The Architects of our City
John McNee Jeffrey was born to William and Jane (McNee) on April 1st 1883 in Lanarkshire, Glasgow Scotland. He attended the Academy of Glasgow, and graduated the Glasgow School of Art with a Bachelor Degree of Art. He articled with David Andrew of Glasgow from 1899 and joined the LCC Architects' Department Highways Section in 1904. By 1908 he was working in the offices of Emmanuel Vincent Harris in London, from where he passed the qualifying exam in June of 1908 to become a registered architect of the Royal Institute of British Architects. While in London he attended and received a degree from a London College.
He married his wife Mary Helen Davidson in March 1911 and had five children Mary, William, Jean, John and Alaster. They decided to move to Toronto in 1911 and designed a home for J. McNab Anderson on Yonge St. in July of 1913. By the fall, John is working for the Canadian Investment Ltd and designed for them a home on Walmsley Blvd. In 1916, Mr. Jeffrey with his offices in the C.P.R. Building designed the Swansea Morningside Presbyterian Church and the Swansea Public School. He designed a plant in Acton and redesigned the home of Mr. Dods in 1917. During the war, he was a member of the London Scottish Regiment. He was the architect of the Hillcrest Church of Christ at the corner of Vaughan Rd. and Helena Ave. in 1922. He designed a total of 12 theatres for the Paramount Theatre chain using the latest and most approved methods of stage design, such as the revolving stage and new lighting methods. As a theatre designer, he designed some of the finest theatres in Canada. He designed the Capital Theatre in Victoria B.C., theatres in Sault St. Marie and Peterborough and in 1920 the Regent Theatre in Oshawa. The Regent Theatre was described as being the most impressive theatre between Toronto and Kingston. In 1923, he designed the Palace Theatre on Danforth Ave. which was very similar in design to the Regent Theatre. It was demolished in 1988.
In 1923, Mr. Jeffrey moved his family to Burbank, California and joined the firm of Schultze and Weaver and help build the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel and Theatre. He moved to New York in 1925 and worked on the designs for the Waldorf-Astoria, Sherry-Netherland, Park Central and Pierre Hotels in New York City. He also designed the Miami Biltmore Hotel and the White Plains Hospital in White Plains N.Y. He returned briefly to Toronto in 1931, opened offices at 80 King St. W. and designed the new wing of the Hillcrest Church of Christ. By 1934, he had moved back to Valley Cottage N.Y. and designed the New York and Monsey Post Office, the Westwood New Jersey Protestant Church and the Hyde Park School. He designed some private residences and apartment houses in the Westcester, Bergen and Rockland Counties and in 1940 he became the Building Inspector for the Town of Rockland N.Y. He served in that capacity until January of 1942 and then again from 1950 until his retirement on May 1 1953. His son, Alaster served on the Town Council of Rockland from 1950 to 1959. He died in Valley Cottage NY on March 10th 1956 at the age of 72.
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