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Male, US, born 1870-04-26, died 1936-10-07
Associated with the firms network
Falkenhan and Gill, Architects; Gill and Gill, Architects; Gill, Irving J., Architect; Hebbard and Gill, Architects
Résumé
Architectural apprentice, Ellis G. Hall, Architect, Syracuse, NY, c. 1886-1890; Draftsman, Joseph Lyman Silsbee, Architect, Chicago, IL, 1890-1891; architect Joseph Lyman Silsbee (1848-1913) had worked in Syracuse (1875-1885, [the period 1883-1885 in partnership with Ellis G. Hall], and Buffalo (1882-1887, [this period included a partnership with James H. Marling]), before relocating his practice to Chicago in 1883-1913. Silsbee operated a busy and important practice in Chicago, employing some draftsmen who would become significant designers.
Draftsman, Adler and Sullivan, Architects, Chicago, IL, 1891-1893; Gill encountered a young Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) in Adler and Sullivan's Office; Wright had also worked for Silsbee's firm, (leaving for Adler and Sullivan in 1887) three years earlier than Gill.
Principal, Irving J. Gill, Architect, San Diego, CA, 1893-1894, 1895-1896, 1907, 1908-1922, 1924-1936.
Partner, [Joseph] Falkenham and Gill, Architects, San Diego, CA, 1894-1895. Falkenham left San Diego in 1895.
Partner, [William Sterling] Hebbard and Gill, Architects, San Diego, CA, 1896-1907; Gill probably knew Hebbard while he worked for the Chicago architectural firm of Burnham and Root in 1887-1888.
Partner, Gill and [Frank] Mead, Architects, San Diego, CA, 1907-1908.
Partner, Gill and [Louis] J. Gill, Architects, San Diego, CA, 1913-1920.
In 01/1918, Gill maintained a Los Angeles office at 913 South Figueroa Street. (See “Directory of Architects,” Southwest Builder and Contractor, 01/04/1918, p. 4.)
Partner, [Horatio Warren] Bishop and Gill, Architects, San Diego, CA, 1922-1923.
Professional Service
Member, California State Architectural Board, Sacramento, CA, 1901. Gill was a member of the the architectural profession's first oversight board in CA. Member, Civic Hotel Commission, San Diego, CA, 1903; this board supervised the construction of the Ulysses Grant Hotel for the city. For many up-and-coming cities in the West, construction of large-scale hotels, versatile enough to contain large numbers of tourists and accommodate conferences and meetings, was an important indication of maturity. Hotel construction became a point of civic pride.
Archives
Archival documents on Irving J. Gill are housed at the Architecture and Design Collection of the University Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).
High School
Gill attended the Madison Street High School, Syracuse, NY. He did not attend a collegiate school of architecture, but rather learned on the job as a draftsman in various offices.
Relocation
Gill moved from Syracuse, NY, to Chicago, IL, in 1890 and from there to San Diego, CA, in 1893. According to Nicole Holland, Ashley Chang, and Pieter Stougaard in their article, "Irving Gill’s Vision for The Bishop’s School," "Suffering poor health, Gill moved from Chicago to San Diego, a young town offering both a healthy climate and 'the newest white page,' as he described the West." (See Nicole Holland, Ashley Chang, and Pieter Stougaard, "Irving Gill’s Vision for The Bishop’s School," Accessed 02/09/2015) The onset of the Depression of 1893-1896 also may have spurred Gill's decision to move; Additionally, work may have been scarce in Chicago following the completion of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.
Parents
Gill's father, Joseph, worked as both a farmer and a building contractor in Syracuse, NY; this combination of professions was fairly common in the 19th century. His mother, kept house.
Spouse
At age 58, Gill married Mrs. Marion Waugh Brashears, 05/28/1928, but the marriage ended in divorce.
Children
Gill had no children.
PCAD id: 75
