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

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

and

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, 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 ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, 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, Luxemb ...

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 Canadian railway that operated from 1872 to 1918, when it became part of Canadian National Railways. As the railway was also completely ow ...

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. The ...

, 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 Theater in Moncton in the mid-1920s. NS StBernard tango7174

Fréchet became involved in the

Acadian The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...

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 , a founding member of the revitalized newspaper (1920s, see Valentin Landry), a city councillor for

Moncton City Council The Moncton City Council (french: Conseil municipal de Moncton) 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 s ...

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 A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

) Elsewhere in New Brunswick: * Saint-Antoine l'Ermite Church, Saint-Antoine * St. Joseph's Church,

Shediac Shediac (official in both languages; ''Shédiac'' is colloquial French) is a heavily Acadian town in Westmorland County, New Brunswick. The town is home to the famous Parlee Beach and is known as the "Lobster Capital of the World". It hosts a ...

* Léger Pharmacy, Shediac (1912) * Church of St. Francis Xavier, Charlo * 21 Gray Street,

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

(1919) * John Peck House, Hillsborough (1919) * Creaghan Building,

Miramichi The name "Miramichi" was first applied to a region in the northeast of New Brunswick, Canada, and has since been applied to other places in Canada and the United States. Although other interpretations have been suggested, it is believed that "Mirami ...

(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 Grand-Pré National Historic Site is a park set aside to commemorate the Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia, Grand-Pré area of Nova Scotia as a centre of Acadian settlement from 1682 to 1755, and the British Great Upheaval, deportation of the Acadians that ...

* St. Bernard Church,

St. Bernard, Nova Scotia ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

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