From the July 14, 1959 issue of the Windsor Star:
D.J. Cameron Scottish Born
David James Cameron, prominent Windsor architect for 38 years died Monday in hospital. He was 75 and had been in failing health since retiring a few years ago.
Mr. Cameron was born in the parish of Carmyllie, Forfarshire, Scotland. He was educated at the Morgan Academy, Dundee, and studied architecture in the office of Leslie Ower, F.R.I.B.A. (Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects.)
He came to Canada in 1907, and for six years was at the office of Darling & Pearson of Toronto. In 1912 he went to New York for a course of study in the Beaux Arts Society of Architects.
The the outbreak of World War I he returned to Scotland and enlisted in the Royal Engineers. In 1916 Mr. Cameron was commissioned as a lieutenant and was demobilized in 1919.
Returning to Canada, he was in Toronto for a brief period before coming to Windsor in December 1919. He was on the staff of Howard Crane and other Detroit architects for about a year. In 1921 he opened an office in Windsor. His first important building was the Windsor-Walkerville Technical School (now Lowe Vocational School), which was won in a competition.
In 1922 he formed a partnership with William Ralston and designed many outstanding buildings. The first unit of the Essex County Sanatorium, Kennedy Collegiate, and the Bartlett Building are some. The partnership of Cameron & Ralston dissolved in 1929.
Since 1934, in addition to practicing architecture, he had been Windsor representative of the Ontario Loan and Debenture Company. He was also architect in charge of wartime housing in Windsor for its duration.
In recent years Mr. Cameron designed a number of buildings for the Bell Telephone Company, and the Windsor Utilities Commission. His last architectural accomplishment was the Windsor Utilities Commission office building at Ouellette Ave. and Elliott St.
Mr. Cameron is survived by his widow, Eva Bowlby Cameron; and one son Joseph Carruthers Cameron, both of Windsor. Funeral services will be held Wedensday at 3 p.m. D.S.T. in the Veale Funeral Home in Simcoe. Rev. David Milne of St. John’s Anglican Church in Simcoe will officiate.
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He really did design some of the nicer buildings in Windsor. Even the WUC offices on Ouellette are nice.
Spam.
- Great find Andrew. Cameron was a talented guy.
Wow! Quite the resume. I love all those buildings. Would the Essex County Sanatorium be IODE Hospital? Part of Kennedy CI's charm is that large front lot and those towers. There never seems to be enough land around these fine properties. WD Lowe SS is a wonderful building. Is the Bell Canada building still being used? I was looking at it last week and thought it was pretty amazing, especial towards the top.
That is an impressive roster of work--have always liked the WUC HQ on Ouellette--great looking building.
The Bell Building on Goyeau was not Cameron's, that was done by Montreal Architect F.J. McNabb... The Bell buildings were the smaller ones, the one on Francois (?) just south of David Maxwell school is one of his...
Is he the Cameron of Cameron Blvd?
Any one know where the Essex County Sanatorium was/is? Did it become IODE?
Lisa, there was one in Colchester - although I've never figured out exactly where. It was supposedly a satellite campus of Metropolitan.
Once upon a time there was one (Sanatorium) at Union on the Lake when TB was rampant.
Here's a link to a page that has interesting history of Windsor's medical history:
http://hih.uwindsor.ca/wordpress/index.php/2009/10/07/border-city-medicine-toward-a-history-of-health-practice-in-windsor/