 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.