Type Of Business:
Design Firm
Expertise:
Mr. Pearson's expertise is in ecclesiastical building, furniture and furnishing design.
Major Product/SVS:
Consulting on Church Building Design, Furnishings and Stationary Design
Favorite Business Publication:
Colorado Business
Hobbies/Sports:
Photography
Education Degrees:
Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts, The University of New Mexico (1959)
Affiliations Awards:
St. John's Lutheran Church; American Alpine Club; Colorado Mountain Club; Wind Cave National Park Natural History Association; Black Hills Parks and Forests Association
Place of Birth:
Hot Springs, SD
Date of Distinction:
6/6/2008
Work History:
Associate Architect, Hengel Associates, P.C., Rapid City, SD (1982-1995); Designer, Flahart, Dittman and Hengel Architects and Engineers, Rapid City, SD (1962-1967); Designer, Rysdale Architects, Phoenix, AZ (1968); Designer, Facade of Mellgren Building, Rapid City, SD (1963); Job Captain, Designer, Ewing and Forrette, Architects, Rapid City, SD (1959-1962)
What do you feel separates you from the rest of the professionals in your industry?:
Very few architects design ecclesiastical furniture and furnishings outright. The architects of the buildings use specialists and fabricators for the furniture and furnishings which are comfortable with the buildings and usually have satisfactory results, but do they have a completed work of art?
What has been the most outstanding thing you have done thus far in your career?:
The design of the stone sculptures and paint color selection at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Rapid City, SD. The table of compilation of the dimensions of the cathedrals and churches. (Verifying the dimensions is much more difficult than it appears. For example, Jean Barry's ceiling heights are to the bottoms of the vault ribs, while the ones in my table of dimensions are to the bottoms of the vaults. We are both correct.)
Expanded Biography:
I was born in the springtime in the Black Hills of South Dakota, from which the Indians were forced to give up their rights only about 60 years earlier. There was a small river running through my hometown of Hot Springs, which was a picturesque place with hills on both sides of the creek having 100-foot-high cliffs nearby. On these cliffs and sometimes below them, near the stream called All River, were 'Victorian-style' buildings built of sandstone, which, to me, were very impressive. At noon, I would walk home for lunch from grade school to my parents' house on College Hill. This meant going down 143 steps, crossing the stream on a bridge and going up 121 steps to the top of the hill and reversing it to go back to school, all on stone or concrete surfaces. That is what aroused my interest in architecture and hiking.
My father was a house-builder and carpenter, and my mother assisted him with bookkeeping until I left for college, when he retired and she was a county judge from 1960 to 1966.
Our family went on a vacation in the southwestern United States in 1949, and since the architecture of New Mexico was unique in its Pueblo style and the Sandia Mountains were nearby and the winters were not stormy most of the time, that is where I decided to study architecture after graduating as valedictorian of my class in high school.
In 1955, I began taking architectural history classes from Dr. Bainbridge Branting, a graduate of Harvard. He and I became good friends and he liked ecclesiastical architecture. The Fine Arts Department has a slide library named after him.
I was already interested in church architecture because, in 1944, my uncle, Fred L. Mueller, took me on tour of churches and cathedrals.
Shortly after I graduated from college, I discovered that the Rapid City Diocese in the Black Hills was about to plan to build a new cathedral, and I obtained employment with the architectural firm that had the contract due to my knowledge gained from Dr. Bunting.
In July 1967, I drove roundtrip from Hot Springs, South Dakota to Puebla, Mexico, giving my parents a tour of the countryside, which, of course, included the cathedrals in the cities.
Highlight of career?:
The highlight of his career was working with the architect of the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs.
Charity:
St. John's Lutheran Church; Bible League; Wycliffe Bible Translators; Friend of the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine
Number Of Years In Profession:
49
What Does He/She Attribute Success To:
He attributes his success to prayer with opportunities being presented to him at the right time.
How Did They Get Involved In Profession:
He became involved in the profession because of his interest in architecture.
Extended Bio Profile:
Mr. Pearson has been inducted in the 26th, 27th and 31st editions of Dictionary of International Biography, the 2000 edition of Outstanding Artists and Designers of the Twentieth Century, the 1996 edition of Who's Who in the Midwest, Who's Who in the 21st Century and 14 editions of Who's Who in the West.
Education Certifications:
Registered Architect, States of South Dakota and New Mexico (1973); Registered Architect, Colorado (1971)
Awards/Honors:
Board of Direction, American Society of Civil Engineers