Memorable Manitobans: Walter Percy Over (1874-1944)

Architect.

Born at Toronto, Ontario on 3 September 1874, son of Walter and Honoria Over, he was educated at public schools and the Toronto College Institute. He got architectural training by articling in the Toronto office of Darling, Curry, Sproatt, and Pearson. In 1890, he began working as an architect at Toronto, in the employ of the federal government.

He came to Winnipeg in 1902, taking charge of the Western Canadian office of the firm of Darling and Pearson. Known between 1902 and 1906 as Darling, Pearson and Over, before reverting to its original name in 1906, Over was involved in several major construction projects in Manitoba and Saskatchewan during this period. In 1909, he opened an architectural office in partnership with Lewis H. Jordan which continued until Jordan moved to Chicago in 1926. He then formed a partnership with Ewart Fitz Munn which continued in operation until 1940. He was the founding Secretary of the Manitoba Association of Architects, in 1906, and served a one-year term as President of the organization, in 1915.

In 1907, he married Edith Augusta Carruthers (1875-1964, daughter of George Frederick Carruthers) of Winnipeg. They had no children. He was a member of the AF & AM, Conservative Party, Anglican church, and Norwood Golf Club. He lived at 199 Colony Street (1911) and at 253 Kingsway Avenue at the time of his death.

He died at Winnipeg on 11 April 1944 and was buried in the St. John’s Cathedral Cemetery.

Some of his architectural works in Manitoba included:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Steele Block	360 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1903	Demolished (1941)
Western Canada Flour Mills	440 Archibald Street, Winnipeg	1905	Demolished (?)
Canada Malting Malthouse and Grain Elevator	1051 Coulter Avenue, Winnipeg	1905
Canadian Bank of Commerce Building	1521 Logan Avenue, Winnipeg	1906
Canadian Bank of Commerce Building	325 Nairn Avenue, Winnipeg	1906
Central Congregational Church (addition and alterations)	374 Hargrave Street, Winnipeg	1906	Demolished (1936)
Maycock Block (renovations)	586 Main Street, Winnipeg	1906
Castle House	65 West Gate, Winnipeg	1907
First Church of Christ Scientist	511 River Avenue, Winnipeg	1910
Union Bank Building	646 Logan Avenue, Winnipeg	1910
Crescent Creamery Building	488 Burnell Street, Winnipeg	1912
Hampson Court	43-47 Kennedy Street, Winnipeg	c1920	Destroyed by fire (1965)
Broadway Baptist Church (expansion)	706 Honeyman Avenue, Winnipeg	1914
Westmoreland Apartments	768-770 Preston Avenue, Winnipeg	1914
Haffner House	71 West Gate, Winnipeg	1914
Nurses’ Residence Building	Brandon Hospital for Mental Diseases, First Street, Brandon	1920-1923
Valleyview Building	Brandon Hospital for Mental Diseases, First Street, Brandon	1924
Winnipeg Winter Club	51 Smith Street, Winnipeg	1924	Demolished (1998)
Heaton House	30 West Gate, Winnipeg	1926-1927
Elmwood School / River Elm School	500 Riverton Avenue, Winnipeg	1930
Bank of Nova Scotia (addition)	254 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1930-1931

Sources:

1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.

Classified advertisement [Jordan and Over], Winnipeg Tribune, 21 August 1909, page 6.

Who’s Who in Western Canada: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Men and Women of Western Canada, Volume 1, edited by C. W. Parker, Vancouver: Canadian Press Association, 1911.

“Fine school to replace Victoria,” Manitoba Free Press, 17 May 1930, page 27.

“New school in Glenwood to have eight large rooms,” Manitoba Free Press, 12 July 1930, page 24.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 12 April 1944, page 2.

Obituary [Edith Augusta Over], Winnipeg Tribune, 15 September 1964.

Buildings at the Brandon Mental Health Centre by David Butterfield and Randy Rostecki, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch, November 1988.

Winnipeg Building Index

Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950 by Robert G. Hill, Toronto.

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

We thank Nathan Kramer and Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 13 September 2023

Memorable Manitobans This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations. Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text: Custom Search Browse surnames beginning with: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z Browse deaths occurring in: 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 Send corrections and additions to this page to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.ca Criteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements Help us keep history alive!