Ross and Macdonald
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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 and David MacFarlane ("Ross and MacFarlane") from 1907 to 1912. MacFarlane retired in 1913, and Robert Henry Macdonald became a partner. The Ross and Macdonald name was used until 1944.
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[edit] George Allen Ross
Ross (1879-1946) was born in Montreal, and later studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
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 in New York 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.
[edit] 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 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
[edit] Important works of the firm
Commercial Buildings:
- Complexe Les Ailes, Montreal, 1925-27 (Former Eaton's department store)
- Holt Renfrew Store, Montreal, 1937
- College Park, Toronto, 1928-30 (Former Eaton's department store)(with Sproatt and Rolph)
- Saskatoon Board of Education offices, Saskatoon, 1928-29 (Former Eaton's department store)
- Calgary Eaton's Store, Calgary, 1928-29 (demolished 1988)
- Bank of Toronto branch (Guy St. and St. Catherine St. W.), Montreal, 1908
Hotels:
- Château Laurier Hotel, Ottawa, 1909-12 (with Bradford Lee Gilbert)
- Lord Elgin Hotel, Ottawa, 1940-41
- Royal York Hotel, Toronto, 1927-29 (with Sproatt and Rolph)
- Fort Garry Hotel, Winnipeg, 1910-14
- Hotel Saskatchewan, Regina, 1926-27
- Hotel Macdonald, Edmonton, 1912-14
- Les Cours Mont Royal, Montreal, 1920-24 (Former Mount Royal Hotel, now a shopping mall)
Public Buildings:
- Government Conference Centre, Ottawa, (Former Ottawa Union Station)
- Union Station, Toronto (with Hugh G. Jones, John Lyle)
Office Buildings:
- Architects' Building, Montreal, 1929-34 (demolished)
- Confederation Building (McGill College Ave. and St. Catherine St. W.), Montreal, 1927-28
- Castle Building (Stanley Street and St. Catherine St. W.), Montreal, 1924-27
- Dominion Square (Peel Street and St. Catherine St. W.), Montreal, 1928-40
- Montreal Star Building (St. Jacques St.), Montreal, 1926-31
- Royal Bank Building (Yonge Street and King Street East), Toronto, 1913-15
Other:
- The Hydrostone, Halifax, 1918
- Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, 1931-32
