ROLPH, Ernest Ross (1871-1958), was born in Toronto on 21 January 1871 and attended the Model School and Jarvis Collegiate there. Much of his knowledge of architecture and building came from his training as a pupil of David Roberts from 1888 to 1892, and he played a major role in the detailing and supervision of the construction of the lavish mansion for George Gooderham on St. George Street in Toronto (now the York Club). A skillfully rendered perspective drawing of the house signed 'E.R. Rolph' hangs in the lobby of the Club. In 1892 Rolph spent a year travelling and studying in Europe and rejoined Roberts as a draftsman in 1893, then joined the firm of Darling, Sproatt & Pearson in 1894 as a draftsman. It was there that he met Henry Sproatt, a talented and precocious designer with whom he was to later form one of the most important architectural partnerships in Canada after 1900. Rolph dabbled in minor architectural work in Toronto and completed major renovations to the residence of Michael J. Haney, Elm Avenue, Rosedale, TORONTO, ONT. in 1897 (Vancouver Daily World, 20 Aug. 1897, 5, descrip.; C.A.B., x, Oct. 1897, plate illus.). In October 1897 Rolph took a position with the Canadian Pacific Railway in Alberta, supervising architectural and engineering work on the Crow's Nest Pass (C.A.B., xiii, Jan. 1900, 19). His wife Florence May McMichael, whom he married in April 1898, died in Alberta within six months on 23 October 1898 and Rolph, who was so ill with typhoid that he had to be carried off the train in Toronto, later recovered and chose to remain in Toronto instead of returning to western Canada (Railway & Shipping World [Montreal], i, Nov. 1898, 233).
In late 1899 both he and Henry Sproatt formed a partnership and for the next thirty-four years they successfully collaborated on some of the most renowned landmarks of Canadian architecture (see list of works under Sproatt & Rolph). Much of the design work by the firm was handled by Sproatt, with Rolph taking on the role of administrator and businessman, soliciting clients and overseeing the construction of major commissions such as Burwash Hall (1910-13), Hart House (1911-19), and Emmanuel College (1930-31), all located on the campus of the University of Toronto. He possessed '.....keen judgement, coolness and a sense of humor [which] made him a perfect complement for his temperamental partner' (R.A.I.C. Journal, xxxv, June 1958, 239). He was also a connoisseur and collector who cultivated his hobby of collecting inset jewels and small antique Chinese vases. With the untimely death of Sproatt in October 1934 the reputation of the firm changed dramatically, and many of the plain and serviceable designs produced by the office after this date simply cannot compare with the high standard set when Sproatt was alive. Rolph resigned from the Ontario Assoc. of Architects in December 1942 and died in Toronto on 4 May 1958 (obit. Globe & Mail [Toronto], 7 May 1958, 32; editorial 8 May 1958, 6; Telegram [Toronto], 7 May 1958, 40; R.A.I.C. Journal, xxxv, June 1958, 239; inf. R.I.B.A. London; inf. Herbert Moody, Victoria, B.C.). An early photographic portrait of Ernest R. Rolph taken in c. 1900 was published in the Toronto Daily Star, 2 Dec. 1905, page 1.
E.R. ROLPH (Residential works after the death of Henry Sproatt in 1934)
BINSCARTH ROAD, for Robert A. Bryce, 1937-39 (C.H.G., xviii, Oct. 1941, 36, illus.; R.A.I.C. Journal, xix, July 1942, 148-9, illus.; dwgs. at OA)
MARKHAM, ONT., residence for Harry Rolph, 1945 (dwgs. at OA)
WESTON, ONT., for Fred T. Syme, 1946 (dwgs. at OA)
ORILLIA, ONT., housing development for Otaco Ltd., West Street at Fitton's Side Road, 1947-48 (dwgs. at OA)
HEATHDALE ROAD, for J. Gordon Coburn, 1947-48 (dwgs. at OA)
ORILLIA, ONT., for R.W. Phelps, Peter Street North, 1949 (dwgs. at OA)
NORTH YORK, ONT., for Lionel McGowan, York Ridge Road, 1949 (dwgs. at OA)
E.R. ROLPH (Institutional works after the death of Henry Sproatt in 1934)
WELLAND, ONT., Community Hall for the Page-Hersey Tube Co., Crowland Trail, 1936 (dwgs. at OA)
ST. JAMES CEMETERY, Parliament Street, garage and greenhouse for the Chapel, 1941-42; crematorium, 1946-48; greenhouse and utility building, 1950-51 (dwgs. at OA)
HORNBY, ONT., Orangemen's Hall, 1946 (dwgs. at OA)
BOLTON, ONT., Civitan Summer Camp, 1947 (dwgs. at OA)
NORTH YORK, Township Police Station, Yonge Street at Princess Avenue, 1948-49 (dwgs. at OA)
E.R. ROLPH (Commercial & Industrial works after the death of Henry Sproatt in 1934)
ONTARIO HYDRO ELECTRIC POWER COMMISSION, University Avenue at Orde Street, office building, 1934-35; addition, 1940 (C.R., xlv, 16 Sept. 1931, 1114, illus.; and xlvi, 8 June 1932, 663, illus.; and xlix, 10 July 1935, 563-7, illus. & descrip.; and liv, 1 Jan. 1941, 14-6, illus. & descrip.; A. Carr, '620 University Avenue: Twentieth-Century Historicism', in Newsletter of the Toronto Region Architectural Conservancy, Sept. 1989, 16-22, illus.; Tim Morawetz, Art Deco Architecture Across Canada, 2017, 66-7, illus. & descrip.; dwgs. at OA)
IMPERIAL BANK OF CANADA, King Street West at Bay Street, 1934-35; demol. 1972 (Gazette [Montreal], 28 Aug. 1934, 4, illus. & descrip.; C.R., xlviii, 5 Sept. 1934, 739, illus. & descrip.; and vol. 50, 12 Feb. 1936, 91-8, illus. & descrip.; Financial Post [Toronto], 1 Sept. 1934, 4, illus. & descrip.; and 16 Feb. 1935, 15, illus. & descrip.; and 18 Jan. 1936, 11, illus. & extensive descrip.; R.A.I.C. Journal, xiii, Jan. 1936, 2-11, illus. & descrip.; dwgs. at OA)
ONTARIO HYDRO ELECTRIC POWER COMMISSION, Bloor Street West near Bedford Road, office block, 1948-49 (dwgs. at OA)
CANADIAN GENERAL ELECTRIC CO., Castlefield Avenue at Caledonia Road, warehouse and offices, 1950 (dwgs. at OA)