John A. Pearson
Plot 10, Lot 20
Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto
Born in Derbyshire, England on June 22, 1867, Pearson came to Toronto in 1888 and two years later joined with Frank Darling to form the architectural firm of Darling and Pearson. One of their first commissions was to design structures to replace those destroyed in the great St. John’s, Newfoundland conflagration of 1892. The firm of Darling and Pearson designed many notable Canadian landmarks including the Sun Life Building in Montreal, and the main block of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa after the original block had been destroyed by fire in 1916. Toronto landmarks attributed to the team of Darling and Pearson are numerous and include the CPR and Dominion Bank Buildings at the southeast and southwest corners, respectively, of Yonge and King Streets, the Mount Pleasant Mausoleum, the Toronto General Hospital on College Street, the University of Toronto’s Convocation and Simcoe Halls, and the Canadian Bank of Commerce on King Street West. When construction of this last building was complete it was the tallest building in the Commonwealth. It is now called Commerce Court North. In 1935, Pearson retired from active architectural work though he remained active with the Ontario Association of Architects. John Pearson died at his residence, 210 Forest Hill Road, on June 11, 1940.
Mike Filey
Mount Pleasant Cemetery: An Illustrated Guide
Second Edition Revised and Expanded