User:JPRiley/Pearson

Clyde C. Pearson (September 22, 1904 – September 22, 1975) was an American architect in practice in Montgomery, Alabama from 1928 until his death in 1975. The Montgomery firm he founded in 1941 is currently (2024) known as PWBA Architects.

Life and career
Clyde Collins Pearson was born September 22, 1904 in Eclectic, Alabama to Marvin H. Pearson and Lena Pearson, née Collins. He was educated in the Montgomery public schools and at the Alabama Polytechnic Institute, now Auburn University, from which he graduated in 1926 with a BSArch. He worked for Birmingham architects Harry B. Wheelock and Warren, Knight & Davis before joining the in-house architectural department of the Alabama Department of Education in Montgomery in 1928. In 1933 he relocated to Washington, D.C., where he worked for the National Park Service under Thomas Chalmers Vint. In 1935 he returned to the Alabama Department of Education, and in 1941, shortly before the United States' entrance into World War II, he opened his own Montgomery office. In 1945 he formed the partnership of Pearson & Tittle with Farrow L. Tittle, an employee since 1943. This was changed to Pearson, Tittle & Narrows in 1949 to include Parker A. Narrows. This was again changed to Pearson, Tittle, Narrows & Associates in 1967.

Pearson joined the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1938 as a member of the Alabama chapter. He was elected a Fellow of the AIA in 1952 in recognition of his design work. Many of his works, including Grove Court Apartments (1949) and Biggin Hall (1951) at Auburn University had by this time been the recipient of prestigious design awards. He also served as regional director for the Gulf States from 1953 to 1956. He also served on the Alabama Board of Architects for six years.

Legacy
Under Pearson's leadership, the firm was known for its design excellence, a legacy continued by Narrows. In 1980, the membership of AIA Montgomery, the local AIA chapter, surveyed its membership to identify then ten best modern buildings in Montgomery. When the survey results were announced, it was found that four recent Pearson buildings–the Blount International headquarters (1972), 40 Four Building (1975), the Montgomery Civic Center (1976) and the local IBM office (1971)–occupied the top four spots.

In 1981 the name of the firm was changed to Narrows, Brown, Parsons & Associates, reflecting the deaths of Pearson and Tittle and the partnership of Ross S. Brown and Gene M. Parsons, who had both become partners many years earlier. The firm was incorporated in 1986, and in 1989, after Narrows' retirement, it was renamed Parsons Wible Brummal Alkire–Architects. A final change came in 2010 when it was renamed PWBA Architects. The firm is still active, with offices in Montgomery and Birmingham.

Personal life
Pearson was married in 1934 to Ida Mae Adams. They had one child, Clyde C. Pearson Jr., who graduated from Auburn in 1962 and practiced as an architect in Atlanta and Huntsville, Alabama.

During the last few years of his life, Pearson increasingly withdrew from business to to illness. He died on September 22, 1975, his 71st birthday, in Montgomery.

Pearson's younger brother by twenty years, William Marvin Pearson, was also an Auburn graduate and architect. He worked for Pearson from 1945 to 1955, when he established his own firm, Alford, Pearson & Humphries. This firm became Pearson, Humphries & Jones in 1957 and is now (2024) known as PH&J Architects.

Pearson & Tittle, 1945–1949

 * 1947 – Ligon Hall, Huntingdon College, Montgomery, Alabama
 * 1949 – Grove Court Apartments, 559 S Court St, Montgomery, Alabama

Pearson, Tittle & Narrows, 1949–1967

 * 1951 – Biggin Hall, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama
 * 1953 – Foy Hall, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama
 * 1955 – Dr. Percy L. Julian High School, 225 Ann St, Montgomery, Alabama
 * 1951 – First United Methodist Church, 822 E Hwy 98, Panama City, Florida
 * 1958 – Montgomery County Courthouse, 100 S Lawrence St, Montgomery, Alabama
 * 1959 – Terminal, Montgomery Regional Airport, Montgomery, Alabama
 * 1961 – Alabama Power Company office building, Montgomery, Alabama
 * 1961 – Funchess Hall, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama
 * 1962 – T. R. Miller High School, 1835 Douglas Ave, Brewton, Alabama
 * 1964 – Myrick Hall, University of Montevallo, Montevallo, Alabama
 * 1965 – Farmer Hall, University of Montevallo, Montevallo, Alabama
 * 1967 – Officers club, Fort Novosel, Dale County, Alabama

Pearson, Tittle, Narrows & Associates, from 1967

 * 1970 – Searcy Hall, Huntingdon College, Montgomery, Alabama
 * 1971 – IBM office building, 4525 Executive Park Dr, Montgomery, Alabama
 * 1972 – Blount International headquarters, 4520 Executive Park Dr, Montgomery, Alabama
 * 1973 – Ferguson Center, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
 * 1975 – 40 Four Building, 44 Market Plz, Montgomery, Alabama
 * 1976 – Montgomery Civic Center, 300 Bibb St, Montgomery, Alabama
 * 1978 – Law Center, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama