Robert Findlay (1859–1951) was a Scottish-born

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. He was born in Inverness,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, and moved to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

in 1885. He won the competition to expand the first Sun Life Building and was the architect for that project, which he began in 1890. The Sun Life company left that building for the current

Sun Life Building The Sun Life Building (french: Édifice Sun Life) is a historic , 24-storey office building at 1155 Metcalfe Street on Dorchester Square in the city's downtown core of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The building was completed in 1931 after three stag ...

in 1913.

Career

Findlay cultivated an extensive practice, working in later years with his son, Frank. He designed several mansions in the

Golden Square Mile / ''Mille carré doré'' , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Neighbourhood , image_skyline = Ravenscrag.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = '' Ravenscrag'', built for Sir Hugh Allan ...

and a number of other large private houses in Westmount, as well as Westmount City Hall. His private clients included four members of the

Molson family The Molson family of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, was founded by John Molson, who immigrated to Canada in 1782 from his home in Lincolnshire, England. They are considered to be one of Canada's most prominent business families with a combined net w ...

Robert Wilson Reford Robert Wilson Reford (1867–1951) was a Canadian photographer, businessman and art collector. Birth and education Reford was born in the Golden Square Mile, Montreal, the eldest son of Robert Wilson Reford and Katherine Sheriff Drummond, dau ...

, F.E. Meredith, Charles Meredith,

J.K.L. Ross Commander John Kenneth Leveson "Jack" Ross, CBE (31 March 1876 – 25 July 1951) was a Canadian businessman, sportsman, thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder, and philanthropist. He is best remembered for winning the first United States Triple ...

, Sir Edward Beatty, Charles Francis Smithers, A.A. Bronfman and Sir

Mortimer Davis Sir Mortimer Barnett Davis (February 6, 1866 – March 22, 1928) was a Jewish Canadian businessman and philanthropist. The mansion that he built in Montreal's Golden Square Mile has been renamed ''Purvis Hall'' and is today owned by McGill Un ...

. Many of the Golden Square Mile homes that he designed were later purchased by

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

, including the Sir Mortimer Davis House (now Purvis Hall). Findlay designed the Calvary Congregational Church (1911) in Westmount, located at the intersection of Greene Street and Dorchester Boulevard (demolished in 1961). He also designed the base for Montreal's ''

Lion of Belfort The ''Lion of Belfort'', in Belfort, France, is a monumental sculpture by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''). Overview Finished in 1880, it is made entirely of red sandstone ...

'' monument in

Dorchester Square , photo = Square Dorchester 01.jpg , photo_width = , photo_caption = , map = Canada Montreal , map_width = , type = Town square , location = Downtown Montreal, Ville-Marie Montreal, Quebec, Canada , nearest_city = , coords = , coo ...

. Findlay was responsible for the design of Mull Hall (1916) on Lakeshore Road, later known as Stewart Hall, and for the Alice Graham Hallward House (1925) at 3605

Mountain Street Rue de la Montagne, also known as Mountain Street, is a north–south street located in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It starts at Wellington Street in the south and continues to above Doctor Penfield Avenue in the north, where it stops in a ...

, known from 1971 to 2004 as McGill's Martlet House (not to be confused with McGill's current

Martlet House Martlet House (formerly Seagram House) is a Scottish baronial style building at 1430 Peel Street in Downtown Montreal, Quebec. The building was completed in 1928 by architect , with additions in 1931, 1947 and 1955. Previously the Montreal headq ...

at 1430 Peel Street, which was built by in 1928).

Gallery

File:Davis House -1900- - Notman Archive - McCord Museum.gif, Sir Mortimer Davis House (1900) File:Harold E. Stearns House, Montreal 01.jpg, Harold Stearns House (1904) File:Maison William Alexander Molson 01.jpg, William A. Molson House (1905) File:George Sumner House, Westmount 14.jpg, George Sumner House (1906) File:Maison Charlotte R. Harrisson (Macarow) 1.JPG, Charlotte R. Harrisson House (1912) File:Maison Herbert Molson 3.JPG,

Herbert Molson Colonel Herbert Molson (May 29, 1875 – March 21, 1938) was a Canadian politician, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was a former owner of Molson Brewery and a member of the Molson family. Life and career He was born on May 29, 1875, the s ...

House (1912) File:Charles Wesley Maclean House, Pointe-Claire 11.jpg, Stewart Hall (1916) File:Harrieth Frothingham House, Montreal 01.jpg, Harrieth Frothingham House (1916) File:Westmount City Hall 1.jpg, Westmount City Hall (1922) File:Alice Graham House, Montreal 13.jpg, Alice Graham Hallward House (1925) File:Maison Joseph-Aldéric Raymond 06.jpg, Joseph-Aldéric Raymond House (1929) File:Maison Abe Bronfman 4.JPG, Abe Bronfman House (1931)

References

External links

McGill archives profile
(1993 thesis abstract)
Stewart HallWestmount Public Library: chronology
* ttp://cac.mcgill.ca/campus/buildings/Martlet_House.html Martlet House (formerly Hallward House) from Virtual McGillbr>Historic Places in Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Findlay, Robert 1859 births 1951 deaths Scottish architects Canadian architects Scottish emigrants to Canada People from Inverness Architects from Montreal Anglophone Quebec people