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Ross and Macdonald

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ross and Macdonald
Practice information
Key architects
Founded1907 (as Ross and MacFarlane)
LocationMontreal, Quebec, Canada
Significant works and honors
Buildings

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 (known as Ross and MacFarlane)[1] from 1907 to 1912. MacFarlane withdrew from the firm in 1912, and Robert Henry Macdonald became a partner.[2]

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.[3] 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.[2] Since 2006, it has operated as DFS Inc. Architecture & Design.[4]

George Allen Ross

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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.[5]

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.

Robert Henry Macdonald

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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.

Important works

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Name of Building Type Location Construction period Image Notes
Bank of Toronto branch Commercial Guy St. and St. Catherine St. W.), Montreal 1908 As Ross and MacFarlene.
Complexe Les Ailes Commercial Montreal 1925-27 Former Eaton's department store.
Saskatoon Board of Education offices Commercial Saskatoon 1928-29 Former Eaton's department store.
Former Eaton's Store Commercial Calgary 1928-29 Main structure demolished 1988, partial façade incorporated into Calgary Eaton Centre.
Dominion Square Building Commercial Montreal 1928–1930
College Park, Toronto Commercial Toronto 1928-30 Former Eaton's department store - with Sproatt and Rolph.
Holt Renfrew Montreal Commercials 1300 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal 1937 Holt Renfrew closed in 2020, moved with nearby Ogilvy's store on St.Catherine Street. Building converted as residential building called Le Château Apartments.
Château Laurier Hotel Hotel Ottawa 1909-12 As Ross and MacFarlene with Bradford Lee Gilbert.

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Lord Elgin Hotel Hotel Ottawa 1940–41
Royal York Hotel Hotel Toronto 1927-29 With Sproatt and Rolph[7]
Fort Garry Hotel Hotel Winnipeg 1910–14 As Ross and MacFarlene.
Hotel Saskatchewan Hotel Regina 1926–27 Used beams from the incomplete Chateau Qu'Appelle also designed by Ross and Macdonald.
Hotel Macdonald Hotel Edmonton 1912–14 As Ross and MacFarlene.
Les Cours Mont-Royal Hotel Montreal 1920-24 (Former Sheraton Mount Royal Hotel, now a shopping mall, condo and office complex)
Senate of Canada Building Public building Ottawa 1911-1912 As Ross and MacFarlene designed building, formerly as Ottawa Union Station and later as Government Conference Centre.[8] Now as temporary home of Senate.
Union Station Public building Toronto 1914-1920 With Hugh G. Jones, John Lyle[9]
Architects' Building Office building Montreal 1929-34 demolished
Confederation Building (McGill College Ave. and St. Catherine St. W.) Office building Montreal 1927–28
Castle Building (Stanley Street and St. Catherine St. W.) Office building Montreal 1924–27
Dominion Square Building (Peel Street and St. Catherine St. W.) Office building Montreal 1928–40
Montreal Star Building (St. Jacques St.) Office building Montreal 1926–31
Royal Bank Building (Yonge Street and King Street East) Office building Toronto 1913–15
Édifice Price (Sainte-Anne street) Office building Quebec City 1929–1930
Medical Arts Building Office building Montreal 1922
Le Chateau Apartments, (Sherbrooke and De La Montagne) Residential Montreal 1926
The Gleneagles, (Cote des Neiges Road) Residential Montreal 1929
Central Technical School High School Toronto 1915
The Hydrostone Commercial Halifax 1918
Maple Leaf Gardens Hockey arena Toronto 1931–32

References

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  1. ^ https://archivalcollections.library.mcgill.ca/index.php/ross-and-macfarlane
  2. ^ a b Rose, David; Simmons, Geoffrey (15 December 2013). "Ross & Macdonald". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  3. ^ http://dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/node/1417
  4. ^ "Ross Fish Duschenes Barrett". Le site officiel du mont Royal. Ville de Montréal. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  5. ^ Antonia Brodie, ed., Directory of British Architects, 1834-1914: Vol. 2 (L-Z) (A. & C. Black, Royal Institute of British Architects, 2001), p. 504
  6. ^ http://www.fairmont.com/FA/en/CDA/Home/Hotels/AboutHotel/CDHotelHistory/0,1142,nav%253D7%2526entity%25255Fvalue%253D100109%2526property%25255Fseq%253D100109%2526entity%25255Fkey%253Dproperty%25255Fseq,00.html History of the Fairmont Château Laurier])
  7. ^ http://www.heritagefdn.on.ca/userfiles/page_attachments/Library/1/1785874_Royal_York_ENG.pdf#search='Royal%20York%20Hotel%20was%20built%20by' Royal York Hotel
  8. ^ http://www.heritageottawa.org/english/features/unionstation-f.htm The Architecture of Ottawa's Union Station
  9. ^ http://www.toronto.ca/culture/pdf/484-050506-Carr.pdf Toronto Union Station - Heritage Character Analysis

Further reading

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