Basic Biographical Details

Name: Alexander Kirkland
Designation:  
Born: 24 September 1824
Died: 28 August 1892
Bio Notes: Alexander Kirkland was born on 24 September 1824 at Kilbarchan, the son of William Kirkland and his wife Janet Neill. Nothing is known of Alexander's training, which seems to have been more as civil engineer than as architect, but he began practice c.1846 and quickly acquired the patronage of James Scott of Kelly whose syndicate had purchased the estate of Stobcross in 1844. For Scott he designed the Bothwell Street and Bothwell Circus developments from 1849 onward, visiting the Continent with him to see contemporary developments in Paris and elsewhere (see Builder, 16 February 1850). Scott's St Vincent Crescent, Minerva Street and Corunna Street developments were undertaken concurrently, £60,000 being expended in the years 1849-57.

The 1851 census shows Kirkland was already a widower, his first wife having died early and been buried at Kilbarchan with her father. At that time Kirkland was living at 38 Stobcross Crescent with his two sons, James (three years old) and Robert (two years old). Around 1854 he entered into a short-lived partnership with George Henry Russell, based in Kirkland's office at 4 Bothwell Street. This was dissolved by the Spring of 1856.

In his Glasgow years Kirkland appears to have been substantially dependent upon others for architectural detailing. It is recorded that John Bryce (1805-51) detailed the block of business chambers at numbers 2-30 Bothwell Street on the north side between Hope and Wellington Streets. A still more ambitious project including an arcade on the south side remained unbuilt until 1877 when the present buildings were erected to designs by Peddie & Kinnear. It is also probable that Bryce detailed St Vincent Crescent since the detail is generally similar to Bryce's Queen's Crescent and West Princes Street development.

Around the early 1850s he took on James Hamilton as an apprentice. Hamilton had been born c.1826 the son of John Hamilton, manager of St Rollox Chemical Works and his wife Jane McKay. He remained with Kirkland for several years as an assistant, designing in his own name several monuments in the Glasgow Necropolis including the boldly theatrical one to J H Alexander, and working on Scott's Venetian Eagle Buildings, Bothwell Street, and on the Ulster shirtmakers Tillie & Henderson's Warehouse at 37-51 Miller Street; Professor W J Smith recalled seeing the elevations for these hanging on the office walls of James Hamilton's son John and his grandson Arthur. Very similar in style was Hamilton's Ulster Bank in Belfast which strongly resembles the Miller Street building, suggesting that all three buildings must be to Hamilton's design. The competition win for the Ulster Bank enabled Hamilton to establish his own Glasgow and Belfast practice, although Kirkland and Hamilton appear to have been briefly in partnership in West Nile Street in 1861. Also in the office at the time was Thomas Ross (1839-1930) later of MacGibbon and Ross.

At the end of 1861 Kirkland withdrew from his Glasgow practice, perhaps as a result of a lawsuit, selling his home (Cartbank House, Kilbarchan) and moving to London on 19 February 1862 to practise as a civil engineer. Thomas Ross then transferred to Charles Wilson's office. Kirkland did not prosper in London and in 1867 moved with his family to New York to join his brother who had already emigrated there, and sold liquor for him on a commission basis. In April 1870 he set up as a liquor dealer in Jefferson, Wisconsin, in partnership with his elder son James and an unrelated American, all three being declared bankrupt there in May 1873. Kirkland then left for Chicago to try his fortune there, sending his wife and son James to his brother in New York. His younger son Robert remained in Jefferson, where he qualified as a solicitor and became a notable public figure.

In Chicago Kirkland resumed practice as an architect and engineer and while no specific works are recorded he seems to have prospered. By 1878 he had been elected Vice-President of the St Andrew's Society and in 1879-81 he was its President. In 1879 he was appointed Commissioner of Public Buildings at Chicago and held the appointment until 1886, an unusually long period; during that time he assumed personal responsibility for the reconstruction of the City Hall section and the City Hall and Cook County Buildings, which had then reached ground floor level to the designs of the County Architect J J Egan and John M Van Osdel, the elevations being Egan's.

These each occupied half the site with identical Renaissance elevations. Kirkland made alterations to the internal structure and the construction of the City Hall and claimed to have saved about a million dollars. These alterations appear to have been justified as Egan's County Building became structurally unsound in 1905 and was demolished, the City Hall being demolished in 1909 in order that the two buildings should again match. Kirkland also made radical changes to the city building and fire codes.

Kirkland continued to practise until 1889 when he returned to Jefferson because of failing health. He died there of apoplexy and exhaustion on 28 August 1892, at the house of his son Robert, and was buried at Greenwood Cemetery. In 1901, however, he was re-interred at Graceland Cemetery, Chicago, where the other members of his family were subsequently buried. Kirkland had married three times; to his original family of two sons, James and Robert, there was later added an adopted daughter, all of whom, together with his third wife, survived him.

Private and Business Addresses

The following private or business addresses are associated with this :
 AddressTypeDate fromDate toNotes
Item 1 of 9Cartbank House, Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire, ScotlandPrivate 1861 
Item 2 of 941, St Vincent Place, Glasgow, ScotlandBusiness1851 From 1851 onwards
Item 3 of 94, Bothwell Street, Glasgow, ScotlandBusinessc. 1854c. 1860Conflict of dates with this address. Perhaps not as early as 1854?
Item 4 of 9West Nile Street, Glasgow, ScotlandBusiness1861 *  
Item 5 of 9London, EnglandPrivate18621867 
Item 6 of 9New York, New York, United States of AmericaPrivate18671870 
Item 7 of 9Jefferson, Wisconsin, United States of AmericaPrivate18701873 
Item 8 of 9Chicago, Illinois, United States of AmericaPrivate18731889 
Item 9 of 9Jefferson, Wisconsin, United States of AmericaPrivate18891892 

* earliest date known from documented sources.

Employment and Training

Employers

The following individuals or organisations employed or trained this (click on an item to view details):
 NameDate fromDate toPositionNotes
Item 1 of 2Kirkland & Russellc. 18541856Partner 
Item 2 of 2Kirkland & Hamilton18611861Partner 

Employees or Pupils

The following individuals were employed or trained by this (click on an item to view details):
 NameDate fromDate toPositionNotes
Item 1 of 4James Hamiltonc. 1846c. 1851Apprentice 
Item 2 of 4James Hamiltonc. 18511854Assistant 
Item 3 of 4James Hamilton1856c. 1857Assistant 
Item 4 of 4Thomas Ross18561861Apprentice 

Buildings and Designs

This was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details):
 Date startedBuilding nameTown, district or villageIslandCity or countyCountryNotes
Item 1 of 13 Quarry House  RenfrewshireScotlandProbably by Kirkland
Item 2 of 13 Villa Development in Milliken Park RoadKilbarchan RenfrewshireScotland 
Item 3 of 131840Glencart HouseKilbarchan Renfrewshire  
Item 4 of 1318491-21, 8-20, 26-32 Minerva St, 19-70 St Vincent Crescent, 1-9, 2-12 Corunna St  GlasgowScotland 
Item 5 of 131849Bothwell Chambers  GlasgowScotlandIn association with John Bryce
Item 6 of 131851Carlton Place Suspension Bridge  GlasgowScotlandAs architect, with George Martin as engineer - designed supporting stone pylons
Item 7 of 131851Glasgow Necropolis, John Henry Alexander MonumentDennistoun GlasgowScotland 
Item 8 of 131854Eagle Buildings  GlasgowScotland 
Item 9 of 131854Tillie and Henderson Building  GlasgowScotland 
Item 10 of 13Before 1854St Andrews Parish School  GlasgowScotland 
Item 11 of 13c. 1855St Aloysius RC Church and PresbyterySpringburn GlasgowScotlandOrgan
Item 12 of 131858Kilbarchan Old Parish ChurchKilbarchan RenfrewshireScotlandExtensive alterations
Item 13 of 131879Chicago City HallChicago IllinoisUnited States of AmericaCompletion, modified from designs by J J Egan and J M Van Osdel

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this :
 Author(s)DateTitlePartPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 4Andreas History of Chicago  vol iii
Item 2 of 4Gildard, Thomas1895An Old Glasgow Architect on some Older OnesXXVIProceedings of the Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgowpp97-106
Item 3 of 4Senex1884Glasgow Past and PresentI p.lxix, additional notes by John Carrick
Item 4 of 4Walker, Frank Arneil1986South Clyde Estuary: An Illustrated Architectural Guide to Inverclyde and Renfrew  p60, p65

Archive References

The following archives hold material relating to this :
 SourceArchive NameSource Catalogue No.Notes
Item 1 of 2Mitchell LibraryGildard's 'Some Old Glasgow Architects' supplementary manuscript  
Item 2 of 2Professor David M Walker personal archiveProfessor David M Walker, notes and collection of archive material Information from the Kirkland family, collected by Ian Caldwell, 1977 (incorrectly give James Kirkland (c.1789-1859), silk weaver who is said to have risen to the rank of captain in the Napoleonic Wars and been wounded at Waterloo serving under Wellington, as father); additional research by Iain Paterson (including parentage and other family information)