User:JPRiley/Kingscott

Louis C. Kingscott was an American architect and civil engineer in practice in Kalamazoo, Michigan from 1929 until his death in 1962. He was cofounder of the firm now known as Kingscott.

Life and career
Louis Clifton Kingscott was born July 11, 1898 in Bear Lake, Michigan. He was educated at the University of Michigan, graduating in 1922 with a BS in Civil Engineering.

In 1929 Kingscott formed the Stewart-Kingscott Company with Donald A. Stewart, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Both were licensed engineers, and Kingscott was further licensed as an architect. Stewart died suddenly on March 29, 1939 in Lansing at the age of 56. Kingscott continued the firm. In 1942 the firm was reorganized and renamed Louis C. Kingscott & Associates.

In 1962, shortly before Kingscott's death, his fellow principals were Peter Vander Laan, Albert Holcomb , Louis C. Kingscott Jr. , James Albert and Gordon Gibbs. After his death the firm was headed by his son, Louis C. Kingscott Jr. Other principals as of 1970 were John F. Dawson, Gibbs, James M. Bentley , Brooks H. Godfrey , Charles D. Patton  and Robert C. Smith. In 1972 Louis C. Kingscott Jr. retired and sold his interest in the firm to his partners, and in 1973 it was reorganized as Kingscott Associates under the leadership of president James M. Bentley.

In 1952 Kingscott purchased the Davenport, Iowa firm of Temple–Temple, the former practice of Seth J. Temple, which was thereafter managed as the Davenport office of the firm by Harold J. Stewart, a Temple employee since 1946. In 1958 Stewart and other local employees left to form Stewart–Robison–Laffan, which was active until 1980. This new office was the major local competitor of Kingscott, who were active in Davenport until withdrawing in 1983.

Letterhead of April 22, 1958 notes Kalamazoo and Davenport offices, Indianapolis comes later?

MSA bulletins, read 1951-55

Honors and legacy
Kingscott joined the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1939. He was elected a Fellow of the AIA in 1958, the first Kalamazoo architect to receive the honor. As of 2023 only one other Kalamazoo architect, Evie Asken, has been elected a Fellow. Asken was elected in 1984 and was a principal in the Kingscott firm from 1980 to 1987.

Stewart-Kingscott Company, 1929-1942

 * 1938 State Public School at Coldwater, 520 Marshall Rd, Coldwater, Michigan
 * 1939 West Quadrangle, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Louis C. Kingscott & Associates, 1942-1972

 * 1949 – Food Service Building, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
 * 1949 – Chemistry Building addition, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
 * 1950 – South Junior High School (former), 922 W Maple St, Kalamazoo, Michigan
 * 1951 – Bear Lake School, 7748 Cody St, Bear Lake, Michigan
 * 1954 – Louis C. Kingscott & Associates office building, 511 Monroe St, Kalamazoo, Michigan
 * 1958 – Flint Public Library, 1026 E Kearsley St, Flint, Michigan
 * 1959 – Kalamazoo Public Library, 315 S Rose St, Kalamazoo, Michigan
 * 1965 – Kohrman Hall, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan
 * 1966 – Dorms, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Michigan
 * 1967 – Union High School, 1800 Tremont Blvd NW, Grand Rapids, Michigan
 * 1969 – Center for Integrated Plant Systems, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
 * 1969 – Fenton High School, 3200 W Shiawassee Ave, Fenton, Michigan