Roomor, or the Ambard House, was built in 1904 by Lucien F Ambard as a family residence. It was designed by a French architect and is described as being in the French Second Empire style. The original pattern book is still available at the Ambard House library. Most of the materials used in the construction were imported: marble from Italy, tiles from France, and cast iron elements from Scotland. The wood for the beams came from a company owned by the Ambard family in the Erin area.Due to financial difficulties that left him unable to pay the mortgage to Gordon Grant and Company, Ambard lost the house in 1919. It was later sold to Pointz Mackenzie, who lost it in 1923 under similar circumstances. The property returned under the control of Gordon Grant and Company. In 1925, William Pettigrew Humphrey, an American businessman, rented the house where he lived with his family until 1940, when the house was sold to Mr. Timothy Roodal.Today, Roomor remains the property and residence of Mr. Roodal’s heirs and is currently occupied by Mr. Roodal’s granddaughter, Dr. Yvonne Morgan, and her family. Roomor is a combination of two family names; Roodal and Morgan.Despite many changes, Roomor remains one of the few among the Magnificent Seven that has substantially maintained the integrity of the original design and finishes.
