Background
John M. Donaldson was born in 1854 at Stirling, Scotland, United Kingdom.
John M. Donaldson was born in 1854 at Stirling, Scotland, United Kingdom.
At an early age he began architectural training with some of the leading firms in the city, and continued his studies in Germany and at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris.
At the age of twenty-two Mr. Donaldson began professional practice in Detroit, first associated three years with the late Henry Brush, and in 1880 joined Henry J. Meier in a partnership which was maintained until the latter's death in 1917. Subsequently Walter R. Meier succeeded to his father's place in the firm, with Mr. Donaldson continuing active as senior member His architectural works, planned mainly under the firm name were numerous comprising many of Detroit's most important Catholic churches and institutional buildings and a number of business structures in various cities. Among the notable examples of Donaldson & Meier's work in Detroit were, Chancellary of St. Aloysius Church; Seminary and Church of the Sacred Heart the Holy Residence and Monastery; Church of the Holy Redeemer, 1923, David Stott Building; the first two units of the Penobscot Building, and the original Belle Isle Lagoon System and Zoological Gardens. Elsewhere the firm designed St. John's Church at Port Huron, Mich; the Alumni Memorial Hall at Ann Arbor in 1909, and the Church of St. Vincent de Paul at Pontiac, Mich .
A member and Fellow of the American Institute of Architects after 1889 Mr. Donaldson was one of the organizers and a life-member of the Detroit Chapter, A.I.A., also belonged to the Architectural League of New York, the Sculptors' Association, the National Council of Fine Arts, and several business and professional societies.