Architects

Name:

James McKissack

Designation :

Architect

Date of Birth:

Year Only

Exact DOB:

14/05/1926

Year of Birth :

1875

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DOB (2nd 'Or' Year):

Date of Death:

Exact Date

Exact DOD:

24/06/1940

Year of Death:

Circa Year of Death:

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Date of Death After (Year):

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DOD (2nd 'Or' Year):

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Bio Notes :

James McKissack was born in 1875, the son of John McKissack of the Glasgow practice McKissack & Rowan and his first wife Helen Ronald. He was educated at Allan Glen's School, and entered his father's practice in 1889 as an apprentice. After the dissolution of the McKissack & Rowan partnership early in 1890 James completed his apprenticeship with his father, attending Glasgow School of Art (from 1890 to 1894) and the Glasgow & West of Scotland Technical College under Professor Charles Gourlay. He remained with his father as assistant and was taken into partnership in 1900, the practice title becoming John McKissack & Son. About this time he made a study tour in Italy and France.

James was a member of the Glasgow Institute of Architects from 1907 and was admitted LRIBA in the mass intake of 20 July 1911. His father, who never sought membership of the RIBA, had a major operation in 1912 and died in 1915. James continued the practice under the same name thereafter, and from about that date specialised almost exclusively in cinema work, mainly for George Singleton. In August 1986 Professor McKean recorded his recollections of the younger McKissack:
'McKissack was a distinguished camera man who exhibited in New York. Because of his knowledge of photography, McKissack was used as a film booker for Cranston's Picture House. He was gentlemanly, and rather remote. He travelled a lot to Germany and Northern Europe, from which the inspiration of the Cosmo clearly derived. He did some other work notably an electricity substation at the bottom of Hope Street. He was a man of taste and refinement. The faience of the frontages of cinemas before the Cosmo was largely due to the influence of George Singleton, since it was good for wear and tear. Frontages always had to be clean and attractive. McKissack's office was in West Regent Street, an absolute dump, but with a large empty room at the front with a gigantic chest in the middle of the floor, into which he threw all the drawings without any order, and from which he had to retrieve them when necessary.'
Bruce Peter has established that he visited Hilversum to see the work of Dudok, from which the design of the Cosmo was derived.

In his last years McKissack worked in partnership with William James Anderson II, 'a quiet unassuming man who was not in the least commercial' and was an extremely accomplished designer. The practice title remained unchanged as John McKissack & Son.

McKissack married Isabella Somerville, daughter of the lithographic artist Thomas Somerville, at Burlington House, Glasgow on 30 October 1928; she died before 1938. McKissack died of heart failure on 24 June 1940 at 9 St Andrew's Drive; William James Anderson II on 18 January 1950.

Bio Notes continued...

Additional Notes

The following private or business addresses are associated with this person:

Private Addresses2 classic

Address	Class	Date From Char	Date From Type	Date To Char	Date To Type	Notes
79 South Portland Street Glasgow Scotland	Private
344 St Vincent Street Glasgow Scotland	Private
9 St Andrew's Drive Pollokshields Glasgow Scotland	Private
65 Renfield Street Glasgow Scotland	Private

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Business Addresses2 classic

Address	Class	Date From	Date From Type	Date To	Date To Type	Notes
68 West Regent Street Glasgow Scotland	Business	Before 1899		1940

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The following individuals or organisations employed or trained this person (click on an item to view details):

Employers2 classic

Name	Name Link	Date From	Date To	Position
John McKissack	202379	Early 1890s	c. 1894	Apprentice
McKissack & Rowan	200092	In year 1889	Early 1890s	Apprentice
John McKissack & Son	200413	In year 1900	In year 1940	Partner
John McKissack	202379	c. 1894	In year 1900	Assistant

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The following individuals proposed this person for RIBA membership (click on an item to view details):

RIBA PROPOSERS2 classic

Proposer	Proposer Link	Date Proposed	Notes
John Bennie Wilson	201479	1911/07/20	for Licentiateship - as President of the Glasgow Institute of Architects

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This person was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details):

Buildings and Designs2 classic

Building Name	Date Started	Town, District or Village	City or County	Country	Notes
Established church	After 1889	Bridgeton	Glasgow	Scotland	Alterations - as assistant with his father
Wireworks for W Riddell & Co	After 1889		Glasgow	Scotland	Initially as apprentice and latterly as partner of his father
Two warehouses, King Street	In year 1893		Glasgow	Scotland	As assistant with his father
City Improvement Trust warehouse	In year 1898		Glasgow	Scotland	Won competition (Â£100 premium) and secured job
Dunoon Sheriff Court and County Buildings	c. 1898	Dunoon	Argyll	Scotland	Won competition and secured job (initially as assistant in his father's practice and then as partner)
Redhurst	In year 1899	Dunoon	Argyll	Scotland	As assistant to his father, shortly before being taken into partnership
Muslin Factory	In year 1900		Glasgow	Scotland
Restaurant and tea rooms	In year 1900	Largs	Ayrshire	Scotland
Warehouse and offices	After 1900	Bridgeton	Glasgow	Scotland
Clydebank West UF Church	After 1900	Clydebank	Dunbartonshire	Scotland
Shop, Kilmarnock Road	After 1900		Glasgow	Scotland
London Road UF Church hall	c. 1900		Glasgow	Scotland
City Improvement Trust warehouse	In year 1902		Glasgow	Scotland
Langavat	In year 1903	Kilmacolm/Kilmalcolm	Renfrewshire	Scotland
Strathclyde Public School	In year 1903		Glasgow	Scotland

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The following books contain references to this person:

Bib ref classic

Author	Title	Date	Publisher
Post Office Directories
Scottish Biographies		1938	E J Thurston (pub.)
RIBA	The RIBA Kalendar 1930-1931	1930	London: Royal Institute of British Architects
RIBA	The RIBA Kalendar 1939-1940	1939	London: Royal Institute of British Architects

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The following periodicals contain references to this person:

Period ref classic

Periodical Name	Publisher	Date Circ	Edition	Notes
Scotsman		1940/06/26		p11

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The following archives hold material relating to this person:

Arc ref classic

Archive Name	Source	Source Cat No	Building Id	Item Name	Notes
RIBA Nomination Papers	RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum	100005			L v19 no 1435
Professor David M Walker, notes and collection of archive material	Professor David M Walker personal archive	100041			Additional research (death location and addresses) by Iain Paterson

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Basic Biographic Details

Addresses

Private Addresses

Private Addresses2 classic

Business Addresses

Business Addresses2 classic

Employment and Training

Employers2 classic

RIBA Proposers

RIBA PROPOSERS2 classic

Buildings and Designs

Buildings and Designs2 classic

References

Bibliographic References

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Periodical References

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Archive References

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