William Blair Bruce was born on 8October 1859, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, where he grew up in Corktown and on the Mountain. A plaque in Bruce Park, Hamilton marks the site of his childhood home. He was the son of William Bruce, born 1833 in Scotland, who emigrated to Hamilton with his wife Janet Blair in 1837. Initially Bruce studied law at Hamilton Collegiate Institute, but had his mind set on becoming an architect, and studied for a while at the Mechanics Institute in Hamilton, in 1877. He worked for an architectural firm for the ensuing two years. Members of his family were both musically and artistically inclined and noticed Bruce's talent at an early age. In 1881, they sent him to Paris to study, a journey that extended over the years. He would only return to Canada on two short occasions.
