John Ord was born in Scotland and apprenticed in the firm of Peddie & Kinnear there before coming to Philadelphia. (In the Peddie & Kinnear office at the time was also Robert G. Kennedy, who also became a well-known Philadelphia architect.) Ord's first listing in the Philadelphia city directories occurs in 1873, when he is listed as a draftsman with no office address noted. By 1877 it is noted that he is operating from an office at 215 South 5th Street, an office shared by Addison Hutton, with whom Ord soon formed a partnership under the name of Hutton & Ord. By 1880 Ord was assisting another Scots architect, John McArthur, Jr. on the design and construction of the Philadelphia City Hall and, on the senior architect's death in 1890, succeeded him on this project. In 1893 Ord retired from this position and was succeeded by W. Bleddyn Powell.

Subsequently Ord pursued an independent practice, with offices at 3202 Arch Street until 1910.

Ord was an active member of the St. Andrews Society in Philadelphia, to which he had been elected in 1873.

Written by Sandra L. Tatman.