Yukon who is who

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Robert Moncrieff (1863 -1944)
	
Robert Moncrieff was born in Tingwall, Shetland Islands, Scotland. His family moved to Canada around 1875. He worked as an architect and builder in or near Selkirk, Manitoba for nearly twenty years.((“Robert Moncrieff.” Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada 1800 – 1950, 2019 website: http://dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/node/1856)) 
	
The Stanley and Warden building was located on Second Ave. south of King Street. It was a brick building but the bricks in Dawson were of poor quality and tended to crack with freezing and thawing. It was decided to tear the building down in April 1903, even though the building was almost new. Large cracks had appeared, and collapse seemed imminent. Three plans were submitted for a two-story Masonic Hall. G.C. Killam submitted plans for a stone building. W. J. Chance and Robert Montcrieff also submitted plans.((Gregory Tetrault, "A History of the Carnegie Library." //The Klondike Sun// (Dawson), 22 May 2001; Gregory Tetrault, "A Carnegie library for Dawson City." //The Beaver,// 1974: 47-50.)) 

Montcrieff's plans were favoured but Chance, Alderman La Lande and the Mayor wanted to postpone the decision. Alderman Murphy wanted to decide so that the materials could be received before the last boat arrived. In a vote, five out of six aldermen chose Montcrieff's plan and the Library Board accepted the plans without changes. In August 1903, construction tenders were opened and all were too high but Montcrieff's bid of $26,500 was accepted. He was asked to lower his bid to match Carnegie’s donation. He reduced the cost by substituting fur for oak flooring and used a single instead of a double floor in the second story. He replaced plate glass with double strength glass and included fewer shelves and desks and used paint with a wax base instead of lead. He also dug the foundation five feet deep instead of ten.((Gregory Tetrault, "A History of the Carnegie Library." //The Klondike Sun// (Dawson), 22 May 2001; Gregory Tetrault, "A Carnegie library for Dawson City." //The Beaver,// 1974: 47-50.))

Montcrieff was paid $625 for winning the design competition, $625 for being the building supervisor and $23,157 for the building construction. The remainder of the $25,000 allotted went to furnishings. Montcrieff arrived in Dawson from Winnipeg in 1897. While he was there he designed St. Andrew's Church and the Bank of Commerce. Local lumber was used to frame the building. Joe Segbers was the superintendent of construction, but he resigned due to boredom during the wait for more building materials. The metal cladding, in 508 packages, and finishing lumber arrived on the sternwheelers //Columbian// and //Victorian// on June 26, 1904. M.H. Jones of the Dawson Hardware Company travelled to Whitehorse to expedite delivery. The building opened in August 1904.((Gregory Tetrault, "A History of the Carnegie Library." //The Klondike Sun// (Dawson), 22 May 2001; Gregory Tetrault, "A Carnegie library for Dawson City." //The Beaver,// 1974: 47-50.))

The Carnegie Library is a textbook example of a Renaissance Revival public building from the turn-of-the-century. The decorative steel patterns were ordered from available catalogues. Moncrieff produced one of the finest and most ornamental buildings in the north. In 1980, this was one of the best preserved and elaborate metal clad buildings in Canada.((David Bouse and Claude Lévesque, "Masonic Temple: Carnegie Library Dawson City, Yukon 1903-04." Ottawa: Parks Canada Engineering and Architecture, December 1980.))
	
In 1913 Moncrieff and others won a contract to build a new Hudson’s Bay Store in Vancouver and he stayed in the city to establish Moncrieff Construction Ltd.((“Robert Moncrieff.” Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada 1800 – 1950, 2019 website: http://dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/node/1856))