Donald MacKay () was a Scottish-American contractor and architect active in the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...
. Born in Scotland, he was active in architectural design from 1881 until his death around 1887. MacKay designed a variety of religious, civil, and private constructions across the
Washington Territory
The Washington Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...
and
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
. After designing the Saint Patrick's Catholic Church in
Walla Walla, Washington
Walla Walla ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,339 as of 2023. The combined populat ...
, in 1881, he moved to Seattle where he oversaw a large number of designs in the
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...
and Second Empire styles over the following years. After entering a commercial dispute with Seattle Catholic parish leader Francis X. Prefontaine, he relocated to
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...
, where he saw little business. In 1887, he moved to
Vancouver, Canada
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The Me ...
, in an attempt to take advantage of reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of the
Great Vancouver Fire
The Great Vancouver Fire destroyed most of the newly incorporated city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on June 13, 1886. It started as two land-clearing fires to the west of the city. The first fire was farther away from the city and wa ...
; however, he only designed one known building in the city, and died soon after. His only extant designs are the Saint Patrick's Church in Walla Walla (with some subsequent modifications) and the Proto-Cathedral of St. James the Greater in
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...
.
Biography
Donald MacKay was born in
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
around 1846, moving to the United States at some point over the following decades. In 1879, he married an English woman named Margaret who was around 17 years old. They were recorded by the
1880 United States census
The 1880 United States census, conducted by the Census Office during June 1880, was the tenth United States census.Walla Walla, Washington Territory. Initially working as a contractor from June 1880, MacKay began working as an architect while in Walla Walla: he was contracted to design Saint Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in the city. The church had previously occupied a series of three other buildings as the town grew; planning began for a fourth, larger church building by 1870, only five years after the previous structure had been completed. A brick structure in the
Gothic style
Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...
, MacKay's church was dedicated on December 25, 1881. The building's
transepts
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") churches, in particular within the Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architectu ...
and
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
were later enlarged, but MacKay's bell tower,
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
, and entrance facade remain largely original.
He briefly visited
Portland, Oregon
Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
, where he may have encountered the work of Portland architects
Warren Heywood Williams
Warren Heywood Williams (1844 in New York City – January 1888) was an American architect, who spent most of his career working in the U.S. state of Oregon. Starting in 1860, he apprenticed in San Francisco as a draftsman at the architectur ...
and Joseph Sheridan; his later work suggests familiarity with their designs. He traveled to
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, arriving on April 18, 1882, to pursue architectural contracts with the city's Catholic parish. From 1882 to 1883, he designed the
Providence Hospital Providence Hospital may refer to:
*Providence Hospital (Columbia, South Carolina)
*USA Health Providence Hospital in Mobile, Alabama
* Providence Hospital (Southfield), Michigan
*Providence Hospital (Washington, D.C.) in Washington, D.C.
*Providence ...
, possibly with plans laid out by Mother Joseph, and an enlargement of the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Good Help. Over the following years, he designed a number of civil and religious structures in Seattle, often with inspirations from the
Second Empire style
Second Empire style, also known as the Napoleon III style, is a highly Eclecticism in architecture, eclectic style of architecture and decorative arts originating in the Second French Empire. It was characterized by elements of many differe ...
. He designed the Occidental Hotel, the city's primary hotel during the 1880s; during this period, he lived in the hotel. Additionally, he designed the Seattle Engine House No. 1, a
fire station
__NOTOC__
A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire apparatus, fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equ ...
later destroyed in the
Great Seattle Fire
The Great Seattle Fire was a fire that destroyed the entire central business district of Seattle, Washington, on June 6, 1889. The conflagration lasted for less than a day, burning through the afternoon and into the night, during the same summer ...
.
In addition to his work in Seattle, MacKay designed two major projects in
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...
Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University (GU) ( ) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington, United States. It is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges ...
of
Spokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...
, but MacKay's designs for the university went ultimately unused. From 1883 to 1884, he designed the Academy of the Holy Names in Seattle with an eclectic mix of
Italianate
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...
, Second Empire, and Gothic components. He fought with parish leader Francis X. Prefontaine over the direction of construction work, writing that Prefontaine was attempting to take over responsibility over directing construction work and take him "down to the starvation terms offered ..for my work". Angered by this dispute, MacKay relocated his business to
Tacoma
Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, northwest of Mount ...
, where he had already begun some architectural work. None of his contracts in Tacoma ultimately came to fruition, beyond a now-demolished
Stick style
The Stick style was a late-19th-century American architectural style, transitional between the Carpenter Gothic style of the mid-19th century, and the Queen Anne style that it had evolved into by the 1890s. It is named after its use of linear " ...
residence for businessman Edward Slade "Skookum" Smith constructed from 1884 to 1886.
MacKay left Tacoma in 1884, likely moving to Portland. In 1887, he relocated to
Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, due to the widespread reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of the 1886
Great Vancouver Fire
The Great Vancouver Fire destroyed most of the newly incorporated city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on June 13, 1886. It started as two land-clearing fires to the west of the city. The first fire was farther away from the city and wa ...
. Although he opened an office in the city, MacKay may have been unable to find significant contracts; his only known design in the city was a private residence featuring a rooftop observatory. MacKay died around this time, although it is unknown when and where; his widow, alongside his daughters Christine and Elizabeth, returned to Portland by 1888. A biographer, David Rash, described MacKay's career as "unsurpassed at its time", writing that "no other resident architect in Seattle at the time could have given these buildings the same design sophistication."