William Brown Whitie was born in Galashiels, Scotland, in 1871 and was articled to J. & J. Hall in Galashiels from 1884 to 1889. He then worked as an assistant to Charles George Hood Kinnear (1830-1894) and John Dick Peddie (1824-1891) of Messrs Kinnear & Peddie in Edinburgh in 1890 and to John Gordon (1830-1912) in Glasgow from 1891 to 1894. During this period also studied at Glasgow School of Art. From 1894 to 1899 he he was employed as an assistant to Alexander Beith McDonald, the Glasgow City Engineer. Whittie established his own independent practice in Glasgow in 1899
Photographs of 'Glenhead' in Lenzie, Scotland, designed by Whitie are illustrated in 'The Studio Yearbook of Decorative Art' 1911 (pp.78, 79).
Whitie was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1908. He was President of the Glasgow Institute in 1921-22, President of the Royal Institute of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) in 1934-36, and President of the Glasgow Society of Architects. Between 1900 and 1915 he exhibited at the Royal Academy in London, the Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts and at the Royal Scottish Academy in London. from 1908 until his death Whitie lived at 197 Great Western Road, Glasgow. He died in Glasgow on 9 October 1946.
Architectural projects by Whitie included Miller's Bakery in Springburn, Glasgow (1891); the People's Palace in Glasgow (1893); Springburn & Clowlairs District Halls in Springburn, Glasgow (1899); St. Mungo Boarding House in Whitehouse, Glasgow (1901); Springburn Public Library and Museum in Springburn, Glasgow (1903); Springburn Tram Depot in Springburn, Glasgow (1904); Mitchell Library in Glasgow (1906); the West End Playhouse at Maryhill, Glasgow (1911); the Grand Central Picture House in Glasgow (1914); and Askit Laboratory and Factory in Glasgow (1932). Whitie also designed an abattoir in Helenburgh, several private houses and Greenock Academy in Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland.
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 2: L-Z. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001