Esther McCoy Irving Gill 1870-1936 Five California Architects, 1960, Reprinted in Marvin Rand Irving J. Gill: Architect 1870-1936, Gibbs Smith, Publisher: Salt Lake City, UT, Design, Ahde Lahti; Photographs, Marvin Rand, 2006, 238 pp., pp. 219-227, 2006a, 1916, 1900s,
"Gill performed an enormous service to his profession at a time when, in the West, the contractor was considered the proper person to design everything except public buildings and large residences, which were almost invariably done in revival styles. The wide acceptance of an architect in a town under 25,000 in the first decade of the century was extraordinary, and Gill deserved much of the credit. He was on [the list] of the first ten members of the American Institute of Architects in San Diego.
"According to Louis J. Gill, who went to work for him in 1911, "His office was larger than any of those in Syracuse, and San Diego was then still a small town. He had six draftsmen, an outside superintendent and a secretary."
"Gill was responsible for turning his nephew to architecture. In 1902, Louis, a junior in high school, worked during the summer on the construction of the Mason house. Louis's father was the building contractor; he had built two of Gill's houses in the East.
"Louis Gill recalled that when he entered architectural school his "Uncle Jack" was not too approving, but asked him to study German so he could translate some articles for him. These may have been the writings of Otto Wagner, the Viennese architect whose work, according to Lloyd Wright, interested Gill.