Lodge and Legend • Volume 2 • Issue 2

Bob Ellis
The
Architect
Behind the lodge
Bob
Ellis
FROM THE GROUND UP:
THE ARCHITECT
BEHIND THE LODGE
While many people can say they’ve
known Edmund a long time, or been
to Saskatoon’s for years, few are able
to top the claim Bob Ellis holds: he’s
known Edmund since he was born.
During childhood, Bob’s father left his own career
to open a produce stand off of Poinsett Highway.
Named for his two sons, Bo-Nat’s (Bo for Bob
and Nat for Nathaniel) quickly became a core
component of the area, serving as a convenience
store for local homes and restaurants. In fact, Bob’s
father rented the land where the convenience store
was located from Edmund’s parents. The store was
located right next to the New China restaurant—
Greenville’s first ever to deal in Asian cuisine, and
the workspace of the Woos.
While they grew up together, the two boys’ lives
soon diverged. After interning in the Daniel building
and receiving a degree in architecture from Clemson
University in 1978, Bob decided he wanted to learn as
much as he could within the industry from as many
different people as possible.
“I wanted to work with as diverse a group of architects
as possible,” he said. “The most eccentric, the most
conservative, the most detailed—I wanted to learn it all.”
That’s exactly what he did, working for firms like
Harry Payne and Associates, Townes and Associates,
Joe Hiller, James Lawrence, the Diran Corporation, and
others. He worked for large companies, independent
architects, and even development corporations, creating
layouts for golf courses.
Finally, after working for a firm that was laser-focused
on the medical industry, Bob got his fill of working for
everyone else. In 1983, he went out on his own.
“I thought, ‘I’m sick and tired of hospitals; I’m just
gonna leave,’” he remembers. “So, I left and started my
own firm—without one client or job.”
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