Family and friends of a local architect, whose building designs can still be seen throughout Chatham-Kent, are raising awareness about his achievements on what would have been his 100th birthday.
Joseph W. Storey spent nearly 30 years designing homes, offices, shops, industrial plants, schools and places of worship in Chatham-Kent in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Storey’s designs can still be seen today in many notable buildings, including the Chatham-Kent Civic Centre on King Street West in Chatham, the former Kent County Building-now Courthouse/Municipal Building on Grand Ave West in Chatham, Union Gas headquarters (now Enbridge) on Keil Drive in Chatham, the Pines Chapel as part of the larger Ursuline Sisters complex on Grand Ave West in Chatham, and the Federal Building on Wellington Street in Chatham, just to name a few.
Born in Windsor, Ontario on July 5, 1923, Storey grew up in Chatham and moved back after attending school to open the office of J.W. Storey, Architect in 1947.
Prior to Storey’s passing in 1975, the architecture firm designed many buildings not only in Chatham and former Kent County, but across southern Ontario and even in South America and Europe.
“To design over 1,000 buildings over the course of his relatively short career was a remarkable number,” said Kim Storey, Joe’s daughter and an award-winning architect herself with Brown +Storey Architects, in Toronto. “He lived in a time where optimism, innovation and creativity were the norm, not the exception. Chatham-Kent is incredibly blessed to have so many
buildings designed by him and his office still in use today. The architectural legacy that Joe left in Chatham-Kent is something to be celebrated — this year and always.”
As part of a celebration of Storey’s life, his family and friends are launching several projects in the coming year, including a social media video series, a website, and walking tours of various neighbourhoods across Chatham-Kent. A self-guided architectural tour brochure highlighting works from the office of J.W. Storey has also been re-released. The pamphlets are currently available at the Art & Heirloom Shoppe at 137 King St. W in Chatham.
