David Stirling

Who was David Stirling?

David Stirling was a Canadian architect of Scottish birth. In 1872 he was made Dominion architect for the federal works in Nova Scotia and in 1880 he became one of the first associate architects of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.

Born in Galashiels, Stirling was the son of stonemason James Stirling. After training as an architect in his native country, he immigrated to St. John's, Newfoundland in 1847 where he played a major role in rebuilding portions of the town destroyed by fire the year previously. He spent the next 35 years designing and building a wide array of buildings out of practices in Charlottetown, Halifax, and Toronto. Having never retired, he died in Charlottetown in 1887 at the age of 64.