PRINGLE, Thomas (1830-1911), a leading mill engineer who, in the later period of his career, began to offer architectural services in collaboration with his son Alexander. Born in Huntingdon, Que. in 1830, he started his own engineering firm in Montreal in 1850, and was prominently connected with many of the water power developments and mill building operations in Canada. He had a particular interest in the potential of water power from the Lachine Canal, and his recommendations led to the formation of the Lachine Rapids Hydraulic & Land Company, later incorporated into the Montreal Light, Heat and Power Co. He took his son into partnership in 1890, but by 1898 he had virtually retired from day-to-day business activity, leaving his son to design many of the large industrial manufacturing buildings credited to the firm in Montreal and elsewhere.
After the death of Pringle in May 1911, his son Alexander Pringle (1864-1928) continued to operate the company under the original name T. Pringle & Son, designing substantial industrial buildings in Quebec and Ontario, many using the innovative new building material of reinforced concrete. Unlike the spartan functionalist appearance of the works of his rival Albert Kahn of Detroit, the buildings by Alexander Pringle were often more traditional in style, usually clad in brick, with boldly expressed cut-stone porticos at the principal entrances to the building. His best known work is the Office & Printing Plant for the Montreal Gazette Newspaper Co., St. Antoine Street, 1924-25. Thomas Pringle died in Montreal on 7 May 1911 after a long illness (obit. Gazette [Montreal], 11 May 1911, 2; C.R., xxv, 17 May 1911, 56; Canadian Society of Civil Engineers, Report of the Annual Meeting, xxvi, 1912, 33; biog. Montreal Illustrated, 1894, unpag.). One of the directors of the company after 1911 was the Montreal architect Pierre M. Helbronner, who remained with the firm until 1934. Another staff architect was E. Carlyle Miller who ran the Toronto office of T. Pringle & Son from 1912 until after 1931 and beyond.
T. PRINGLE
MONTMORENCY, QUE., cotton factory for Charles R. Whitehead, 1889 (Quebec City b.p. 3739, 12 June 1889)
T. PRINGLE & SON
(works in Montreal)
CANADA JUTE CO., St. Martin Street near William Street, factory, 1899 (Le Prix Courant [Montreal], xxv, No. 4, July 1899)
DOMINION COTTON MILLS, Notre Dame Street at Harbour Street, 1900 (C.R., xi, 19 Sept. 1900, 3)
DOMINION OIL CLOTH CO., Notre Dame Street, factory, 1902 (C.R., xiii, 24 Sept. 1902, 3)
CANADA SWITCH & SPRING CO., St. Patrick Street, 1903 (C.R., xiv, 25 Feb. 1903, 4)
THOMAS ROBERTSON & CO. LTD., Common Street at Dalhousie Street, warehouse, 1904 (Le Prix Courant [Montreal], Week No. 34, 1904, 53)
MONTREAL STEEL WORKS, St. Etienne Street, office building, 1905; power house, 1906; foundry, 1910 (Le Prix Courant, Week No. 19, 1905, 55; Week No. 28, 1906, 46; C.R., xxiv, 13 April 1910, 28, t.c.)
THOMAS DAVIDSON MFR. CO. LTD., Vinet Street at Delisle Street, factory, 1905 (Royal Inst. of British Architects, London, membership application form by Pierre M. Helbronner, with list of works by Thomas Pringle & Son, dated 20 March 1911)
CANADIAN RUBBER CO., Notre Dame Street East at Papineau Square, factory, 1906; addition, 1910; major addition, 1911 (Le Prix Courant, Week No. 31, 1906, 44; C.R.., xxiv, 3 Aug. 1910, 25, t.c.; C.R., xxv, 13 Sept. 1911, 53)
MONTREAL ROLLING MILLS CO., Napolean Street near Tracy Street, factory and warehouse, 1906 (Le Prix Courant [Montreal], Week No. 19, 1906, 671)
MONTREAL GENERAL HOSPITAL, Lagauchetiere Street near St. Dominique Street, laundry building, 1907 (Le Prix Courant [Montreal], Week No. 14, 1907, 277)
MONTREAL GAZETTE PRINTING CO., St. Antoine Street, newspaper printing plant, 1907 (Royal Inst. of British Architects, London, membership application form by Pierre M. Helbronner, with list of works by Thomas Pringle & Son, dated 20 March 1911)
HOLLAND VARNISH CO., Park Avenue at Atlantic Avenue, office and factory, 1910 (C.R., xxiv, 20 April 1910, 25, t.c.)
JAMES WILDER FURNITURE MFR. CO., Bleury Street near Berthelet Street, new front elevation and facade of existing building, 1910 (Royal Inst. of British Architects, London, membership application form by Pierre M. Helbronner, with list of works by Thomas Pringle & Son, dated 20 March 1911)
CANADIAN TUBE & IRON CO. LTD., D'Aragon Street, factory, 1910-11 (Royal Inst. of British Architects, London, membership application form by Pierre M. Helbronner, with list of works by Thomas Pringle & Son, dated 20 March 1911)
CANADIAN FAIRBANKS MORSE CO., St. Antoine Street at St. Cecile Street, 1913 (C.R., xxvii, 19 Feb. 1913, 74)
CANADIAN VICKERS LTD., Notre Dame Street East at First Avenue, 1913 (C.R., xxvii, 20 Aug. 1913, 88)
DARLING BROS. LTD., Prince Street at Ottawa Street, addition of a foundry, 1918; major addition 1941 (Gazette [Montreal], 24 April 1941, 19, descrip.; 18 July 1941, 19; Montreal, Architecture Industrielle, 1982, 106-07, illus.; inf. Scott Edwards)
WILLIAMS & WILSON LTD., Inspector Street, office and factory, 1918 (C.R., xxxii, 31 July 1918, 41; xxxiii, 9 April 1919, 335-6, illus. & descrip.; Const., xiii, Feb. 1920, 48-52, illus. & descrip.)
MONTREAL GAZETTE PRINTING CO., St. Antoine Street at Ste. Cecile Street, 1924-25 (Const., xix, Aug. 1926, 259-65; R.A.I.C. Journal, iii, July/Aug. 1926, xxxvii, illus. in advert.)
SHERWIN-WILLIAMS CO., Centre Street, major addition to factory, 1925 (C.R., xxxix, 22 July 1925, 51)
ASSOCIATED SCREEN NEWS LTD. BUILDING, Ste. Catherine Street West at Decarie Street, 1926 (inf. Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal)
ALEX MURRAY & CO. LTD., Richelieu Street, 1928-29 (Montreal, Architecture Industrielle, 1982, 154-55, illus.)
ROBERT MITCHELL CO. LTD., Belair Avenue, in Ville St. Laurent, foundry, 1929 (C.R., xliii, 10 July 1929, 70)
OUTREMONT, alterations and repairs to factory for McArthur Irwin Ltd., 1937 (Outremont b.p. 3218, 21 June 1937)
ROYAL TYPEWRITER CO., Park Avenue near Jean Talon Boulevard, a three storey factory and office block, 1938-39 (Gazette [Montreal], 5 Nov. 1938, 4, illus. & descrip.; Hartford Courant [Hartford, Conn.], 18 Oct. 1939, 24, illus. & descrip.; Montreal Daily Star, 15 Feb. 1939, 29, descrip.; Architectural Review [London], xci, April 1942, 95, illus.; inf. Scott Edwards)
LION VINEGAR CO. LTD., Drolet Street near Gilford Street, major addition to factory, 1939-40 (Gazette [Montreal], 18 Nov. 1939, 23, descrip.; inf. Scott Edwards)
ST. HUBERT, QUE., bomber aircraft assembly plant for Canadian Associated Aircraft Ltd. 1939 (Gazette [Montreal], 13 Dec. 1939, 13, illus. & descrip.; inf. Scott Edwards)
CANADIAN MOTOR BOAT CO. LTD., St. Patrick Street at Angers Street, factory, 1940 (C.R., liii, 2 Oct. 1940, 17)
ALEXANDER MURRAY & CO., Richelieu Street, St. Henri, major addition and alterations to factory, 1940 (Gazette [Montreal], 4 Jan. 1940, 13; inf. Scott Edwards)
LONGUEUIL, QUE., Fairchild Aircraft Mfr. Co., large addition to assembly plant, 1940 (Gazette [Montreal], 6 June 1940, 21; inf. Scott Edwards)
W.J. BUSH LTD., St. Helene Street near Notre Dame Street, factory, 1941 (Gazette [Montreal], 24 April 1941, 19, descrip.)
MONTREAL LOCOMOTIVE WORKS LTD., Notre Dame Street East, between Dixon Avenue and Lacoste Avenue, large factory, 1941-42 (Gazette [Montreal], 7 May 1941, 7; inf. Scott Edwards)
DRUMMOND-McCALL CO. LTD., Ottawa Street, large addition and alterations to warehouse, 1941 (Gazette [Montreal], 18 July 1941, 19; inf. Scott Edwards)
DEPARTMENT OF MUNITIONS, a large weapons assembly plant for the federal government, 1941 (Gazette [Montreal], 5 Sept. 1941, 20; inf. Scott Edwards)
(works in Toronto)
CANADIAN FAIRBANKS MORSE CO., Bloor Street West near Sterling Road, a large 4 storey factory, 1909 (Toronto b.p. 18344, 23 Nov. 1909); and construction of a new factory, Sterling Road at Symington Avenue, 1912 (Canadian Machinery and Manufacturing News [Toronto], v, Aug. 1910, 41-43, illus. & descrip.;Toronto b.p. 34672, 10 June 1912 inf. Robert Hamilton)
CANADIAN RUBBER CO., Front Street East at Yonge Street, warehouse, 1910; demol. c. 1960 (Toronto b.p. 21088, 6 June 1910)
HEINTZMAN PIANO CO. LTD., Heintzman Avenue near Dundas Street West, factory, 1913 (Toronto b.p. 1620, 6 Jan. 1913)
HOLBROOKS LTD., Florence Street near Brock Avenue, warehouse, 1915 (Canadian Builder & Carpenter [Toronto], v, May 1915, 16, illus. & descrip.)
RONCESVALLES AVENUE, at Garden Avenue, stores and apartments for W.R. MacDonald, 1921 (Toronto b.p. 44424, 21 Oct. 1921)
DRUMMOND McCALL & CO., Front Street East near Trinity Street, office and warehouse, 1929 (Toronto b.p. 9596, 31 July 1929)
CANADA MALTING CO., grain elevator, foot of Bathurst Street, at the Western Gap, opposite Toronto Island Airport, c. 1929 (Architectural Review [London], xci, April 1942, 92, illus.)
MALTON AIRPORT, ONT., Canadian Associated Aircraft Ltd., bomber aircraft assembly plant, Airport Road, 1939, and later converted into assembly plant for the Avro Arrow jet (Gazette [Montreal], 27 June 1939, 11; 13 Dec. 1939, 13, descrip.; inf. Scott Edwards)
(works elsewhere)
MONTMORENCY FALLS, QUE., lighting station for the Montmorency Electric Power Co., c. 1892 (Montreal Illustrated, 1894, list of works)
MONTMORENCY FALLS, QUE., mill for the Riverside Mfr. Co., c. 1892 (Montreal Illustrated, 1894, list of works)
ST. HYACINTHE, QUE., power station and extension of the woolen mills for Granite Mills Co., c. 1892 (Montreal Illustrated, 1894, list of works)
ST. HYACINTHE, QUE., power station for the silk mill for Belding, Paul & Co., c. 1892 (Montreal Illustrated, 1894, list of works)
CORNWALL, ONT., power house, perhaps for the local electricity board, 1901 (C.R., xi, 16 Jan. 1901, 3)
ARNPRIOR, ONT., factory for an unnamed shirt manufacturer, 1906 (C.R., xvii, 14 March 1906, 6)
FORT WILLIAM, ONT., Canadian Iron & Foundry Co. Ltd., factory, 1906 (Royal Inst. of British Architects, London, membership application form by Pierre M. Helbronner, with list of works by Thomas Pringle & Son, dated 20 March 1911)
THREE RIVERS, QUE., cotton mill for Charles Whitehead, of Dominion Textile Co., 1907 (Gazette [Montreal], 25 April 1907, 10, descrip.)
SHAWINIGAN FALLS, QUE., factory for Shawinigan Cotton Co., 1910 (C.R., xxiv, 2 Feb. 1910, 24)
THETFORD MINES, QUE., a new reducing Mill for the Bell Asbestos Mines Co., 1910 (Royal Inst. of British Architects, London, membership application form by Pierre M. Helbronner, with list of works by Thomas Pringle & Son, dated 20 March 1911)
THREE RIVERS, QUE., major addition to Wabasso Cotton Co. factory, St. Maurice Street, 1910; major addition, 1921; addition, 1927 (C.R., xxiv, 13 April 1910, 32; xli, 23 March 1927, 54; Le Prix Courant, liv, 18 March 1921, 62)
THREE RIVERS, QUE., office and factory for Diamond Whitewear Co., 1910 (C.R., xxiv, 29 June 1910, 26, t.c.)
THREE RIVERS, QUE., pulp and paper mill for an unnamed client [possibly Wayagamack Pulp & Paper Co.], 1911 (C.R., xxv, 11 Jan. 1911, 29)
MAGOG, QUE., a water dam power house for the hydro electric power plant, 1911-12 (C.R., xxv, 6 Dec. 1911, 60)
THREE RIVERS, QUE., Wayagamack Pulp & Paper Co. Ltd., major addition to factory complex, 1924-25 (C.R., xxxviii, 29 Oct. 1924, 53)
WALKERVILLE, ONT., rack warehouse for Hiram Walker & Sons, Brant Street at Argyle Street, 1928 (C.R., xlii, 30 May 1928, 172)
MAGOG, QUE., major addition to the electric power house, for the Dominion Textile Co. Ltd., 1934 (Gazette [Montreal], 24 April 1934, 4, descrip.)
WINNIPEG, MAN., Western Vinegars Ltd., Redwood Avenue, major addition to factory, 1934 (Winnipeg Tribune, 15 Sept. 1934, 22, descrip.)
SHERBROOKE, QUE., major addition to Paton Mfr. Co. , Belvedere Street, 1938 (C.R., li, 27 April 1938, 45)
ST. HUBERT, QUE., Canadian Associated Aircraft Ltd., aircraft assembly plant, 1939 (Gazette [Montreal], 27 June 1939, 11; inf. Scott Edwards)