The Architects of our City

James Augustus Ellis

James Augustus Ellis was born to the family of James and Phoebe Ellis, farmers in the town of St. Vincent, Ontario in 1856.  He married Mary Ann McIntosh on October 5th 1881 in the town of Meaford (formerly St. Vincent).  As James was going up, his father and uncle were carpenters and he took up the trade but by the birth of his second son Leon McIntosh, in 1887 he was working as an architect.  His son Leon went into forestry and became a forestry expert in New Zealand and Australia.  His first son C. Howard became an architect and worked with his father as Ellis and Ellis until his death in 1922 at the age of 37.

James Ellis initially worked in Meaford designing the Meaford Fire Hall in 1887.  Two years later James joined the Ontario Association of Architects and in March 1890 he opened his office in the West Toronto Junction.  The Toronto Junction was a growing community being developed by Daniel Webster Clendenan around the Keele and Dundas area where the junction of the railways attracted industries and development.  1890 James designed a number of homes in the junction including the home for Daniel Clendenan on High Park Ave.  In 1894, James partners with William Fingland and temporary opens an office in Baltimore Maryland.  Together they designed the Humberside Collegiate (former Toronto Junction High School) in 1894.  By 1895, he is back in his Dundas Street Chambers office.  In 1894 and 96 he designed a houses for Mrs. McNally and Dr. Charlton in Weston and for Mr. Frost in Smith Falls.  In 1897, he had moved his office to 4 ½ Adelaide St., Toronto and by June 1897, he partnered with Henry Simpson to form Simpson and Ellis with offices at 9 ½ Adelaide.  They designed together a number of homes, one for Mr. Cameron the superintendent of the CPR in Fort Williams and the Central Public School in St. Thomas but by 1898 the partnership is dissolved.  James designed the addition for the Centre Street High School in 1902.

High School

He partnered with William Connery in 1906 to form the firm Ellis and Connery.  They became know for their work on area schools and they also continued to design factories and houses in the Toronto Junction including the Knesseth Israel Jewish Synagogue, Fire Hall, Masonic Temple and the Annette Library for the Toronto Public Library System.  In 1909, they designed the Oshawa High School, which became the centre core for O’Neill Collegiate.  They went on to design the King St. and North Simcoe School and the homes for Frank Robson and Charles Robson on Simcoe St. in 1912.

William Connery opened his own office in 1914 and James formed a partnership with his son Howard in 1915.  Together the father and son firm designed the Cedardale School, the South Simcoe School and Dr. Finnegan’s house at 142 Simcoe St. N.  They continued to design many buildings, homes and schools in communities around Ontario.  Howard died in 1922 and James continued to design homes, schools and the Park Lawn Cemetery Mausoleum in 1927.  James Augustus Ellis died in 1935 and was buried in Meaford Ontario.