Alfred Giles

Alfred Giles (May 23, 1853 – August 13, 1920) was a British architect who emigrated to the United States in 1873 at the age of 20. Many of the private homes and public buildings designed by Giles are on the National Register of Historic Places and have been designated Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks. Based in San Antonio, his buildings can be found predominantly in south Texas and northern Mexico. Giles is credited with "a profound influence on architecture in San Antonio." Early life Alfred Giles was born May 23, 1853, near Hillingdon, Middlesex, England. His parents were Thomas and Sophie (Brown) Giles. From 1864 to 1868, he attended the Proprietary School at Gravesend, Kent with a goal of entering the ministry in the Church of England. Instead, he chose a career in architecture and apprenticed for two years to Giles and Bivens in London while taking architecture classes at King's College London. The firm hired him after the completion of his apprenticeship. In 1873, Giles moved to New York City. Move to Texas Giles moved to the drier climate of San Antonio, Texas, in 1875 for health reasons and spent the next three years working for building contractor John H. Kampmann. After that period, Giles began his own architectural firm, the Alfred Giles Company, which grew to become "the foremost practice in San Antonio." The courthouses