John Campbell Merrett was a Canadian architect whose most noteworthy work was the concept and design of Montreal’s Central Station.

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, Quebec

Métis-sur-Mer is a village in the La Mitis Regional County Municipality within the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec.This area was first settled by Scottish immigrants during the early 19th century....

. He attended Selwyn House School in Westmount, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, and Ashbury College

Ashbury College

Ashbury College is an independent day and boarding school located in Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa, Canada. It was founded in 1891 and moved to its current venue in 1910. Previously, it occupied what now houses Canadian Senate offices. It is an International Baccalaureate World School, a member of the...

, Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

.

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

Brian Merrett

Brian Merrett is a Montreal-based fine-arts, architectural and travel photographer.. , Montreal Gazette. , Montreal Gazette...

, photographer – live in Montreal.

Education

Merrett graduated in 1931 from the School of Architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

 at McGill University

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

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

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, resulting in a certificate in Town Planning from the University of London

University of London

-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

 in 1934. In 1944 he took a Special Planning Course at M.I.T., Boston.

Career

From 1936 to 1942 Campbell was staff architect for the Canadian National Railway

Canadian National Railway

The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....

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

Saint John, New Brunswick

City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...

, New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

, following which he joined Ernest 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, 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.