Ross and Macdonald


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 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 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.
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

Macdonald 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

Name of BuildingTypeLocationConstruction periodImageNotes
Bank of Toronto branchCommercialGuy St. and St. Catherine St. W.), Montreal1908As Ross and MacFarlene.
Complexe Les AilesCommercialMontreal1925-27Former Eaton's department store.
Saskatoon Board of Education officesCommercialSaskatoon1928-29Former Eaton's department store.
Former Eaton's StoreCommercialCalgary1928-29Main structure demolished 1988, partial façade incorporated into Calgary Eaton Centre.
Dominion Square BuildingCommercialMontreal1928–1930
College Park, TorontoCommercialToronto1928-30Former Eaton's department store - with Sproatt and Rolph.
Holt Renfrew MontrealCommercials1300 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal1937Holt 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 HotelHotelOttawa1909-12As Ross and MacFarlene with Bradford Lee Gilbert.
Lord Elgin HotelHotelOttawa1940–41
Royal York HotelHotelToronto1927-29With Sproatt and Rolph
Fort Garry HotelHotelWinnipeg1910–14As Ross and MacFarlene.
Hotel SaskatchewanHotelRegina1926–27Used beams from the incomplete Chateau Qu'Appelle also designed by Ross and Macdonald.
Hotel MacdonaldHotelEdmonton1912–14As Ross and MacFarlene.
Les Cours Mont-RoyalHotelMontreal1920-24
Senate of Canada BuildingPublic buildingOttawa1911-1912150pxAs Ross and MacFarlene designed building, formerly as Ottawa Union Station and later as Government Conference Centre. Now as temporary home of Senate.
Union StationPublic buildingToronto1914-1920With Hugh G. Jones, John Lyle
Architects' BuildingOffice buildingMontreal1929-34demolished
Confederation Building Office buildingMontreal1927–28
Castle Building Office buildingMontreal1924–27
Dominion Square Building Office buildingMontreal1928–40
Montreal Star Building Office buildingMontreal1926–31
Royal Bank Building Office buildingToronto1913–15
Édifice Price Office buildingQuebec City1929–1930
Medical Arts BuildingOffice buildingMontreal1922
Le Chateau Apartments, ResidentialMontreal1926
The Gleneagles, ResidentialMontreal1929
Central Technical SchoolHigh SchoolToronto1915
The HydrostoneCommercialHalifax1918
Maple Leaf GardensHockey arenaToronto1931–32