Ross and Macdonald was one of Canada's most notable
architecture firms in the early 20th century. Based in
Montreal, Quebec, 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
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in
Cambridge,
Massachusetts, and the
École des Beaux-Arts in
Paris.
[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
Grand Trunk Railway. He also did work with Parker & Thomas in
Boston and
Carrere & Hastings Carrere or Carrère may refer to:
As a name
* Georges Carrère (1897–1986), French classical violinist
* Edward Carrere (1906–1984), Mexican art director
* Emmanuel Carrère (1957–), French author, screenwriter, and director
* Fernando Car ...
in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
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, 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 (December 15, 1837 – November 28, 1913) was an American architect trained in the Beaux-Arts tradition. He was recognized as a master of modern American architecture as well as being instrumental in the birth of the skyscra ...
starting in 1903, a senior draftsman with Crighton & McKay in
Wellington, 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
Image:FortGarryWinnipeg.jpg, The Fort Garry Hotel
The Fort Garry Hotel—officially the Fort Garry Hotel, Spa and Conference Centre—is an early-20th-century hotel in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, that opened for the first time on December 11, 1913. Built by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, it i ...
in Winnipeg, a chateau-style hotel popularized by Ross and MacDonald
Image:Holt Renfrew in Montreal in 1937.jpg, Holt Renfrew Store, 1937 in Montreal, Quebec
Image:Union Station, Toronto (30427373561).jpg, Union Station Toronto, Ontario
Image:Holtfacade.jpg, Calgary Eaton's store
Image:Maple Leaf Gardens 2016.jpg, Maple Leaf Gardens Toronto, Ontario
Image:Exterior of Eaton’s College Street Store - Toronto - ca 1930.jpg, Eaton's College Street store in Toronto, Ontario - now College Park (Toronto)
College Park is a shopping mall, residential and office complex on the southwest corner of Yonge and College streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
An Art Deco landmark, the building was initially known as Eaton's College Street. It was operated b ...
File:Eaton montreal.png, Complexe Les Ailes(Former Eaton's
The T. Eaton Company Limited, later known as Eaton's, was a Canadian department store chain that was once the largest in the country. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an immigrant from what is now Northern Ireland. Eaton's grew ...
department store)
File:EatonsBuilding.jpg, Eaton's Building (Saskatoon)
The Eaton's Building is a landmark building located in downtown Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Formerly serving as an Eaton's department store, the building is currently occupied by the Saskatoon Board of Education.
History
In 1927, Eaton's ...
Saskatoon Board of Education
File:Holtfacade.jpg, The Core Shopping Centre, Canada
File:Dominion Square Building.JPG, Dominion Square Building
File:College_ParkYonge.jpg, College Park (Toronto) (Former Eaton's
The T. Eaton Company Limited, later known as Eaton's, was a Canadian department store chain that was once the largest in the country. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an immigrant from what is now Northern Ireland. Eaton's grew ...
department store)
File:Château Laurier from Parliament Hill.jpg, Château Laurier
The Fairmont Château Laurier is a hotel with 429 guest rooms in the downtown core of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, located near the intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive and designed in a French Gothic Revival Châteauesque style to comple ...
File:Lord-elgin-hotel-night.jpg, Lord Elgin Hotel
The Lord Elgin Hotel is a prominent hotel in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. With 355 guest rooms, it is located at 100 Elgin Street at Laurier Avenue, across from Confederation Park in Downtown Ottawa. The twelve-storey limestone structure was named ...
File:Hotel-Saskatchewan.jpg, Hotel Saskatchewan
The Hotel Saskatchewan is a historic hotel, one of Canada's grand railway hotels located in downtown Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, overlooking Victoria Park.
The Hotel Saskatchewan was the fourteenth hotel in a nationwide chain constructed and ...
File:Hotel Macdonald.jpg, Hotel Macdonald
The Fairmont Hotel Macdonald, formerly and commonly known as the Hotel Macdonald (colloquially known as The Mac), is a large historic luxury hotel in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Located along 100 Street NW, south of Jasper Avenue, the hotel is situa ...
File:Cours Mont-Royal, accès sur de Maisonneuve (Montréal) 2006-01-27.JPG, Les Cours Mont-Royal
Les Cours Mont-Royal is an upscale shopping mall in the city's downtown core of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, which was converted from the former Mount Royal Hotel.
Architecture
The Mount Royal Hotel was designed by Ross and Macdonald, a prolific a ...
File:Government Conference Centre Ottawa.jpg, Government Conference Centre
File:Québec, Édifice Price1.jpg, Édifice Price
The Édifice Price ( en, Price Building) is an 18-floor (originally 16) skyscraper in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Built in 1928–1931 amid controversy for Price Brothers Limited, it is the tallest building in the Old Quebec historical district ...
File:HydrostoneShops.jpg, The Hydrostone
Hydrostone is a neighbourhood in the North End of the Halifax Peninsula in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. It consists of ten short parallel streets and is bordered by Duffus Street to the north, Young Street to the south, ...
Commercial Buildings:
*
Bank of Toronto branch (Guy St. and St. Catherine St. W.), Montreal, 1908
*
Complexe Les Ailes, Montreal, 1925-27 (Former
Eaton's
The T. Eaton Company Limited, later known as Eaton's, was a Canadian department store chain that was once the largest in the country. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an immigrant from what is now Northern Ireland. Eaton's grew ...
department store)
*
Saskatoon Board of Education offices,
Saskatoon, 1928-29 (Former Eaton's department store)
*
Former Eaton's Store,
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
, 1928-29 (demolished 1988, façade incorporated into Calgary Eaton Centre)
*
Dominion Square Building, Montreal, 1928–1930
* College Park, Toronto, 1928-30 (Former Eaton's department store)(with
Sproatt and Rolph)
* Holt Renfrew Montreal at 1300 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, 1937 (building closed in 2020, moved with nearby Ogilvy's store on St.Catherine St.)
Hotels:
*
Château Laurier
The Fairmont Château Laurier is a hotel with 429 guest rooms in the downtown core of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, located near the intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive and designed in a French Gothic Revival Châteauesque style to comple ...
Hotel,
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, 1909-12 (with Bradford Lee Gilbert)
**
History of the Fairmont Château Laurier
*
Lord Elgin Hotel
The Lord Elgin Hotel is a prominent hotel in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. With 355 guest rooms, it is located at 100 Elgin Street at Laurier Avenue, across from Confederation Park in Downtown Ottawa. The twelve-storey limestone structure was named ...
, Ottawa, 1940–41
*
Royal York Hotel, Toronto, 1927-29 (with Sproatt and Rolph)
**
Royal York Hotel
*
Fort Garry Hotel
The Fort Garry Hotel—officially the Fort Garry Hotel, Spa and Conference Centre—is an early-20th-century hotel in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, that opened for the first time on December 11, 1913. Built by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, it i ...
,
Winnipeg, 1910–14
*
Hotel Saskatchewan
The Hotel Saskatchewan is a historic hotel, one of Canada's grand railway hotels located in downtown Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, overlooking Victoria Park.
The Hotel Saskatchewan was the fourteenth hotel in a nationwide chain constructed and ...
,
Regina, 1926–27
*
Hotel Macdonald
The Fairmont Hotel Macdonald, formerly and commonly known as the Hotel Macdonald (colloquially known as The Mac), is a large historic luxury hotel in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Located along 100 Street NW, south of Jasper Avenue, the hotel is situa ...
,
Edmonton, 1912–14
*
Les Cours Mont-Royal
Les Cours Mont-Royal is an upscale shopping mall in the city's downtown core of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, which was converted from the former Mount Royal Hotel.
Architecture
The Mount Royal Hotel was designed by Ross and Macdonald, a prolific a ...
, Montreal, 1920-24 (Former Sheraton Mount Royal Hotel, now a shopping mall, condo and office complex)
Public Buildings:
*
Government Conference Centre, Ottawa, (Former Ottawa Union Station), 1911-1912
**
The Architecture of Ottawa's Union Station
*
Union Station, Toronto (with Hugh G. Jones, John Lyle) 1914-1920
**
Toronto Union Station - Heritage Character Analysis
Office Buildings:
*
Architects' Building, Montreal, 1929-34 (demolished)
*
Confederation Building (McGill College Ave. and St. Catherine St. W.), Montreal, 1927–28
*
Castle Building
The Castle Building is an office building in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Its address is 1410 Stanley Street on the corner of Saint Catherine Street West in Downtown Montreal. It is owned by Gold Castle Holdings Limited. The building is now home to ...
(Stanley Street and St. Catherine St. W.), Montreal, 1924–27
*
Dominion Square Building (Peel Street and St. Catherine St. W.), Montreal, 1928–40
*
Montreal Star Building
The Montreal Star Building is a former office complex, now hotel, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The complex, which is located in Old Montreal is composed of three different attached buildings belonging to the ''Montreal Star'' newspaper.
The compl ...
(St. Jacques St.), Montreal, 1926–31
*
Royal Bank Building (Yonge Street and King Street East), Toronto, 1913–15
*
Édifice Price
The Édifice Price ( en, Price Building) is an 18-floor (originally 16) skyscraper in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Built in 1928–1931 amid controversy for Price Brothers Limited, it is the tallest building in the Old Quebec historical district ...
(Sainte-Anne street), Quebec City, 1929–1930.
*
Medical Arts Building, Montreal, 1922
Residential:
*
Le Chateau Apartments, (Sherbrooke and De La Montagne) Montreal, 1926
*
The Gleneagles
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
, (Cote des Neiges Road) Montreal, 1929
Other:
*
Central Technical School
Central Technical School (CTS or Central Tech) is a Canadian composite high school in Toronto, Ontario. The school is run by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB); before 1998, it was run by the Toronto Board of Education (TBE).
Central Tech ...
, Toronto, 1915
*
The Hydrostone
Hydrostone is a neighbourhood in the North End of the Halifax Peninsula in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. It consists of ten short parallel streets and is bordered by Duffus Street to the north, Young Street to the south, ...
, Halifax, 1918
*
Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, 1931–32
References
Further reading
* Jacques Lachapelle
''Le fantasme métropolitain : l'architecture de Ross et Macdonald : bureaux, magasins et hôtels 1905‑1942''(in French)
External links
(current website of the successor firm)
Photos of Ross and MacDonald buildings in MontrealFinding aid for the Ross & Macdonald fonds Canadian Centre for Architecturedigitized items
{{Authority control
Architecture firms of Canada
Companies based in Montreal