THOMPSON, Robert Milne (1876-1958) was active in Saskatchewan and Ontario and worked under his own name, or in partnership with James B. Crockart. His office locations included:
R.M. Thompson, Saskatoon 1910-12
Thompson & Crockart, Saskatoon 1912-14
R.M. Thompson, Saskatoon 1914-15 and 1919-25
R.M. Thompson, Windsor and Sandwich, Ont. 1929-31
Born in Perth, Scotland on 28 May 1876, he studied engineering at Glasgow Technical College, and articled with George P.K. Young, a prominent architect in Perth, from 1893 to 1898. He then worked in a number of engineering offices of the Caledonia Railway (1899-1901), with the well-known contractor Sir Robert McAlpine (1901-02), then moved to Calcutta, India where he was contractor’s agent and engineer on the Moulmain Water Works (1902-06). He arrived in Canada in 1907 and worked in Montreal as a staff engineer with the C.P.R., then moved to Saskatoon in 1908. His engineering training and background made him well-suited to design one of the first reinforced concrete structures in the city, the Saskatoon Power House (1910-11), but it was the arrival of James B. Crockart in the spring of 1912 which prompted Thompson to suggest the creation of a partnership between them, and much of the architectural creativity of the firm came from the hand of Crockart, not Thompson. Their collaboration ended in 1914 when Crockart enlisted and went overseas during WWI. Thompson was also on active military service from November 1915, returning to Saskatoon in 1919. During his absence in Europe from April 1916 until 1919, his office was under the supervision of W.J. Goddard (Saskatoon Daily Star, 4 April 1916, 15, advert.). Thompson operated an office under his own name from 1919 to 1925, specializing in the design of hospitals.
Thompson left Saskatchewan in 1926 and moved to Detroit, Mich. where he worked as staff architect in the office of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, one of the largest architectural offices in Detroit. In 1929 he moved across the river to Sandwich, Ont. and continued to work in the Windsor area. He then returned to Saskatoon in July 1932 but no works by him during this period have been identified. He resigned from the Sask. Association of Architects in 1939 and returned to Scotland. Thompson died on 9 October 1958 at Glenrothes, Scotland (obituary Perthshire Advertiser, 18 October 1958; obituary Star-Phoenix [Saskatoon], 5 Nov. 1958, 13; biog. and port. Canadian Municipal Journal, ix, July 1913, 299-300; biog. and list of works in Henry J. Boam, Twentieth Century Impressions of Canada, 1914, 657-8, illus.; biog. Who’s Who in Engineering [London], 1923, 805-06; biog. E.J. Gilbert, Up the Years with the Saskatchewan Assoc. of Architects, 1969, 19; Brock Silversides, ‘Saskatoon Architects 1905-1920’ in Saskatoon History, No. 3, 1985, 25-6; inf. Saskatchewan Assoc. of Architects; inf. Ontario Assoc. of Architects; inf. Arthur F. Bryce, Perth Library; Peter Hemphill, Ayr Library, Scotland)
R.M. THOMPSON (works in Saskatoon)
SASKATOON, SASK., Labour Temple, 1910 (C.R., xxiv, 21 Sept. 1910, 25)
SASKATOON, SASK., Municipal Electric Power House, for the City of Saskatoon, Spadina Crescent at Avenue A, 1910-11; major addition by Thompson & Crockart, 1914 (Saskatoon Phoenix - Harvest Number, 14 Dec. 1911, 3, descrip.; Canadian Engineer, xxii, 21 March 1912, 428-30, illus. & descrip.; Saskatoon Phoenix, 13 July 1914, 11, t.c.)
THOMPSON & CROCKART (works in Saskatchewan)
SASKATOON, SASK., Ash-McGowan Department Store, 3rd Avenue North at 22nd Street, for the Wilson Bros., 1912-13 (Saskatoon Daily Star, 28 Oct. 1912, 7, descrip.; Saturday Press [Saskatoon], 1912, Souvenir Edition, 27; dwgs. at SAB, Hazen Papers)
HANLEY, SASK., Town Hall & Opera House, 1912 (J.D. Clayton, 'Saskatchewan's Last Opera House' in Theatre History in Canada, iii, Fall 1982, 138-9, illus.; dwgs. at SAB)
SASKATOON, SASK., major addition to the Ferguson Block, 2nd Avenue South, c. 1912 (Saturday Press [Saskatoon], 1912, Souvenir Edition, 27)
SASKATOON, SASK., residence for Charles R. Hill, Spadina Crescent East, 1912 (Saskatoon Daily Star, 8 April 1912, 14, t.c.; Saturday Press [Saskatoon], 1912, Souvenir Edition, 27)
SASKATOON, SASK., residence for William A. Silverwood, Queen Street, c. 1912 (Saturday Press [Saskatoon], 1912, Souvenir Edition, 27)
YORKTON, SASK., Yorkton Fruit & Produce Co., warehouse, 1912 (Saskatoon Daily Star, 29 May 1912, 14, t.c.; Saturday Press [Saskatoon], 1912, Souvenir Edition, 27)
SASKATOON, SASK., Clapham Court Apartments, 4th Avenue at 26th Street, a 3 storey apartment block for the Saskatoon Housing Commission Co., 1913 (C.R., xxvii, 1 Jan. 1913, 82; Saskatoon Phoenix, 6 March 1913, 7, descrip.)
SASKATOON, SASK., Drinkle Block No. 3, 3rd Avenue South at 22nd Street East, for J.G. Drinkle, 1913 (C.R., xxvii, 30 April 1913, 177; Saturday Press [Saskatoon], 1913, Progress & Development Number, Section Four, p. 1)
PIKE LAKE, SASK., a new clubhouse for the Saskatoon Automobile Club. Ltd., 1913 (Saskatoon Daily Star, 17 May 1913, 5)
SASKATOON, SASK., Hazen-Twiss Store, 22nd Street East at 3rd Avenue, for the Wilson Bros., 1913; addition, 1924 by R.M. Crockart (dwgs. at SAB, Hazen Papers)
SASKATOON, SASK., major addition to Bank of Nova Scotia, 2nd Avenue South, 1913 (inf. Bank of Nova Scotia Archives, Toronto)
R.M. THOMPSON (works in Saskatchewan)
SASKATOON, SASK., major addition to the Municipal Electric Power House, Spadina Crescent at Avenue A, 1916 (Daily Phoenix [Saskatoon], 31 March 1916, 9, t.c.; inf. Frank Korvemaker, Regina)
DUNDURN, SASK., public school, 3rd Avenue, 1916; still standing as of 2018 and now used as the Town Hall & Public Library (C.R., xxx, 17 May 1916, 47; Saskatoon Daily Star, 14 June 1916, 9)
RADISSON, SASK., public school, 1916 (Saskatoon Daily Star, 14 June 1916, 9)
SASKATOON, SASK, major addition to Young Women's Christian Association Building, 24th Street, 1916 (Saskatoon Phoenix, 7 July 1916, 7, t.c.)
ESTON, SASK., Union Hospital, 1917 (Morning Leader (Regina), 26 June 1917, 15, t.c.; Saskatoon Daily Star, 20 Oct. 1919, 3, list of works by Thompson; Saskatoon Daily Star, 9 July 1920, 3, detailed descrip., with architectural model)
LANGHAM, SASK., Town Hall, 1919 (Saskatoon Daily Star, 27 Feb. 1919, 13)
SASKATOON, SASK., Le Jeune Apartment Block, c. 1918-19 (Saskatoon Daily Star, 20 Oct. 1919, 3, list of works by Thompson)
SCOTT, SASK., Union Hospital, c. 1919 (Saskatoon Daily Star, 20 Oct. 1919, 3, list of works by Thompson)
COLONSAY, SASK., hospital, 1920 (C.R., xxxiv, 21 Jan. 1920, 48)
SASKATOON, SASK., large addition to the City Hospital, with new Power House and Laundry building, 1920-22 (Saskatoon Daily Star, 31 Jan. 1920, 2; and 21 Feb. 1920, 3, descrip.; and 21 April 1920, 13, descrip.; and 20 Feb. 1922, 3; C.R., xxxiv, 11 Feb. 1920, 54, t.c.)
WYNARD, SASK., hospital, 1920 (C.R., xxxiv, 24 March 1920, 66)
TRIBUNE, SASK., hospital, 1920 (C.R., xxxiv, 24 March 1920, 66)
LANIGAN, SASK., public school, 1920-22 (Saskatoon Daily Star, 8 May 1920, 28, t.c.; and 18 June 1920, 3, illus. & detailed descrip.; C.R., xxxvi, 29 Nov. 1922, 1131-32, illus. & descrip.)
FORT QU’APPELLE, SASK., a hospital building at the Sanatorium, 1920 (Saskatoon Daily Star, 2 July 1920, 1)
DINSMORE, SASK., hospital, 1920 (C.R., xxxiv, 10 Nov. 1920, 53)
CABRI, SASK., hospital, 1920 (C.R., xxxiv, 1 Dec. 1920, 50)
NORQUAY, SASK., hospital and nurse's home, 1921 (C.R., xxxv, 19 Jan. 1921, 53)
OUTLOOK, SASK., hospital, 1921 (C.R., xxxv, 26 Jan. 1921, 49)
KAMSACK, SASK., Assiniboine Valley Union Hospital and nurse's home, 1921 (Saskatoon Daily Star, 3 Jan. 1921, 6; C.R., xxxv, 27 April 1921, 60)
SASKATOON, SASK., McKague Funeral Parlours, 3rd Avenue at 20th Street, a large 2 storey block for G.H. McKague, 1921 (Saskatoon Daily Star, 25 April 1921, 3, detailed descrip.)
UNITY, SASK., hospital, 1922 (C.R., xxxvi, 28 June 1922, 92, t.c.)
KINISTINO, SASK., public school, 1923 (Morning Leader [Regina], 7 July 1923, 21, t.c.)