THE WESTMOUNT HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION HOSTS A NUMBER OF EVENTS EACH YEAR. THESE INCLUDE TWO LECTURE SERIES, SEVERAL WALKING TOURS, AND EXHIBITIONS OF PHOTOGRAPHS AND OTHER MATERIAL FROM OUR ARCHIVES.
PLEASE CONSULT OUR WEBSITE REGULARLY FOR UPCOMING ACTIVITIES OFFERED BY THE WHA.
The three talks in the WHA’s 2025 winter/spring Lecture Series focus on collaborations across generations: children speaking about the work of their parents and working with them. The three talks in the WHA’s 2025 Winter/Spring Lecture Series will be given by the children and grandchildren of artists, architects and developers. The speakers will share their personal stories of how their ancestors contributed to Westmount’s heritage.
Thursday, February 20, 2025
From Ross & MacFarlane to DFS: David Fish on Father and Son Architects
Speakers: David Fish, architect, Pascal Létourneau, architect and Laurent Généreux, architect
At 120 years, DFS is Canada’s longest continuously operated architecture firm. In this special talk David Fish will share stories about his father, John Fish, who helped shape the firm’s legacy from its early days and became a partner in the 1950s. Around this time, David joined, initially as a student architect. The talk will cover DFS’s history and projects in and around Westmount. The firm designed many beloved Westmount landmarks like Roslyn Elementary School, St. Matthias’ Church, and the Royal Montreal Regiment Armoury.
Thursday, March 20, 2025
Gentile (Gerry) Tondino: The Artist, Educator, and his Westmount Connection
Speaker: Tristan Tondino, artist
Despite never having lived in Westmount, Gentile Tondino made a significant contribution to the community. As an art student, he apprenticed with esteemed artists such as Adam Sheriff Scott and others. As an educator, he mentored numerous artists and architecture students. As a painter, he created many portraits of Westmount residents. Through this biographical visual presentation, his son, Tristan Tondino, hopes to convey aspects of his father’s artistic world.
Thursday, April 17, 2025
The Partnership of John Baker Fellowes, builder, and Norton Alexander Fellowes, architect
Speaker: Lucy Fellowes, former curator at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution
John Baker Fellowes arrived in Canada in 1892 at twenty. After first apprenticing to a photographer, he established a career as a developer and contractor. In 1924, he was joined in his work by his son Norton Alexander Fellowes, trained as an architect at McGill University. Following their first traditional residences of quarried stone, the partnership went on to design mid-century modern split-levels and bungalows. They are credited with Westmount’s first all-concrete house (est. 1948-51), a revolutionary innovation in Westmount at the time.
