Our History
the first 100 years…
1904
Founding of Ross & MacFarlane
A selected list of buildings:
Roslyn School (1907-1909), Westmount, QC
Dominion Guaranty Building (1908), Montréal, QC
Toronto-Dominion Building (1908), Montréal, QC
Union Station (1909), Ottawa, ON
Château Laurier Hotel (1909-1912), Ottawa, ON
Willis Building (1910), Montréal, QC
Fort Garry Hotel (1910-1914), Winnipeg, MB
Central YMCA (1911), Drummond Street, Montréal, QC
St. Matthias Church (1912), Westmount, QC
Read Building (1912-1913), Montréal, QC
Versailles Building (1913), Montréal, QC
Macdonald Hotel (1912-1914), Edmonton, AB
1907 – 1909 Roslyn School, Westmount, QC
• Ross & MacFarlane
1909 – 1912 Chateau Laurier, Ottawa, ON
• Ross & MacFarlane
1909 – 1911 Union Station, Ottawa, ON
• Ross & MacFarlane
1913 – 1943
Ross & Macdonald
A selected list of buildings:
Royal Bank Building (1913-1915), Toronto, ON
Union Station (1914-1919), Toronto, ON
Hydrostone District (1918-1920), Halifax, NS
Mount Royal Hotel (1920-1924), Montréal, QC
Admiral Beatty Hotel (1920-1924), St. John, NB
Saskatchewan Hotel (1926-1927), Regina, SK
Royal York Hotel (1927-1929), Toronto, ON
Architects’ Building (1929-1930), Montréal, QC
T. Eaton Store (1928-1930), Toronto, ON
Price Building (1928-1930), Québec City, QC
Dominion Square Building (1928-1940), Montréal, QC
T. Eaton Store (1930-1931), Montréal, QC
Maple Leaf Gardens (1931), Toronto, ON
Holt Renfrew Store (1937), Montréal, QC
City Delivery Building (1938), Toronto, ON
Anaconda American Brass Building (1940), Toronto, ON
Overhaul Hangar, Seaplane Base (1941), Dartmouth, NS
1912 – 1914 Macdonald Hotel, Edmonton, AL
• Ross & Macdonald
1914 – 1919 Union Station, Toronto, ON
• Ross & Macdonald
1927 – 1929 Royal York Hotel, Toronto, ON
• Ross & Macdonald
1928 – 1940 Dominion Square Building, Montreal, QC
• Ross & Macdonald
1917 – Halifax Explosion,
Halifax, NS
The Hydrostone District
• Ross & Macdonald
In the early morning of 6 December, 1917, two tankers in the Halifax harbour collided causing an explosion that rocked the city, destroying 1,630 homes and damaging an additional 12,000, leaving many thousands homeless or without sufficient
shelter. In February 1918, George Allen Ross offered the services of Ross & Macdonald to the beleaguered city and its relief committee and was promptly engaged. In all, Ross & Macdonald had a hand in the design and supervision of over 1,000 houses in Halifax. Of these, 340 were in a new development called the Hydrostone district – what is now known to be Canada’s first public housing project and is recognized as a National Historic Site by Parks Canada.
1925 The Château Building, Montréal,QC
• Ross & Macdonald
1928 – 1930 Price Building,
Québec City, QC
• Ross & Macdonald
1937 Holt Renfrew Store
Montréal, QC
• Ross & Macdonald
1931 Maple Leaf Gardens,
Toronto, ON
• Ross & Macdonald
Before Ross & Macdonald designed the Maple Leaf Gardens, major North American hockey arenas had a grid of view-obstructing steel columns. The Dominion Bridge company created a highly innovative wide-span structural steel dome consisting of four specialized steel arches.
Rather than relying solely on the perimeter walls, the roof’s weight and structural forces were transferred through four massive corner buttresses. To handle extreme temperature swings, the engineers designed a system where one truss is securely pinned fixed, while the other three trusses rest on mechanical rollers. For the first time, a large indoor sports venue provided unobstructed views for every spectator.
1943 – 1946
Ross & Ross
A selected list of buildings:
Camp Hill Hospital (1944), Halifax, NS
Johnson & Johnson Headquarters (1944), Montreal, QC
White Motor Company Plant and Building (1945-47), Montreal, QC
King Edward Hotel, Renovations (1945), Toronto, ON
Royal Connaught Hotel, Renovations (1945), Hamilton, ON
City Delivery Building, Additions (1946), Toronto, ON
Civic Auditorium, Proposal (1946), Calgary, AB
Ogilvy’s Department Store, Renovations (1946-47), Montreal, QC
Salada Tea Building (1946-53), Montreal, QC
1946 – 1950
Ross, Patterson, Townsend & Heughan
A selected list of buildings:
YM/YWHA Building (1946), Montreal, QC
Biology Building (1947), McGill University, Montreal, QC
Lancaster Veterans’ Hospital (1948), Saint John, NB
Dominion Bureau of Statistics Building (1949-54), Ottawa, ON
Victoria Hospital (1949), Fredericton, NB
Federal Government Office Building (1949), Halifax, NS
CIBC Tower (1950), Victoria, BC
1945 – 1947
White Motor Co.
Office Building and Factory, Montréal, QC
• Ross & Ross
1950 – 1958
Ross, Patterson, Townsend & Fish
A selected list of buildings:
YMCA Building (1950), Saint John, NS
Wesley United Church (1950), St. Andrews, NS
Peel Building (1950), Montréal, QC
Imperial Oil Ltd. Building (1951), Halifax, NS
RCAF Headquarters (1951), St-Hubert, QC
National Film Board of Canada (1951), Montréal, QC
YMCA Building (1953), Moncton, NS
Queen Elizabeth Hospital (1955), Montréal, QC
Royal York Hotel, additions (1955), Toronto, ON
1955 Royal York Hotel Additions
Toronto, ON
• Ross, Patterson, Townsend & Fish
The original 1930 building won the very first Gold Medal of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. When Canadian Pacific Railway approached the firm to design a major addition, they stated that they wanted an addition of identical Romanesque-Gothic style of the original hotel. In the late 1950s, the only architect in the firm who had worked on and understood the original design, was one of the partners, John Fish. Mr. Fish’s design enlarged the building while preserving its architectural integrity, giving the impression that the expanded structure had been built in its entirety in 1930.
1958 – 1976
Ross, Fish, Duschenes & Barrett
A selected list of buildings:
TD Bank Building (1960), Montréal, QC
Air Canada Maintenance Base (1960), Dorval, QC
Queen Elizabeth Hospital (1961), Montréal, QC
Credit Foncier Building (1962), Montréal, QC
St. Columba Church (1963-1965), Saint John, NS
CIBC Tower (1964), Montréal, QC
Henry F. Hall Building (1964), Concordia University, Montréal, QC
Oland Brewery (1969), Saint John, NS
Air Canada Hangars (1970), Montréal, QC
Air Canada Data Centre (1974), Montréal, QC
Blackville Secondary School (1974), Blackville, NB
1960 TD Bank Building,
Montreal, QC
• Ross, Fish, Duschenes & Barrett
Principal designer, architect James A. M. K. O’Beirne.
Part of the resurgence of skyscraper building in the post war era, the TD Building is the first of a series of highrises designed by the firm in the International Style.
1962 Crédit-Foncier Office Building,
Montreal, QC
• Ross, Fish, Duschenes & Barrett
Principal designer, architect Jim Grainger
1964 CIBC Tower,
Montreal, QC
• Ross, Fish, Duschenes & Barrett
Principal designer, architect Peter Dickenson
1964 Henry F. Hall Building,
Concordia University,
Montreal, QC
• Ross, Fish, Duschenes & Barrett
1976 – 1978
Ross, Fish & Duschenes
A selected list of buildings:
St. Andrew’s United Church (1976), Saint John, NB
Loch Lomond High School (1976), Saint John, NB
James M. Hill Memorial High School (1976), Chatham, NB
St. Stephen High School (1976-78), St. Stephen, NB
Simon Appleton Condominiums (1978), Boston, Mass., USA
1978 – 1988
Duschenes & Fish
A selected list of buildings:
St. John and St. Paul Church (1980), New Maryland, NB
Dr. Losier Junior High School (1982), Chatham, NB
Big Cove High School (1982), Big Cove, NB
RCMP “J” Division Headquarters (1982), Fredericton, NB
Canada Trust Building (1990), Ottawa, ON
1982 RCMP Headquarters J Division, Fredericton, NB
• Duschenes & Fish
1988 – 1994
Duschenes, Fish & Start
A selected list of projects:
Point Lepreau Reactor Simulator (1989-91), Point Lepreau, NB
New Brunswick Community College (1990), Miramichi, NB
Canada Post Building (1993), St. Stephen, NB
1994 – 2004
Duschenes & Fish / DFS Inc.
A selected list of projects:
University of New Brunswick (1994), Saint John, NB
St. Thomas University (1994), Fredericton, NB
Fire Stations #5 and #7 (1994), Saint John, NB
K.C. Irving Hall (1998), UNB, Saint John, NB
University of New Brunswick Residence (2003), Saint John, NB
1994 Thomas University, Fredericton, NB
• Duschenes & Fish / DFS Inc
Restoration & Conservation – Just the beginning
Former Saint-Jérôme Courthouse (2002), Saint-Jérôme, QC
Bonsecours Market (2002-2004), Montréal, QC
Clock Tower (restoration, 2003), Montréal, QC
St. James United Church (2003), Montréal, QC
Supreme Court (2003), Ottawa, ON
John Abbott College (2003-2004), Montréal, QC
Former Central Post Office (2003-2004), Montréal, QC
George Stephen House (2003-2004), Montréal, QC
2002 Historic Clock Tower, Montréal, QC
• Duschenes & Fish / DFS Inc
As DFS’s first heritage conservation project, the restoration of Montréal’s Historic Clock Tower marked the beginning of what has become an extensive and distinguished portfolio of heritage conservation projects.
Preserving the legacy of our built heritage requires a sensitive approach and respect for the historic building fabric and context.
2002 – 2004 Bonsecours Market, Montréal, QC
• Duschenes & Fish / DFS Inc.
