Donald MacKay (architect)

Donald MacKay (c. 1846 – c. 1887) was a Scottish-American contractor and architect active in the Pacific Northwest. Born in Scotland, he was active in architectural design from 1881 until his death around 1887. MacKay designed a variety of religious, civil, and private constructions across the Washington Territory and British Columbia. After designing the Saint Patrick's Catholic Church in Walla Walla, Washington, in 1881, he moved to Seattle where he oversaw a large number of designs in the Gothic Revival and Second Empire styles over the following years. After entering a commercial dispute with Seattle Catholic parish leader Francis X. Prefontaine, he relocated to Tacoma, Washington, where he saw little business. In 1887, he moved to Vancouver, Canada, in an attempt to take advantage of reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of the Great Vancouver Fire; however, he only designed one known building in the city, and died soon after. His only extant designs are the Saint Patrick's Church in Walla Walla (with some subsequent modifications) and the Proto-Cathedral of St. James the Greater in Vancouver, Washington.