 1882, 5, t.c.; Mail [Toronto], 23 Aug. 1882, 8, descrip.)
ST. HELEN'S ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOOL, Dundas Street West near Brock Street, 1882 (Telegram [Toronto], 7 Nov. 1882, 1, t.c.)
ROSE AVENUE, residence for George R. Baker, 1882 (Toronto b.p. 185, 25 Nov. 1882)
BROCK AVENUE SCHOOL, Brock Avenue at Margueretta Street, 1886 (Globe [Toronto], 26 May 1886, 6, t.c.)
DOVERCOURT VILLAGE PUBLIC SCHOOL, Hallam Street at Bartlett Avenue, 1887-88 (Telegram [Toronto], 30 April 1887, 3, t.c.; 13 June 1888, 2, t.c.; dwgs. at the Toronto Board of Education Archives)
PARKDALE TOWN HALL, Queen Street West at Cowan Avenue, 1887 (Globe [Toronto], 19 April 1887, 8; M. Laycock & B. Myrvold, Parkdale in Pictures, 1991, 50, illus.)
WEST TORONTO JUNCTION, Presbyterian Church, Ethel Avenue, 1888 (Telegram [Toronto], 30 June 1888, 2, t.c.)
DUNDAS STREET WEST, near Brock Avenue, residence, office and carriage house for Dr. John McConnell, 1888 (Toronto World, 19 July 1888, 2, t.c.)
WEST TORONTO JUNCTION, residence for R.W. Scarlett, Davenport Road, 1888 (Telegram [Toronto], 11 Aug. 1888, 7, t.c.)
STRATFORD, ONT., commercial block for the North Estate, 1889 (Architectural Era [Syracuse], iii, March 1889, 76)
QUEEN STREET WEST, at Peter Street, stores and flats for Thomas Crawford, 1889 (Architectural Era [Syracuse], iii, March 1889, 76)
TORONTO WATERWORKS HIGH LEVEL PUMPING STATION, Poplar Plains Road at McMaster Avenue, engine house and boiler house, 1889; enlargement and reconstruction of pumping station, 1890; demol. 1924 (Globe [Toronto], 10 Aug. 1889, 16, t.c.; Toronto Daily News, 14 June 1890, 8, t.c.)
SHAW STREET, at Arthur Street, three houses for an unnamed client, 1889 (Telegram [Toronto], 21 Sept. 1889, 3, t.c.)
MOULTON LADIES COLLEGE, Bloor Street East near Yonge Street, 1890 (list of works in Dominion Illustrated, 1892, 128)
CLOSE AVENUE, at Springhurst Avenue, three pairs of houses for McAffie & Newman, 1892 (Toronto b.p. 863, 3 June 1892)
SHANNON STREET, residence for Joseph A. Fowler, architect, 1892 (Toronto b.p. 884, 20 June 1892)
DOWLING AVENUE, opposite Leopold Street, two houses for R.M. Scott, 1892 (Toronto b.p. 945, 17 Aug. 1892)
QUEEN STREET WEST, near Dovercourt Road, three stores and dwellings above for J. Baker, 1892 (Toronto b.p. 956, 24 Aug. 1892)
SHERBOURNE STREET, opposite Shuter Street, pair of houses for William Hutchison, 1892 (Toronto b.p. 1000, 28 Sept. 1892)
BLOOR STREET WEST, near Brunswick Avenue, pair of stores and dwellings for William White, 1892 (Toronto b.p. 1125, 18 Oct. 1892)
GUELPH AVENUE, six pairs of houses for Palmer & Harrington, 1893 (C.R., iv, 13 April 1893, 2, t.c.)
COWAN AVENUE, south of King Street West, two houses for Mrs. Susan Kennedy, 1893 (Toronto b.p. 1319, 19 May 1893)
QUEEN STREET EAST, near Broadview Avenue, three stores and dwellings for William W. Walton, 1894 (Toronto b.p. 1618, 10 May 1894)
ROSE AVENUE, row of three houses for Mrs. M. McKillop, 1894 (Toronto b.p. 1617, 10 May 1894)
KING STREET WEST, near Cowan Avenue, residence and coach house for Davidson Todd, 1894 (Toronto b.p. 1664, 28 May 1894)
FOWLER & SON (works in Toronto and elsewhere)
CLINTON, ONT., Huron County House of Refuge, on the London Road, a commission won in a competition against 8 other architects 1894-95 (Clinton New Era, 15 June 1894, 4; and Huron News-Record [Clinton], 23 Oct. 1895, 1, detailed descrip.; C.R., v, 8 Nov. 1894, 1, t.c.; Free Press [London], 9 Nov. 1895, 6, illus. & descrip.)
TORONTO, ONT., residence for Alexander Mitchell, at Howard Park Avenue, residence for Alexander Mitchell, 1895 (Toronto b.p. 1842, 15 March 1895)
TORONTO, ONT., Gullet & Sons Ltd., Yonge Street near Charles Street West, showroom and sculptor's workshop for Frederick B. Gullett, 1895 (Toronto b.p. 1867, 16 April 1895)
BAYFIELD, ONT., a large and elaborate brick residence for W. James Burns, Reeve & Local Councillor, Louisa Street, facing The Square, 1896; still standing 2022 (Clinton New Era, 28 Oct. 1896, 1, detailed architectural descrip.)
J.A. FOWLER (works in Goderich)
TORONTO STREET, residence for George Thompson, 1898 (Clinton News-Record, 1 Dec. 1898, 4)
unnamed street, residence for W. Doherty, 1899 (Clinton New Era, 16 Feb. 1899, 8)
BRUCE STREET, residence for Mrs. Sallows, 1899 (Clinton New Era, 4 May 1899, 4)
THE SQUARE, two retail stores for Mr. Holland, "...on the east side of The Square", 1899 (Clinton New Era, 29 June 1899, 4)
ODD FELLOWS HALL, north side of Kingston Street, 1899 (Clinton New Era, 13 July 1899, 4; and 20 July 1899, 4)
ELGIN STREET, at Stanley Street, residence for Mr. Porter, 1899 (Clinton New Era, 7 Sept. 1899, 4)
JAILER'S RESIDENCE, for the Huron County Jail, 1901 (Clinton New Era, 28 June 1901, 4)
NORTH STREET METHODIST CHURCH, North Street Methodist Church, 1902 (C.R., xiii, 23 July 1902, 1, t.c.)
PUBLIC LIBRARY, Montreal Street at Lighthouse Street, 1903 (C.R., xiv, 1 April 1903, 1, t.c.)
unnamed street, residence for **Joseph A. Fowler*, architect, extensively remodelled "...in the English Domestic style", 1908 (Clinton News-Record, 15 Oct. 1908, 5, descrip.)
J.A. FOWLER (works elsewhere in Western Ontario)
BLYTH, ONT., public school, 1895-96 (Huron News-Record [Clinton], 24 July 1895, 1; and 26 July 1895, 8; Clinton New Era, 15 May 1896, 4)
CLINTON, ONT., residence for Mr. Hartwell, Ontario Street, 1896 (Clinton New Era, 19 Aug. 1896, 8)
CLINTON, ONT., residence for S. Davis, on the Huron Road, 1896 (Clinton New Era, 19 Aug. 1896, 8)
CLINTON, ONT. The Harland Block, Albert Street, extensive alterations and new facade to commercial block for the Harland Brothers, 1896 (Clinton New Era, 19 Aug. 1896, 8)
CLINTON, ONT., Public Library, known as the Stavely Memorial Building, Albert Street, 1897-98; addition, 1916 (Clinton New Era, 10 Sept. 1897, 8, descrip.; Clinton News-Record, 8 Sept. 1898, 1, descrip.; M. Beckman, The Best Gift, 1984, 95, illus.)
LONDESBOROUGH, ONT., Methodist Church, Queen Street near London Road, 1898; still standing in 2022 (Clinton New Era, 4 March 1898, 1; and 2 Dec. 1898, 4, detailed architectural descrip.; Clinton News-Record, 6 Oct. 1898, 8)
CLINTON, ONT., residence for Dr. Agnew "...to be built next year" in 1899 (Clinton New Era, 23 Sept. 1898, 8)
SEAFORTH, ONT., presbytery & residence for Rev. P. McCabe, 1899 (Signal [Goderich], 13 April 1899, 1, t.c.; Clinton New Era, 27 April 1899, 8)
BELFAST, ONT., Methodist Church, for Rev. Hackett, 1902 (C.R., xii, 25 Dec. 1901, 2)
BAYFIELD, ONT., Knox Presbyterian Church, Main Street, facing The Square, 1902; still standing in 2022 (Clinton New Era, 7 Feb 1902, 6, t.c.; C.R., xiii, 5 Feb. 1902, 1, t.c.)
CLINTON, ONT., Sovereign Bank, with two retail stores adjacent, a commercial block for H.B. Combe, 1903 (Clinton New Era, 17 July 1903, 8, descrip.)
SARNIA, ONT., residence for N. Davis Rougvie, London Road at Watson Street, 1905; still standing in 2023 (Register of Sarnia Heritage Property, 2010, illus. & descrip.)