HELBRONNER, Pierre Michel (1876-1934), active in Montreal for over thirty years as a staff architect with Thomas Pringle & Son. Helbronner was born in Montreal on 22 October 1876 and trained as an apprentice there with the leading architectural firm of Taylor & Gordon from September 1893 to September 1897, and remained with the firm through until October 1898. During this period, he attended courses in architecture at McGill University, and took classes in art and architectural drawing with Edmond Dyonnet, R.C.A, and with the sculptor Philippe Hebert.
He joined the Province of Quebec Association of Architects in 1898 and remained a member of that organization until his death in 1934. That same year, in 1898, he joined the Montreal architecture and engineering firm of Thomas Pringle & Son as a draftsman, clerk of works, and as a site supervisor. In 1907 he was promoted to Associate Architect in charge of design and supervision of various projects by the firm (see list of works under Thomas Pringle & Son). In 1908 he received an award from the French Government who conferred upon him the honorary title of "Officer d'Academie" for his contribution to French culture [Gazette [Montreal], 8 May 1908, 5). In March 1911, he was elected as an Associate of the Royal Inst. of British Architects in London, and his application was endorsed by Percy Nobbs, Philip Turner, and Cecil S. Burgess.
When Pringle Sr. died in 1911, Helbronner became a senior Associate of the company. Many of the industrial projects executed by the firm from 1912 to 1934 may be credited to Helbronner or other architects within the company. Helbronner died in Montreal on 23 January 1934 (obit. Gazette [Montreal], 24 Jan. 1934, 15; Ottawa Journal, 24 Jan. 1934, 9; obit. R.A.I.C. Journal, xi, Feb. 1934, 33; obit. Canadian Engineer [Montreal], lxxii, 6 Feb. 1934, 16; biog. and port. in Biographies Canadiennes Francaises, iv, 1924, 157; v, 1925, 326; inf. P.Q.A.A., Montreal; inf. Membership Application, R.I.B.A. London, dated 20 March 1911). Helbronner also enjoyed a considerable reputation in France for his poetry and literary articles, and he would often use his pen name of “Jacques Savene” as the author. In 1907, he won the annual poetry competition in France called “Les Annales“.