Kyle was articled to his uncle John Dobson and worked with him on local projects such as Newcastle railway station, some of the Quayside buildings, and the King Street-Queen Street block which was the site of a major fire in 1867.

[4] In 1821 along with his brother-in-law John Dobson, Gibson Kyle senior was a witness in the indictment of the bailiffs and burgesses of Morpeth, regarding the "ruinous state of the bridge of that town."

[6] Gibson Kyle senior was one of the contractors for building Morpeth Gaol (designed by John Dobson in 1822–1828), and his servant Sarah Detchen who stole from him was the first convict to be jailed there.

Thomas Middlemass, who worked in Richard Grainger's Clayton Street shop, had noticed that lead was going missing, and young Kyle was hidden away there to watch for the thief.

[36] In 1868, Kyle was elected a town councillor for the West Ward of Gateshead, on a Ratepayers' Association ticket since he vowed to lower the rates, though he received both cheers and hisses when he won.

[23] In 1874 Kyle was elected as a member of Newcastle Town Council for Westgate Ward, the polling having taken place in a shed in the cattle market, where the voting numbers had been low.

His Newcastle Daily Chronicle obituary said,[10] "There are none to whom the saying that their works live after them is more appropriate than the great architect, for though his most durable monuments pass away, they remain to exercise influence for many years, speaking to those who gaze upon them.

[47] Joseph G. Angus of Low Fell (b.Gateshead 1842),[48] a member of the leather and rubber manufacturing family of Grainger Street West, was articled as an architect to Gibson Kyle.

[50] The fire was first discovered in the premises of Messrs Bell and Dunn, shiphandlers and hardwaremen, where a considerable quantity of very combustible material was stowed away, consisting of hemp, tar, rosin, and other articles usually sold by ship chandlers.

No-one was hurt on this occasion, and several heroic acts were reported, including that of plumber Caleb Jobling (1823–1869),[51][52] who was "very active in the dangerous task of breaking off the connections of the roofs by which the fire was prevented from spreading to the adjoining buildings.

"[53] On 28 May 1856 Kyle was calling for tenders from prospective builders of this extension, which involved "erection of the principal's residence, and forming additional dormitories &c., in present building.

[66] The laying of the foundation stone by Solicitor General Sir William Atherton MP, on 22 October 1860,[67][68] was a major event involving a procession from the town hall and a crowd of 2,000 people.

The interior [was] fitted up with open benches of stained and varnished deal, arranged so as to rise by easy steps from the level of the preacher's platform.

A time capsule in the form of a bottle was placed under the cornerstone, containing a "local newspaper, names of the elected trustees, architect and contractors, a copy of the circuit plan, and of a placard announcing the event, and a small coin of the realm."

The "new parsonage house for the incumbent" was built after the 1866 church and on its east side, and the Ecclesiastical Commission voted £1,400 (equivalent to £156,581 in 2023) from the Queen Anne's Bounty, for construction.

[86] In April 1867, Kyle was calling for tenders for "different works to be done in erecting shops, offices, four-storey warehouse &c. in St John's Lane (later re-named Grainger Street West), Newcastle.

This direct route between Newcastle railway station and the city centre had previously been "narrow and inconvenient," with its "beggarly and ricketty" houses which contained a "broad block of buildings that were a hotbed and receptacle of fevers and other epidemic diseases," and a "population of the lowest class."

Finally leather factor and merchant George Angus & Co., acquired a 3,000 sq yd (2,500 m2) L-shaped site and built this three-storey warehouse next to the pre-existing Savings Bank.

The time capsule inside the cornerstone contained local daily papers, coins of the realm, and the following document:[92] This stone was laid on Tuesday, the 3rd day of September, in the year 1867.

[88] Next to the building, on the Bigg Market side, a 600 sq yd (500 m2) plot containing a large tannery works was purchased for Angus' new hose belt factory.

The Newcastle Journal reported that the 90 ft (27 m) commercial French Gothic frontage was "noble and pleasing ... tastefully ornamented with carved stone.

The ornaments of the lower row of capitals consist of oak leaves and acorns, and wild hemlock, and are emblematic principally of the leather trade, in which those productions are used.

The Newscastle Journal reported:[90] The pillars supporting the upper floor were wreathed with ivy and other evergreens; and numbers of flags were suspended from the roof and sides of the warehouse.

The customer base was working men and the poor, and the principle was that "by a little arrangement and contrivance, food could be provided of a good and substantial character at very much cheaper rates than was generally done."

Kyle's plans to build lodging houses and single-room tenements in Pilgrim Street were chosen on 2 March 1893, following a prize competition held by Newcastle's Town Improvement Committee.

The grouping of the windows, and the arrangement of the general mass of the building, present a successful effort to secure a picturesque effect in an essentially utilitarian structure.

The access to all the tenements and out offices is from cement concrete galleries and landings at rear of the buildings, an arrangement which is intended to give privacy to the main frontage, which is three stories high.

The lavatories, dust-bins and wash-houses are placed 20ft to the rear of the main building, and an access for carts into the yard is provided for in Mr Kyle's plan.

Having inspected the exhibition of plans, the Newcastle Daily Chronicle reported:[110] The Miller's Hill will almost certainly be improved by the erections to be built from the prime designs that were yesterday on view.

[110]Newcastle Corporation employed Kyle and met in the Town Hall on 3 April 1894, to arrange a loan of £10,000 (equivalent to £1,438,277 in 2023) for a baths and wash houses extension to the city mental hospital.