Bird, John, 1923-2008.

John Bird fonds, 1942-1992, predominant 1954-1992.

1,072 items, 0.53 l.m. of textual documents.

Access by appointment only.

Consists of 906 drawings and reproductions, 154 photographs, 12 panels and 0.53 metres of textual documents. The John Bird fonds documents the professional practice of the Westmount-based architect, and includes drawings and photographs of 24 architectural projects carried out in and around Montréal, Québec between 1954 and 1992. The fonds also contains a number of published articles that document John Bird's professional activities. Key projects that are represented include the Canadian Technical Tape Building, St. Laurent (1955-1963), Saint Gabriel's Church, Montréal (1959-1960), and Saint John Brebeuf Church, Lasalle (1962-1966). The fonds also includes numerous projects for Toronto-Dominion Bank buildings (1959-1992) as well as residential designs completed for the Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation (1956-1969).

John H.R. Bird (born Montréal, 1923; died Montréal, 2008) attended elementary and secondary schools in Montréal. He graduated with a B. Arch. from McGill University's School of Architecture in 1949. During his studies and for a period afterwards Bird worked for the Montréal firm of Mayerovitch & Bernstein, from 1944 to 1951. In 1951 Bird began a private practice in Montréal. He created his most notable independent work between 1959-1969 in a number of religious buildings for Catholic parishes in Montréal and suburbs (in 1953 Bird converted to Catholicism). In 1969 the architect closed his office to work for various Montréal companies. From 1969-1974 Bird was the architect to the St. Lawrence Seaway Authority, then he moved on to become chief architect for T. Pringle & Son Ltd. between 1974-1977. Bird joined Quésult Ltée., Montréal, as head of the architectural department for Algerian projects from 1977-1979, and then became an architectural consultant in the firm of Jacques Béïque Architecte from 1979-1982. He re-opened a private practice in 1983, and went into semi-retirement in 1994.

Canadian architects.
Architecture (object genre) Canada Québec (Province) Montréal Region 1950-2000.
Churches Canada Québec (Province) Montréal Region 1950-1990.
Banks (financial institutions) Canada Québec (Province) Montréal Region 1950-2000.
Industrial buildings Canada Québec (Province) Montréal Region 1950-1980.
Houses Canada 1950-1970.

Fonds (collections)
Architectural drawings (visual works)
Photographs.

John Bird archive, 1942-1992, predominant 1954-1992

Location: Library archives collection 276912
Call No.: AP108
Status: Available