Siméon Brais

Birth 1886 in Pointe-Saint-Charles, Montréal

Death 1963 in Montréal

FROM POINTE-SAINT-CHARLES TO VAUDREUIL

Joseph-Siméon Brais was born on April 1, 1886, in Saint-Charles parish of Montréal (Pointe-Saint-Charles district)¹. As a draftsman and architect, his academic background is unknown. On April 18, 1910, he married Marie-Jeanne Dutrisac (1888-1978) at the Saint-Michel Church in Vaudreuil². She was the daughter of precentor Hilarion Dutrisac and Cornélie Gauthier. The couple settled in Vaudreuil with Marie-Jeanne's parents³. In May 1916, her parents both died within few days of each other and the Brais-Dutrisac couple inherited the house on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Street (17 Léger Street)⁴. This would remain their residence until 1927⁵, after which they moved to 7084 Saint-Denis Street, in Montréal. Siméon Brais and his wife used the family home in Vaudreuil as a secondary home until it was sold in 1961⁶.

A PROLIFIC ARCHITECT

Siméon Brais was a prolific architect who contributed to or designed the construction of a significant number of religious, public, and residential buildings in Vaudreuil and Montréal for more than 50 years. One of his first known and documented projects was the restoration of Saint-Michel College in Vaudreuil. In January 1913, he was the architect that signed its plans and specifications⁷.

Then, in 1916, he worked on the expansion of the Sisters of Saint Anne Convent in Vaudreuil under the supervision of architect Joseph-Ovide Turgeon (1875-1933)⁸. In 1921, he was self-employed⁹ and opened an office in Montréal three years later. On several occasions, Brais collaborated with other architects, such as Jean-Paul Bastien (1922-1931), Zotique Trudel (1927-1928), Lucien Parent (1928-1929), Gaston Gagnier (1933-1938), Joseph-Armand Dutrisac (1939-1941), and Jean Savard (1946-1962). In Montréal, his main achievements are the Pine Court apartments (1929), the expansion of Montréal City Hall (1932), the Mother House of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (University of Montréal - Faculty of Environmental Design pavilion) (1936), and the Notre-Dame-Auxiliatrice de Verdun Church (1937-1939).

SIMÉON BRAIS’ WORK IN THE VAUDREUIL-DORION AREA

In Vaudreuil-Dorion¹⁰, the following buildings were designed by Siméon Brais: the current Saint-Michel Parish presbytery (with Jean-Paul Bastien) (1922)¹¹, the Dorion fire pump station (1923 - demolished in 1997), the Dorion municipal hall (1927)¹², the Vaudreuil community center (1946)¹³, the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church (with Joseph-Eugène Perron and Jean Savard) (1949)¹⁴, the Saint-Jean-Baptiste presbytery (with Jean Savard) (1950), and the École Centrale Saint-Michel (with Jean Savard) (1953-1954)¹⁵. In the Vaudreuil-Soulanges area, he also signed the plans for the Jardin de l'Enfance (Jardin-du-Sacré-Cœur) in Rigaud (with Joseph-Eugène Laliberté) (1935)¹⁶, the community center in Pointe-des-Cascades (1944-1945)¹⁷, and the Sainte-Thérèse Chapel in Vaudreuil-sur-le-Lac (with Jean Savard) (1948)¹⁸.

He died in Montréal on July 31, 1963, and was buried three days later in the Saint-Michel Church Cemetery in Vaudreuil¹⁹.

Related buildings and sites

Références

Scanned page from the Saint-Charles Parish registry, April 1,1886. Accessed November 20, 2016 on the Généalogie Québec - Institut généalogique Drouin website, <https://www.genealogiequebec.com>.
Pierre Benoit and Huguette Aubin. Mariages de la paroisse Saint-Michel de Vaudreuil, 1773-2005. Montréal, Société généalogique canadienne-française, 2007, p. 25
To facilitate reading and to respect Vaudreuil-Dorion’s historical development, the text in this heritage tour uses the names of Vaudreuil or Dorion for events prior to 1994, year in which the cities merged.
Also, when citing this heritage tour, please do so as follows: Sébastien Daviau, Jean-Luc Brazeau, and Édith Prégent. If buildings could speak. A historical and architectural tour of Vaudreuil-Dorion. Vaudreuil-Dorion, City of Vaudreuil-Dorion / Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, 2017, <https://www.circuitvd.ca>, accessed [insert date].
Recensement du Canada, District Vaudreuil, 1911. Accessed November 29, 2016 on the Bibliothèque et Archives Canada website, <http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/fra/recensements/1911/Pages/1911.aspx> and Recensement du Canada, District Vaudreuil, 1921. Accessed November 29, 2016 on the Ancestry website, <http://search.ancestry.ca>.
Pierre Benoit and Huguette Aubin. Sépultures 1773-2005. Funérailles 1994-2005 de la paroisse Saint-Michel de Vaudreuil. Montréal, Société généalogique canadienne-française, 2007, p. 219 and 236 and m. not., Joseph-Bénoni-Alexandre Favreau. Declaration of death of Cornélie Gauthier, widow of Hilarion Dutrisac, by her heirs. Chain of titles cited in Luc Noppen (dir.). L’aire de protection de l’église Saint-Michel de Vaudreuil. Montréal, Harcart, vol. 1, January 1983, p. 168.
Lovell's directory, 1920-1963. Accessed November 29, 2016 on the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec website, <http://bibnum2.banq.qc.ca/bna/lovell/>.
Lovell's directory, 1920-1963. Accessed November 29, 2016 on the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec website, <http://bibnum2.banq.qc.ca/bna/lovell/> and and m. not., Joseph-Maurice Proulx. Sale of Siméon Brais, Montréal architect, husband of Marie-Jeanne Dutrisac to Laurent Duranleau, part of lot 6, with all the buildings and in particular the house bearing number 17. Chain of titles cited in Luc Noppen (dir.). L’aire de protection de l’église Saint-Michel de Vaudreuil. Montréal, Harcart, vol. 1, January 1983, p. 168.
The Centre d'archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges has the plans for this repair. They are signed S. Brais, architect, and are dated January 1913 (Centre d'archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges Fund, CP-A100.2).
Centre d'archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Paroisse Saint-Michel de Vaudreuil Fund, M18\D3.15, February 1916. Plan and specifications for the construction of an extension and modification to the convent in the village of Vaudreuil according to the plans and presented by J.-O. Turgeon, architect and M18\D3.17, March 24, 1916. Quote to S. Brais, architect, by J. Arnaud, tinsmith, plumber, and roofer for the work to be done at the convent of the Sisters of Saint Anne in Vaudreuil.
All the information in this section comes from the following sources: Simeon Brais' file. Accessed November 30, 2016, from the Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada website. 1800-1950, <http://dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/>; Simeon Brais' file. Accessed on the Répertoire culturel du Québec website, <http://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca>; Michel Bélisle. De L’Isle-aux-Tourtes à Vaudreuil-Dorion. Vaudreuil-Dorion, Collectif pour l’histoire de Vaudreuil-Dorion, 2007, pp. 185 and 301; Lovell's directory, 1920-1963. Accessed November 29, 2016, from the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec website, <http://bibnum2.banq.qc.ca/bna/lovell/>; Luc Noppen, Nadine Maltais and Édith Prégent (dir.). Database of the Vaudreuil-Soulanges’ MRC built heritage. Vaudreuil-Dorion. Canada Research Chair in Urban Heritage ESG UQAM \ MRC of Vaudreuil-Soulanges \ Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, December 2015 version.
Simeon Brais' file. Accessed November 30, 2016, from the Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada website. 1800-1950, <http://dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/>; Simeon Brais' file. Accessed on the Répertoire culturel du Québec website, <http://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca>; Édith Prégent, Sébastien Daviau and Jean-Luc Brazeau. Vaudreuil-Dorion : la fusion de nos histoires. Québec. Les Éditions GID, 2022, coll. « 100 ans noir sur blanc », pp. 93, 116, 117, 150 and 160; Michel Bélisle. De L’Isle-aux-Tourtes à Vaudreuil-Dorion. Vaudreuil-Dorion, Collectif pour l’histoire de Vaudreuil-Dorion, 2007, pp. 185 and 301; Lovell's Directory, 1920-1963. Accessed November 29, 2016, from the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec website, <http://bibnum2.banq.qc.ca/bna/lovell/>; Luc Noppen, Nadine Maltais and Édith Prégent (dir.). Database of the Vaudreuil-Soulanges’ MRC built heritage. Vaudreuil-Dorion. Canada Research Chair in Urban Heritage ESG UQAM \ MRC of Vaudreuil-Soulanges \ Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, December 2015 version.
The building is located at 440 Saint-Charles Avenue in Vaudreuil-Dorion.
Modified in 1961, the building is located at 190 Saint-Charles Avenue.
Owned by the City of Vaudreuil-Dorion, the former recreational centre has been known as the Centre Communautaire Jean-Marc-Ducharme since 2015. It is located at 21 Louise-Josephte Street in Vaudreuil-Dorion.
Deconsecrated and purchased by the City of Vaudreuil-Dorion, the former church is now Opti-Centre Saint-Jean-Baptiste located at 145 Harwood Boulevard in Vaudreuil-Dorion.
The current Saint-Michel School is located at 8 Jeannotte Street in Vaudreuil-Dorion.
The former Jardin de l'Enfance is located at 73 Saint-Pierre Street in Rigaud. The two architects (Brais and Laliberté) signed the plans for the 1935 expansion (rear section). They also modified the brick house facade purchased by the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Anne in 1932 to integrate it into their overall architectural concept. The general contractor of this elementary school for boys was Wilfrid Lalonde from Rigaud (Anonymous, [Original text] « Institution moderne. Le Jardin de l’Enfance que les Sœurs de Sainte-Anne ont fait construire à Rigaud. […] Les plans ont été préparés par M. Siméon Brais, architecte de Montréal; l’entrepreneur général était M. Wilfrid Lalonde, de Rigaud. L’ouverture des classes a eu lieu, ce matin », La Presse, Friday, September 6, 1935, p. 17; Service des archives de la Congrégation des Sœurs de Sainte-Anne, Lachine, Plans du Jardin de l'Enfance, Rigaud, 1935, architects : S. Brais & J. E. Laliberté, C15/42,1; M. not., Joseph Déom, September 29, 1932. Sale by Father Joseph Pilon, a priest residing in City of Rigaud to the Reverend Sisters of Saint Anne. Accessed January 17, 2018, from the Québec Land Registry website, <https://www.registrefoncier.gouv.qc.ca>; Lorraine Auerbach Chevrier and Raymond Séguin. Histoires de Rigaud. Rigaud en histoires. Rigaud, Cercles d’histoire de Rigaud, 2009, p. 296-299; Luke De Stéphano, « Le Jardin de l’enfance », Circuit patrimonial et culturel raconté [de Rigaud]. Accessed January 17, 2018, from the City of Rigaud website, <https://www.ville.rigaud.qc.ca>).
The community centre is located at 62 chemin du Fleuve in Pointe-des-Cascades.
The former Sainte-Thérèse Chapel is now the Town Hall of Vaudreuil-sur-le-Lac, located at 44 de l'Église Street in Vaudreuil-sur-le-Lac.
Siméon Brais' file. Accessed November 29, 2016, from Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada. 1800-1950, <http://dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/>, Siméon Brais' file. Accessed December 7, 2016, from the Répertoire culturel du Québec website, <http://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca> and Pierre Benoit and Huguette Aubin. Sépultures 1773-2005. Funérailles 1994-2005 de la paroisse Saint-Michel de Vaudreuil. Montréal, Société généalogique canadienne-française, 2007, p. 69.

If buildings could speak… - A historical and architectural tour of Vaudreuil-Dorion

Related buildings and sites

Références