John Gibb Morton (14 July 1876 – 13 February 1949) was a Scottish-born Canadian architect noted for his ecclesiastical commissions in early 20th-century Ontario.
Life and career Morton was born in 1876 in Dennistoun, Glasgow, Scotland. He was educated at the Andersonian Institute, graduating in 1898, and at the Glasgow School of Art. He apprenticed under Glaswegian architect John Hamilton, become his chief assistant from 1897 to 1902. He then moved to London, becoming a draftsman in the offices of Sir Aston Webb. In 1904, he returned to Glasgow to work as an assistant to Sir John James Burnet. At this time, Morton entered into a partnership with George N. Beattie, unsuccessfully entering a number of local competitions as Beattie & Morton. The partnership was dissolved in 1907 and from then Morton worked under his own name.
In 1910, Morton emigrated to Canada, settling in Toronto. He joined the Dominion Realty Company, the real estate arm of the Canadian Bank of Commerce. He worked as a staff architect for 16 years, becoming chief draftsman, before focusing on his ecclesiastical commissions.
While employed by the Dominion Realty Co., Morton began accepting freelance commissions from Anglican, Baptist, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic and United Church congregations. His finest works are considered to be the rebuilding of Metropolitan United Church after it was gutted by fire in 1928 and Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church in the Glebe, Ottawa, completed in 1932. His ecclesiastical work encompassed the Romanesque Revival, Byzantine Revival and Gothic Revival styles. He was a member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and the Ontario Association of Architects.
Morton was married twice: first, in 1911, to Jessie Coulson (died 1919), with whom he had two sons, and secondly, in 1920, to Nellie Foley Brennan, with whom he had a further two sons and three daughters. His stepson, John Frank Brennan, a son of his second wife from her first marriage, also became an architect, specializing in Catholic churches and schools in Ontario.
Morton died at St. Michael's Hospital on February 13, 1949, aged 72. His funeral was held at St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church, where he was a parishioner, and he was interred in Mount Hope Catholic Cemetery.
Select works WorkLocationDatesNotesImage St. Anne's Roman Catholic Church Glace Bay, Nova Scotia 1919–1936 Destroyed by fire in 1982. Waverley Road Baptist Church The Beaches, Toronto 1921 First Avenue Baptist Church Riverdale, Toronto 1925 Rebuilding after fire.Now Toronto Community Alliance Church. Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church The Beaches, Toronto 1925–1927 St. Brigid's Roman Catholic Church East Danforth, Toronto 1926–1927 Metropolitan United Church Garden District, Toronto 1928–1929 Rebuilding after fire. Melrose United Church Hamilton, Ontario 1928–1929 Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic Church Moore Park, Toronto 1929–1930 Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church Lytton Park, Toronto 1929–1930 Knox Presbyterian Church Fort Erie, Ontario 1929–1930 Forward Baptist Church Upper Beaches, Toronto 1929 St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church Sandy Hill, Ottawa 1931–1932 Rebuilding after fire. Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church The Glebe, Ottawa 1932 Christ the King Roman Catholic Church Long Branch, Toronto 1939–1940 St. Anselm's Roman Catholic Church, School and Rectory Leaside, Toronto 1939–1941 Church demolished and replace with a larger building in 1963. Cloverhill Apartments Bay-Cloverhill, Toronto 1939
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