T. Paterson Ross

Who is T. Paterson Ross?

Thomas Paterson Ross, usually credited as T. Paterson Ross and occasionally as T. Patterson Ross, is an architect of regional significance to the San Francisco Bay Area. Ross designed over 200 buildings during his career.

A native of Edinburgh, Scotland, T. Paterson Ross came to San Francisco at the age of 12 in 1885. In 1890, he began working as a draftsman for architect John Gash, and by 1891, he produced an unusual design for the California Building for the World's Columbian Exposition to be held in Chicago in 1893. Although the design did not win the competition, it gained Ross recognition within the architecture community. In 1892, Ross produced plans for the Chapel at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, for what appears to be the first building he designed as architect that was actually constructed. Ross would be featured later in the West Coast architectural journal, The Architect and Engineer, in 1908 and 1912, and in both instances, the Cypress Lawn Chapel would be featured as “a splendid example of his early work.”

Ross worked for a few architects during the early portion of his career, including Louis S. Stone and Harry S. Munson and for John J. Clark, before entering into a partnership with Edward A. Hatherton in 1895. After the San Francisco earthquake and fires in 1906, Ross entered into partnership with engineer A. W. Burgren. Together, they designed a number of residential and commercial buildings throughout San Francisco, including the Sing Chong and Sing Fat buildings, the Russian Hill Cooperative, and the Union League Club.