John Cresswell Parkin one of Canada’s major figures in modernist architecture
On my walk at Riverside Cemetery in Lindsay, Ontario, I visited the unique grave of modernist architect and visionary, John Cresswell Parkin, whose projects many Canadians continue to admire.
John C. was born in Toronto and grew up in a city still shaped by Edwardian and late Victorian traditions, with Art Deco only beginning to emerge in the late 1920s. When he graduated in 1944—after studying architecture at the University of Manitoba and further studies at Harvard—and as WWII was coming to an end, he was poised to take full advantage of the massive postwar building boom that would soon transform Canada.
With a blank drafting table before him, Parkin helped usher in a new architectural language. A few years after the war ended, he joined John Burnett Parkin (no relation), who served as the firm’s principal, while John Cresswell Parkin acted as partner-in-charge of design. Together, they established Parkin Associates.
Engraved at each end of the black granite monument in Latin “Suaviter In Modo Fortiter In Re” (“Gentle in manner, strong in action”).
John B. and John C. would grow the firm into one of Canada’s largest architectural practices, designing major institutional and corporate projects across the country throughout the 1950s and 1960s. While John B. Parkin focused on business, clients, and management, John C. Parkin concentrated on design leadership, shaping the future of Canadian cities according to his vision.
Some of his most well-known projects that we can still and once appreciated include the Toronto-Dominion Centre in collaboration with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a pioneer of modern architecture. Other notable works include the Ontario Association of Architects building, Salvation Army National Headquarters, Terminal 1 at Toronto Pearson International Airport, Bata Shoes office, Ottawa Union Station, and the original Don Mills Shopping Centre (opened 1955). Some of his projects can still be seen in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and St. John’s.
Parkin’s contributions were highly recognized. He won 40 Massey Medals for Architecture, received the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal (1977), earned two honorary doctorates, and was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1972.
John Cresswell Parkin passed away in Toronto on November 22, 1988, at the age of 66.
My walk in Rosedale Valley and the John Parkin designed building which was once home to the Ontario Association of Architects from 1954-1992.
Located at the northeast corner of Bloor Street East and the access ramp to Mount Pleasant Road, 350 Bloor Street East. The Brutalist-style structure, featuring precast concrete panels was built between 1968-1970. An example another Toronto building designed by renowned architect, John C. Parkin
Former Faberge building now home to Great Lakes Brewing is a Parkin and Associates project completed in the 1950’s. (Photos taken while picking up my GLB session craft beer).
See my related visit to another great Canadian architect, Edmund Burke.
