Darling & Pearson

Frank Darling and John A. Pearson began working together in Toronto in 1889 when Pearson joined the staff of the well-established, nine-year old firm of Darling and Currie. Within three years Pearson had become a full partner and in 1897 these two men embarked upon a remarkable successful career spanning more than a quarter of a century and the entire Dominion of Canada. (1)

Frank Darling was born the son of a rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity in 1850 and trained with Henry Langly after his graduation from Upper Canada and Trinity Colleges. He practiced for three years in London, Ontario offices of G.E. Street and Arthur Bloomfield before returning to Toronto. After a year on his own, he formed a one-year partnership with Henry Macdougall. From 1875-78 Darling again worked alone, although this was the last time he was without at least one partner for the rest of his career. (2)

Darling was architect to Trinity College, Toronto, for 45 years and was the long-standing architect for both the Bank of Commerce and the Bank of Montreal. Several Anglican congregations in Toronto also used him exclusively. He was awarded the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture in 1915 and died in 1923. (3)

John Andrew Pearson, born at Chesterfield, England on June 22, 1867, (4) came to Toronto in 1889 and joined the staff of Darling and Samuel George Currie. He began his Canadian career by working on plans for the Victoria Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. From 1892-95 he spent much of his time in St. John's, Newfoundland assisting in its rebuilding after a major fire. Undoubtedly, a high point came in 1916 when Pearson was hired, along with J. Omer Marchand, to reconstruct the Parliament Buildings. He died in 1940. (5)

Together, Darling and Pearson designed a wide array of buildings throughout Canada, varied in scope, style and use. In Winnipeg, the firm opened a branch in 1902 and sent fellow-Torontonian W. Percy over to run the office. Percy worked for several years in the city and was a regular contributor to the journal, Canadian Architect and Builder, with his "Northwest Letter" which described construction throughout the West. (6)

An incomplete list of Winnipeg designs includes:

  • 440 Main Street (Dominion Bank) 1898, demolished 1968
  • 389 Main Street (Canadian Bank of Commerce) 1900, demolished 1910; facade used in Regina, subsequently demolished 1985
  • 229 Roslyn Rd. (A.M. Nanton Residence: 1900-1901), demolished 1935; gate posts survived
  • Southwest Corner Portage Avenue and Main Street (Canada Life Building (remodeled and enlarged 1902), demolished 1973-74
  • 504 Main Street (Union Bank of Canada: Royal Tower) 1903-04
  • 240 Portage Avenue (Dominion Post Office 1904-07), demolished 1962
  • 273 Donald Street (Holy Trinity Rectory 1905), demolished 1936
  • 146-48 Notre Dame Ave. E. (now Pioneer Avenue); General Electric Warehouse (1905), demolished ca. 1956
  • 175 Logan Avenue. East: Winnipeg Lodging and Coffee House (1905), evaluated, no Grade
  • Country Club Road (St. Charles Country Club 1905); burned down
  • 1910 Northwest corner Portage Avenue and Hargrave Street (Grundy Block 1905), burned down
  • Archibald Street (Western Canada Flour Mills 1905-06); demolished ca. 1986
  • 56-8 Victoria Street (now Westbrook Street): Dominion Radiator Company Warehouse 1905-06; demolished ca. 1972
  • 325 Nairn Avenue (Canadian Bank of Commerce) 1906
  • 1521 Logan Avenue (Canadian Bank of Commerce) 1906
  • 283 Bannatyne Avenue (Travellers' Building) 1906-07, Grade II
  • 201-03 Portage Avenue (Nanton Building) 1906-07; demolished 1989
  • 441 Main Street (Imperial Bank of Canada) 1906-07
  • 167 Lombard Avenue (Grain Exchange Building) 1906-08
  • 254 Portage Avenue (Bank of Nova Scotia) 1908-10
  • 389 Main Street (Canadian Bank of Commerce) 1910-12, Grade 1

Footnotes

1. E. Arthur (revised by S.A. Otto), Toronto. No Mean City (Toronto-1984), pp. 244, 256.
2. Ibid., p. 244.
3. Ibid., p. 256.
4. The Canadian Encyclopedia (Edmonton: Hurtig Publishers limited, 1985), Vol. 3, p. 1635.
5. E. Arthur, op. cit., p. 256.
6. Canadian Architect and Builder, 1902-03.