Ross and Macdonald was one of Canada's most notable

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

firms in the early 20th century. Based in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, the firm originally operated as a partnership between

George Allen Ross George Allen Ross (October 24, 1878 – January 21, 1946) was a Canadian architect, for many years senior partner in the important Montreal firm of Ross and Macdonald. Life Born in Montreal on October 24, 1878, Ross was educated at the High Sch ...

and David MacFarlane (known as Ross and MacFarlane) from 1907 to 1912. MacFarlane withdrew from the firm in 1912, and Robert Henry Macdonald became a partner. The Ross and Macdonald name was used until 1944, after which it became Ross & Ross, Architects, when John Kenneth Ross joined his father as partner. Following George Allen Ross's death in 1946, the firm continued as Ross, Patterson, Townsend & Heughan. By 1970, the firm was known as Ross, Fish, Duschenes & Barrett. Since 2006, it has operated as DFS Inc. Architecture & Design.

George Allen Ross

Ross (1879–1946) was born in Montreal, and later studied at the

High School of Montreal The High School of Montreal was an English-language high school founded in 1843, serving Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the area eventually known as the Golden Square Mile. It was less formally known as Montreal High School and from 1853 to 1870 was ...

, the

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, and the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

.Antonia Brodie, ed., ''Directory of British Architects, 1834-1914'': Vol. 2 (L-Z) (A. & C. Black, Royal Institute of British Architects, 2001), p. 504 Ross was apprenticed to Brown, MacVicar & Heriot in Montreal, and later become a draftsman for the

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. He also did work with Parker & Thomas in

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and

Carrere & Hastings Carrère is a French surname coming from Occitan '' Carrera''. It was rendered as Carrere in Mexican Spanish. It may refer to: As a name * Georges Carrère (1897–1986), French classical violinist * Edward Carrere (1906–1984), Mexican art d ...

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before partnering with MacFarlane in Montreal. He was a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. He was also a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects, becoming an Associate in 1904 and a Fellow in 1913.

Robert Henry Macdonald

Macdonald (1875–1942) was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia. He articled to Richard B. Whitaker, M.S.A. of Melbourne, and became a junior draftsman to Robert Findlay in Montreal in 1895. After positions as a draftsman for

George B. Post George Browne Post (December15, 1837November28, 1913) was an American architect trained in the Beaux-Arts tradition. Active from 1869 almost until his death, he was recognized as a master of several contemporary American architectural genres, an ...

starting in 1903, a senior draftsman with Crighton & McKay in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, New Zealand in 1905, and head draftsman with W.W. Bosworth in New York in 1906, Macdonald joined Ross and MacFarlane in Montreal as a junior partner and draftsman in 1907. He ultimately became a partner of the firm in 1912. He was a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He served as president of the Quebec Association of Architects in 1939, and was a recipient of the association's Award of Merit.

Important works

References

External links

(current website of the successor firm)
Photos of Ross and MacDonald buildings in Montreal

Finding aid for the Ross & Macdonald fonds

Canadian Centre for Architecture The Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA; ) is a Architecture museum, museum of architecture and research centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 1920, rue Baile (1920, Baile Street), between rue Fort (Fort Street) and rue Saint-Ma ...

digitized items
{{Authority control Architecture firms of Canada Companies based in Montreal

George Allen Ross

Robert Henry Macdonald

Important works

References

Further reading

External links