John W. Ross (North Dakota architect)

Grand Forks City Hall

John W. Ross (1848–1914) was the first licensed architect in Grand Forks, North Dakota.^[1] He designed many buildings in eastern North Dakota, including the 1901 Gothic revival St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Warsaw^[2] and the Larimore City Hall, which was built in 1890.

He was born in Germany in 1848, "was brought to America by his parents when a lad of but four summers", and grew up in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He studied architecture under Charles Ross, a leading architects in La Crosse. John W. Ross died in Grand Forks in 1914.^[3]

Works

Ross designed numerous buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and are preserved. His works include:

• Larimore City Hall, Block 64, bounded by Towner, 3rd, Terry and Main, Larimore, ND (Ross, J.W.)^[4]
• Goose River Bank, 45 Main St. E, Mayville, ND (Ross, John W.)^[4]
• One or more properties in St. Stanislaus Church Historic District, off I-29, Warsaw, ND (Ross, John W.)^[4]
• Wells County Courthouse, Railway St. N, Fessenden, ND (Ross, John W.)^[4]
• Grand Forks City Hall, 404 N. 2nd Ave., Grand Forks, ND (Ross, John W.)^[4] This building "is pure Beaux Arts. Rather small in scale and only two storys over a raised basement, the City Hall is faced with ashlar and was similar in mass, style, and materials to the recently razed Carnegie Library which was located nearby."^[5]:5
• Grand Forks Woolen Mills, 301 N. 3rd St., Grand Forks, ND (Ross, John W.)^[4]
• Amos and Lillie Plummer House, 306 W. Caledonia Ave., Hillsboro, ND (Ross, John W.)^[4]
• Rudolf Hotel, Central Ave. and 2nd St., Valley City, ND (Ross, John W.)^[4]
• Pisek School, E end of Main St. at Lovick Ave., Pisek, ND (Ross, John)^[4]
• Renovation of second floor of Finks and Gokey Block, Grand Forks, ND^[6]
• Attributed as probable architect of Grand Forks Mercantile Building, Grand Forks, ND, 1898, Early Commercial^[7]

References

1. Lauren McCroskey (February 6, 1990). "NRHP Inventory-Nomination: Larimore City Hall / Larimore Opera House" (PDF). National Park Service. and Accompanying four photos, exterior, from 1989
2. Marilyn J. Chiat, America's Religious Architecture: Sacred Places for Every Community (John Wiley and Sons, 1997), ISBN 978-0-471-14502-8, pp.201ff. Excerpt available at Google Books.
3. Clement A Lounsberry. North Dakota history and people; outlines of American history (Volume 3). p. 106. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
4. Staff (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
5. Norene Roberts and Joe Roberts (November 30, 1981). "National Register of Historic Places: Downtown Grand Forks MRA" (PDF). National Park Service.
6. C. Kudzia, Norene and Joe Roberts, and Gary Henricksen (September 1981). "North Dakota Cultural Resources Survey: Finks and Gokey Block" (PDF). National Park Service. and Accompanying four photos, exterior, from 1981
7. Peg O'Leary (January 14, 2004). "NRHP Inventory-Nomination: Grand Forks Mercantile Building 1898" (PDF). National Park Service. and Accompanying 21 photos, exterior and interior, from 1993 and 2004 (see photo captions pages 19–20 of text document)