James Douglas (architect)


James O. Douglas was an American architect in Wisconsin. He has been called a "noted Milwaukee society architect".
Douglas was born in 1823 in Scotland, emigrated to Canada in 1840, and came to Milwaukee in 1843. In Milwaukee he worked as a "carpenter and master workman," working on the old city hall, St. Gall's Church, St. John's Cathedral, and Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church (Milwaukee, Wisconsin). He reportedly helped build Milwaukee's first bridge, c.1840, over the Milwaukee River.
In 1847 he and his brother started a design and construction partnership. By 1859, "James and Alexander Douglas, Architects & Builders, located on Oregon Street, between Grove and Monroe streets." In 1863 he left that business to work for Northwestern Life Insurance. In 1872 he returned to architecture.
Historian Alexander Carl Guth calls Douglas "a very emotional man, likewise...very pompous and always on his dignity, both in manner and dress," and relates an anecdote in which "a stranger came to office looking for a prominent architect by the name of Henry C. Koch| Koch. Douglas straightaway disclaimed all knowledge of such a man and informed the stranger that he was now standing in the presence of the most eminent architect of the day and that he had better take due heed of same. It is needless to say that this stranger was none other than a prospective client for Koch, but Douglas made such an impression on the man that he rightway engaged him as his architect."
A number of his works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. One, Sunnyhill Home, is further designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark.
Works include :