William Gray Dorr was born on January 25, 1883 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He studied at the University of California, the Armour Institute of Technology (later Illinois Institute of Technology), and the University of Minnesota, where he obtained his architectural degree in the School of Engineering. He trained in the practice of his father, Adam Lansing Dorr (1854-1928), and became a partner in the firm in 1910, which then became known as Dorr & Dorr. He continued to practice after his father's retirement in 1915, specializing in housing but also designing many other types of structures. Dorr served as district officer of the Historical American Buildings Survey and was a member of the Minnesota National Guard. During World War II, he was an instruction and maintenance officer in the Airplane Mechanics Training School of the U.S. Army Air Force. Dorr retired in 1952 and died in St. Paul on November 13, 1967.