CALDERON, Alfred Merigon (1861-1936) was born at Hampton Court Village, Middlesex, England on 7 June 1861, and was the son of Phillip H. Calderon, a popular 19th century British painter and member of the Royal Academy. He was educated at Sevenoaks, Kent, at the London University College School, and at the Royal Academy School, Burlington House, London where he was recorded as a student in July 1880 (Builder (London), xxxix, 10 July 1880, 57). He entered the office of the eminent London architect George E. Street in 1877 or 1878 to serve an apprenticeship lasting five years and then moved to Carlisle, Cumberland Co. to work in the office of Charles J. Ferguson. In 1884 he moved back to London and practiced there for two years. One of his important commissions there involved a collaboration with the prominent artist Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, R.A. to extensively renovate and make substantial additions to the house and studio for the artist on Grove End Road, St. John's Wood, London, built in 1884-87 (Giles Walkley, Artists' Houses in London 1764-1914, pub. 1994, 128-31, illus., with description of the works carried out by Calderon). One of the original sheets of drawings for this project, dated 1885 and signed "Witness - Alfred M. Calderon", is reproduced in the Catalogue of the Drawings Collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects, Volume for the Letter "A", 1968, pp 21-22, and Figure 23, illus.
Calderon emigrated to Canada in October 1887 and settled in Ottawa where he formed a partnership with King M. Arnoldi (see works under Arnoldi & Calderon). After the dissolution of their partnership in 1895 Calderon opened his own office in Ottawa and appears to have been reasonably successful until late 1902 when, for unexplained reasons, he left Canada to work in various offices in New York, Washington and Baltimore where he '.....acquired experience of high building construction'. In May 1906 he returned to Canada and opened an office in Edmonton (Edmonton Daily Bulletin, 2 May 1906, 8). He was then invited to form a partnership with Henry D. Johnson and Roland Lines in late June of that year (Edmonton Daily Bulletin, 23 June 1906, 10). This firm of Johnson, Calderon & Lines was shortlived; within a few months Calderon had left to open an office in Edmonton under his own name (Edmonton Daily Bulletin, 4 Sept. 1906, 2, advert.). He earned a distinguished military record for his service during World War I and after his return to Canada was elected as President of the Alberta Association of Architects in 1921. Calderon continued to practice in Alberta until after 1930 and was nominated a life member of the Alberta Association of Architects in 1935 (R.A.I.C. Journal, xii, February 1935, 35). He died at Victoria, B.C. on 18 July 1936 and was buried in a military plot in Edmonton Cemetery (obituary with port. in the Edmonton Journal, 20 July 1936, 1 and 9; Edmonton Bulletin, 20 July 1936, 2; R.A.I.C. Journal, xiii, August 1936, 164; biog. with port. Evening Journal [Ottawa], 24 Jan. 1895, 7; biographies in the Canadian Who's Who, 1910, 32-3; Who's Who and Why in Canada, 1913, 114)
(works in Ottawa unless noted)
COOPER STREET, terrace of houses for an unnamed client, 1895-96 (Ottawa Free Press, 24 Dec. 1895, 7, t.c.; C.R., vi, 26 Dec. 1895, 2; t.c.)
CARLETON COUNTY PROTESTANT HOSPITAL, Rideau Street, major addition and alterations, 1896 (Evening Journal [Ottawa], 26 Feb. 1896, 6, descrip.; 4 March 1896, 6; C.R., vii, 12 March 1896, 2)
OTTAWA AMATEUR ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION, Maria Street at Elgin Street, major additions, 1896 and 1897 (Evening Journal [Ottawa], 4 April 1896, 7, descrip.; C.R., vii, 19 March 1896, 2; viii, 11 March 1897, 2; Ottawa Citizen, 4 March 1897, 8, descrip.)
OTTAWA SKATING RINK, Theodore Street near Waller Street, addition, 1896 (C.R., vii, 11 June 1896, 3, t.c.)
C. ROSS & CO., Sparks Street near Metcalfe Street, rebuilding of the department store after a fire, 1896-97 (Evening Journal [Ottawa], 7 Dec. 1896, 1; C.R., vii, 10 Dec. 1896, 2; Ottawa Free Press, 30 Dec. 1896, 7, descrip.)
METCALFE, ONT., Anglican Church, 1897 (C.R., viii, 25 March 1897, 2, t.c.)
WILBROD STREET, at Wurtemburg Street, residence for J. D. St. Denis Lemoine, 1897 (C.A.B., xiv, April 1901, plate illus.; L. Maitland, Queen Anne Revival Style in Canadian Architecture, 1990, 131, illus.)
ELGIN STREET, at Lisgar Street, residence for John W. McRae, 1898 (C.R., ix, 23 March 1898, 4)
OTTAWA ROWING CLUB, large addition to the club house, 1898 (Evening Journal [Ottawa], 5 May 1898, 6)
ALL SAINTS ANGLICAN CHURCH, Chapel Street at Theodore Street, 1898-99 (C.R., ix, 6 July 1898, 3; Evening Citizen [Ottawa], 29 April 1899, 1, descrip.; Montreal Daily Star, 5 Feb. 1900, 9; Ottawa: A Guide to Heritage Structures, 2000,134, illus.)
WELLINGTON HOTEL, Wellington Street, addition and alterations, 1900 (C.R., xi, 15 Aug. 1900, 3, t.c.)
(works in Edmonton unless noted)
McDOUGALL AVENUE, a vaudeville theatre for O.C. Ross of Minneapolis, 1906 (Edmonton Daily Bulletin, 19 May 1906, 2, descrip.)
EDMONTON CLUB, McDougall Avenue at College Avenue, 1906-07; demol. 1972 (Edmonton Daily Bulletin, 31 May 1906, 1, descrip.; 20 July 1907, 9, descrip.; Const., iii, Dec. 1909, 108-09, illus. & descrip.)
SMITH & DRISCOLL, McDougall Avenue at Rice Street, store and office block for S. A. Smith and H. Driscoll, 1906 (Edmonton b.p. 983, 25 Sept. 1906; Edmonton Journal, 26 Sept. 1906, 9, descrip.)
ARCADE BUILDING, Jasper Avenue, for Magrath, Hart & Co., to accommodate the Orpheum Theatre and Elks Club Lodge, 1907; demol. c. 1965 (Edmonton Daily Bulletin, 24 April 1907, 1, descrip.; Manitoba Free Press [Winnipeg], 14 Nov. 1907, 11, descrip.)
13th STREET, residence for George W. Swaisland, 1907 (Edmonton b.p. 69, 22 March 1907; Const., iii, Dec. 1909, 109-110, illus. & descrip.)
LEMARCHAND APARTMENTS, Victoria Avenue at 16th Street, for Rene Lemarchand, 1909 (C.R., xxiii, 16 June 1909, 22; Const., v, April 1912, 53, illus.)
CAMROSE, ALTA., a new hotel for Mr. Rene Lemarchand, "...on the Noyer subdivision, near the CNR Station", 1911-12 (Edmonton Daily Bulletin, 14 June 1911, 12, descrip.)
ROYAL NORTHWEST MOUNTED POLICE BARRACKS, 101A Avenue at 95th Street, a residence block for Non-Commissioned Officers, 1913 (Edmonton b.p. 2188, 1913; dwgs. at Edmonton City Archives)
JASPER, ALTA., residence for Col. Maynard Rogers, Superintendent of Jasper National Park, 1913, and now currently used as the Park Information Centre, (Edmonton Capital, 18 July 1913, 10; R.A.I.C. Journal, iv, Jan. 1927, 35)
PEACE AVENUE CIRCLE, in Glenora, a large residence for John R. Newlands, 1914 (Edmonton Daily Bulletin, 5 March 1914, 7, descrip.)
MISERICORDIA HOSPITAL, 111th Street, laundry building, 1920 (Edmonton b.p. 195, 1920)
MISERICORDIA HOSPITAL, large addition for a children's nursery and creche, 1920 (Edmonton Bulletin, 29 July 1920, 11)
MERCER BLOCK, 104th Street near 103rd Avenue, 1922 (Edmonton b.p. 522, 1922)
JASPER, ALTA., public school, 1924 (Const., xvii, Nov. 1924, 355)
JASPER, ALTA., St. Mary & St. George Anglican Church, Geikie Street at Miette Street, 1928-29; still standing in 2024 (Toronto Daily Star, 11 June 1927, 31, descrip.; Gazette [Montreal], 30 July 1929, 3, descrip.; inf. Scott Edwards)