Walter F. Fontaine

Holy Family R. C. Church, Woonsocket, RI. 1909.
St. Ann R. C. Church, Woonsocket, RI. 1913-14.
Mt. St. Charles Academy, Woonsocket, RI. 1922-24.
Walter F. Fontaine House, Woonsocket, RI. 1925.
Union St.-Jean Baptiste d'Amerique Building, Woonsocket, RI. 1926.

Walter Francis Fontaine (1871–1938) was an American architect of French Heritage from Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

Fontaine was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts in 1871 to parents that had moved there from Woonsocket. When he was a young child, his family moved back to Woonsocket, where his father, John B. Fontaine (1836-1895) was a prominent building contractor.[1]

He was educated in the local schools, and began his architectural training in 1887 in the office of Willard Kent, a local architect. [2] After additional training in Europe in 1893, he worked for the Providence firm of Stone, Carpenter & Willson.[2] Near the end of his time there, he was responsible for the construction supervision of that firm's Providence Public Library and Union Trust Co. Building.[1]

In 1901 he returned to Woonsocket where he opened his own office. Beginning in 1903, he worked with Elmer H. Kinnicutt as Fontaine & Kinnicutt.[1] This association ended upon Kinnicutt's death in January of 1910. In 1921, his two sons, Oliver W. and Paul N. Fontaine began working for him. By this time Joseph M. Mosher was also associated with the office. In 1935, both sons became partners in the newly reorganized firm of Walter F. Fontaine & Sons. It remained as such until the elder Fontaine's death.

After their father's death, his sons reorganized the firm as Walter F. Fontaine, Incorporated. It remained as such until 1942, when Paul left to participate in the war effort.[3] In his brother's absence, Oliver opened his own office, and continued in active practice into the 1970s.

Fontaine was a member of the AIA and served for a time as Vice President of the Rhode Island chapter. He was also a member of the Rhode Island State Planning Board.

Fontaine and his wife, Obeline Lucier Fontaine, died during the Hurricane of 1938 at their summer home in Charlestown, Rhode Island.[2]

Several of his buildings have been included in the National Register of Historic Places.

Architectural Works

While in private practice, 1901-1903:

Fontaine & Kinnicutt, 1903-1910:

Private practice, 1910-1935:

Walter F. Fontaine & Sons, 1935-1938:

Walter F. Fontaine, Inc., 1938-1942:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Representative Men and Old Families of Rhode Island. Vol. 3. 1908
  2. 1 2 3 "Walter F. Fontaine". http://www.woonsocket.org/. n.d. Web.
  3. Progressive Architecture 1943: 75.
  4. Main Street Historic District NRHP Nomination. 1991.
  5. Engineering News 1903: 121.
  6. Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide 2 May 1903: 864.
  7. "Church of Aloysius de Gonzaga". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. Web.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Historic Resources of Woonsocket, Rhode Island NRHP Nomination. 1976.
  9. 1 2 Jordy, William H. Buildings of Rhode Island. 2004.
  10. Our Lady of Lourdes Church Complex NRHP Nomination. 1990.
  11. Fibre and Fabric 12 May 1906: 13.
  12. Angell, Frank C. Annals of Centerdale. 1909.
  13. Central Falls, Rhode Island: Statewide Historical Preservation Report P-CF-1. 1978.
  14. Norton, Paul F. Rhode Island Stained Glass: An Historical Guide. 2001.
  15. Engineering Record 12 Sept. 1908: 46b.
  16. Warren, Rhode Island: Statewide Historic Preservation Report B-W-1. 1975.
  17. 1 2 3 Norton, Paul F. Rhode Island Stained Glass: An Historical Guide. 2001.
  18. Engineering Record 4 July 1908: 60.
  19. Engineering Record 26 Dec. 1908: 41.
  20. American Architect 9 Nov. 1910: 2.
  21. 1 2 Woonsocket, Rhode Island: Statewide Historic Preservation Report P-W-1. 1976.
  22. American Architect 7 Aug. 1912: 14.
  23. School Board Journal July 1913: 23.
  24. American Contractor 29 March 1913: 55.
  25. Electrical World 19 Dec. 1914: 1225.
  26. Engineering News 13 Nov. 1913: 325.
  27. American Contractor 17 July 1915: 60.
  28. American Contractor 8 Jan. 1916: 33.
  29. American Contractor 8 April 1916: 55.
  30. American Contractor 25 Dec. 1915: 42.
  31. American Contractor 21 Oct. 1916: 62.
  32. American Contractor21 July 1917: 47.
  33. American Contractor 25 Nov. 1916: 53.
  34. American Contractor 26 May 1917: 27/
  35. "Blackstone High School". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. Web.
  36. American Architect 25 June 1919: 16.
  37. American Contractor 15 Feb. 1919: 55.
  38. American Contractor 17 July 1920: 54.
  39. American Contractor 6 Nov. 1921: 53.
  40. American Contractor 9 Sept. 1922: 38.
  41. American Contractor 27 April 1921: 48.
  42. American Contractor 5 Aug. 1922: 48.
  43. "Sacred Heart Parochial School". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. Web.
  44. Engineering News-Record 1923: 55.
  45. 1 2 Historic and Architectural Resources of West Warwick, Rhode Island: A Preliminary Report. 1979.
  46. Meras, Phyllis and Katherine Imbrie. An Explorer's Guide: Rhode Island. 2012.
  47. Domestic Engineering 1926: 95.
  48. Domestic Engineering and the Journal of Mechanical Contracting 1927: 13
  49. "Saint Joseph's French Catholic Church". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. Web.
  50. "Bellingham Public Library". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. Web.
  51. Guide officiel des Franco-Américains. 1940.
  52. 1 2 Bridgemen's Magazine 1932: 163.
  53. Bridgemen's Magazine 1932: 99.
  54. Engineering News-Record 1933: 91.
  55. "Sacread Heart Roman Catholic Church". mhc-macris.net. Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d. Web.
  56. Bridgemen's Magazine 1935: 88.
  57. Bridgemen's Magazine 1935: 547-548.
  58. Bridgemen's Magazine 1935: 682.
  59. Bridgemen's Magazine 1937: 283.
  60. Bridgemen's Magazine 1939: 406.
  61. Bridgemen's Magazine 1940: 209.
  62. Bridgemen's Magazine 1941: 211.

Further reading

Kervick, Francis William Wynn (1962). Architects in America of Catholic tradition. C.E. Tuttle Co. p. 50. 

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