John Campbell Merrett (August 26, 1909 – November 3, 1998) was a Canadian architect whose most noteworthy work was the interior design of Montreal's

Central Station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

. Merrett was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada.

Biography

Early life

The fourth child of Thomas Edward Merrett, banker, and his wife, Katherine Stuart Campbell, Merrett's childhood summers were spent in

Métis-sur-Mer Métis-sur-Mer (, ) is a city in the La Mitis Regional County Municipality within the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada. It had a population of 594 in the Canada 2021 Census. The name "Métis" is said to come from a Mi'kmaq word meani ...

. He attended Selwyn House School in

Westmount Westmount () is a city on the Island of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is an enclave of the city of Montreal, with a population of 19,658 as of the 2021 Canadian census. Westmount is home to schools, an arena, a pool, a public li ...

, and

Ashbury College Ashbury College is an independent day school, day and boarding school, boarding school located in the Rockcliffe Park area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was originally founded in 1891 by former faculty of Bishop's College School in Quebec to acc ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Marriage and family

Campbell Merrett married Hazel Howard, one of four daughters of Judge Eratus Edwin Howard and his wife Evalyn Peverley, in 1937. His two sons – Timothy Howard Merrett, professor of computer science at McGill, and Brian Merrett, photographer – live in Montreal and North Hatley.

Education

Merrett graduated in 1931 from the School of

Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

and subsequently did formative work traveling on scholarship in Europe. He did post-graduate studies in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, resulting in a certificate in Town Planning from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

in 1934. In 1944 he took a Special Planning Course at

M.I.T The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sci ...

., Boston.

Career

From 1936 to 1942 Campbell was staff architect for the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

, for whom he designed the concourse of Montreal's Central Station. In 1944 and 1945 he was the Town Planning Director for the City of Saint John,

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, following which he joined Ernest Isbell Barott to form Barott, Marshall, Montgomery and Merrett, where he worked until his retirement in 1977. His projects included the town plan of

Pointe Claire Pointe-Claire (, ) is a Local municipality (Quebec), Quebec local municipality within the Urban agglomeration of Montreal on the Island of Montreal in Canada. It is entirely developed, and land use includes residential, light manufacturing, and ...

, Quebec, as well as buildings for regional school boards, universities and pharmaceutical companies. His real joy came from the many expansion projects at Montreal's Royal Victoria Hospital and much of the modern skyline of that institution can be attributed to him.

References

External

Historic Places in Canada
1909 births 1998 deaths Alumni of the University of London Architects from Montreal Anglophone Quebec people McGill School of Architecture alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Canadian National Railway people Canadian people in rail transport 20th-century Canadian architects Selwyn House School alumni Ashbury College alumni {{Canada-architect-stub