René-Arthur Fréchet (June 6, 1879 – May 28, 1950) was a Canadian architect who was active in

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

and

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, modern day Acadia. He designed many churches and public buildings, a number of which are now protected for their architectural significance.

Life

Born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Fréchet obtained a degree in architecture from

Laval University Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxe ...

in 1898 and the same year he obtained a job with the

Intercolonial Railway The Intercolonial Railway of Canada , also referred to as the Intercolonial Railway (ICR), was a historic Canada, Canadian railway that operated from 1872 to 1918, when it became part of Canadian National Railways. As the railway was also compl ...

as an architect. Two years later, in 1900, he moved to

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. Th ...

, New Brunswick, for the railway, and resided at the Minto Hotel. In 1905, he opened his own architecture firm, developing a specialty in religious and domestic architecture.Regis Brun, ''The Acadians in Moncton, a century and a half of French presence at the Coude'', Moncton, 1999, p. 83. However, he was not limited to these architectural fields. Notably, he designed the Capitol Theatre in Moncton in the mid-1920s. NS StBernard tango7174

Fréchet became involved in the

Acadian The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...

community. In 1903, he married Elvina Cormier, daughter of local merchant Simon Cormier. Fréchet was a member of the provisional management team for the French-language Acadian newspaper ''L'Évangéline'', a founding member of the revitalized newspaper (1920s, see Valentin Landry), a city councillor for

Moncton City Council The Moncton City Council () is the governing body of the City of Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. It consists of a mayor and ten councillors elected to four-year terms. The council is non- partisan with the mayor serving as the chairman, casting a ...

for several years, and a member of Société Nationale l'Assomption. René-Arthur Fréchet died on May 28, 1950, in Moncton. Two days later, Émery Leblanc published a letter in ''L'Évangéline'' in memory of Frechet, highlighting his accomplishments.

Works

In Moncton: * Mary's Home * Provincial Bank of Canada * Brunswick Hotel (now Crowne Plaza, significantly altered) * Capitol Theatre * Academy of the Sacred Heart * St. Bernard's Roman Catholic Church * Hôtel-Dieu and nurse's residence * Good Shepherd Sisters Building (now the Léopold-Taillon Building, University of Moncton) Elsewhere in New Brunswick: * Saint-Antoine l'Ermite Church, Champdoré * St. Joseph's Church, Shediac * Léger Pharmacy, Shediac (1912) * Church of St. Francis Xavier, Charlo * 21 Gray Street,

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy), Saint John River, ...

(1919) * John Peck House, Hillsborough (1919) * Creaghan Building, Miramichi (1924) * Church of St. John the Baptist and St. Joseph, Tracadie (1925) * Bourgeois House, Tracadie (1938) * Government of Canada Building, North Head (1939) In Nova Scotia * Memorial Church, Grand-Pré National Historic Site * St. Bernard Church, St. Bernard, Nova Scotia

Legacy

In 2012, a park in the Sunny Brae neighbourhood of Moncton was named to recognize the legacy of René-Arthur-Fréchet. Fréchet had been virtually forgotten at the time of the park's naming, and in 2016 residents petitioned to have it given another name. The publicity revitalized his memory.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frechet, Rene-Arthur Canadian architects Acadia 1879 births 1950 deaths Université Laval alumni