MacDONALD, Robert Henry (1875-1942), partner in the highly successful Montreal architectural firm of Ross & MacDonald from 1912 to 1942. He was a native of Melbourne, Australia and he studied at the Technical College there from 1891 to 1894. During this period, he served an apprenticeship with Richard B. Whitaker, architect of Melbourne, and in 1895 MacDonald emigrated to Canada to work as a draftsman in the Montreal office of his cousin Robert Findlay in 1895 to 1900, and again in 1901-03, before moving to New York City. There, he obtained more training in office of George B. Post in 1903-04, and with William Welles Bosworth, before returning to Montreal to join the newly formed office of Ross & MacFarlane as a draftsman in 1904. Their partnership was formed on 15 September 1904, and their Montreal office opened shortly after.
When the partnership of Ross & MacFarlane was dissolved in January 1912, George Ross asked Robert H. MacDonald to step in and replace MacFarlane who had decided to leave and to pursue a solo career. The explosive growth of their firm after 1912 was unprecedented in Canada, and by 1914 they had more than 40 architects and draftsmen on staff, making their office one of the largest and most successful architectural practises in Canada during the first half of the 20th C. By 1923, they had grown to 54 architects and draftsmen, with an administrative staff of six women. They dominated the profession for more than three decades, and their office was responsible for more than 150 major commissions from Newfoundland to British Columbia, and as far away as California (see list of works under George A. Ross). A full account of their achievements has been described in the French-language book by Jacques LaChappelle entitled Le Fantasme Metropolitain: L'Architecture de Ross et MacDonald, pub. 2001, 180 p., illus.
The role of each partner in the design of major works in their office is difficult to ascertain; MacDonald was known to have been interested in issues relating to administration, finance and planning, leaving the creative work in the hands of his partner George Ross and the younger generation of architects working in their office. In 1934 MacDonald wrote a series of essays on “Architectural Economics” (RAIC Journal, xi, June 1934, 94-95; and July/Aug 1934, 117-20, and November 1934, 159-62). He also wrote about “Hotel Planning” (RAIC Journal, xviii, Dec. 1941, 198-99). MacDonald joined the Prov. of Quebec Assoc. of Architects in 1898, and served as President of the P.Q.A.A, in 1939. He was nominated as a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in London in 1930, and as a Fellow of the R.A.I.C. in Ottawa in 1931. MacDonald died in Montreal on 16 December 1942 (obituary Montreal Daily Star, 17 Dec. 1942, 5; obit. Montreal Gazette, 18 Dec. 1942, 13 and 21; obit. & port. R.A.I.C. Journal, xx, Feb. 1943, 24; obit. Royal Inst. of British Architects Journal [London], vol. 50, April 1943, 141; biog. National Reference Book, ii, 1929-30, 260; biog. Who's Who in Canada, ii, 1936-37, 663).