MacDOUGALL, Alan (1842-1897) arrived in Toronto with his brother Henry MacDougall and together they opened an office in partnership with Edward M. Skae (see list of works under MacDougall Bros. & Skae; Globe [Toronto], 13 Oct. 1868, 1, advert.). Born in India on 22 May 1842 he trained as a engineer under Charles Jopp in Edinburgh and was engaged in several railway works in northern England. His architectural activity appears to have been fleeting; after briefly working in the Toronto office with his brother who possessed a keen interest in architectural design, Alan turned instead to railway survey work in central Ontario and was active until 1877. He is almost certainly the same " Alan MacDougall, Member of the Inst. of Civil Engineers, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Engineers" who is listed as an architect and engineer in Winnipeg, Man. in 1883 (Winnipeg City Directory, 1883, 254). The following year, he had relocated to Port Arthur, Ont. (Henderson's Manitoba & North West Gazetteer & Directory, 1884, 290). He returned to Toronto in 1886 and formed a partnership with James Gray, as MacDougall & Gray, Architects. In April 1886 their architectural office, located in The Mail Building, was gutted by fire, along with other important architectural premises including Darling & Curry, Kennedy & Holland, Morgan M. Renner, and Frederick C. Law (Toronto World, 2 April 1886, 1). Despite this setback, MacDougall & Gray were again in business within weeks, and continued to practise in 1886-87 until MacDougall was offered the post of Assistant City Engineer for Toronto. MacDougall later returned to England and died in Exmouth, Devon on 23 April 1897 (obit. and port. C.A.B., x, May 1897, 91).
MacDOUGALL & GRAY
TORONTO, ONT., interior ornamentation and decorations of the Horticultural Pavilion, Allan Gardens for the annual St. Andrew's Ball, 1886; demol. (Globe [Toronto], 1 Dec. 1886, 8, descrip.)
DETROIT, MICH., Competition for the Detroit Art Institute, 1887. The Toronto firm of MacDougall & Gray were among nearly 100 architects from the United States and Canada who submitted drawings in this important architectural competition. They received the Second Premium for their scheme, a significant achievement for a young Toronto firm (The Mail [Toronto], 25 June 1887, 14). The first Prize was awarded to another Canadian, James Balfour of Hamilton.