William Dendy

William Bruce Dendy was a Toronto-based Canadian architectural historian and professor known for the books Lost Toronto (1978) and Toronto Observed: Its Architecture, Patrons, and History (1986).

Dendy was raised in Edmonton, Alberta.^[1] He earned degrees from the University of Toronto, Cambridge University and Columbia University and taught at schools including the University of Toronto and theUniversity of Waterloo.^[2][3]

Dendy's published two books with Oxford University Press and edited by William Toye.^[1] Published in 1978, Lost Toronto documented the history of 19th- and 20th- century Toronto buildings destroyed through demolition or neglect with photos of many of the buildings in their prime.^[4] Lost Toronto was recognized for literary excellence by the Toronto Book Awards (1979).^[5] He later co-authored Toronto Observed: Its Architecture, Patrons, and History (1986) with William Kilbourn, which was also awarded the City of Toronto Book Prize (1987).^[6] In 1993, he was awarded an Allied Arts Award for his lectures and publications about architectural history.^[7]

Dendy died May 29, 1993 at Casey House of complications from HIV/AIDS.^[2] At the time of his death he had been researching the Forest Hill and Lawrence Park neighbourhoods of Toronto.^[8] His personal papers and library, which included roughly 3,500 books, 2,500 periodicals and 38,000 slides to Special Collections & Archives at the University of Waterloo.^[9]