James H. Dakin

[1] Dakin seems from an early date to have developed a practice of his own, for he was the architect of the large J. W. Perry house, in Brooklyn, in about 1830–31, and of the Washington Square Dutch Reformed Church, an unusually advanced example of Gothic Revival work.

The partnership ended in some disagreement; a letter from Ithiel Town to Davis indicates that Dakin, owing to his investment in the firm, considered he had a greater right to dictate policies than the older partners could countenance.

During this period Town & Davis were engaged on many important works, including the North Carolina State Capitol (1832), the main building of New York University (1833; an influential Gothic collegiate work for which Dakin and Town did most of the design), and the Marine Pavilion (a luxurious hotel) at Rockaway; Dakin's name appears as one of the architects of the last two.

Charles began an ill-fated branch office in Mobile, where he supervised the construction of the Government Street Presbyterian Church, completed in 1836.

[4] The collapse of a row of warehouses he designed affected him so deeply that it is thought to have been a cause contributing to his early death in St. Gabriel, Louisiana.

James Dakin's work with Gallier (1835) included Christ Church, the front of which is preserved as a Knights of Columbus clubhouse (1835–37), the Verandah Hotel (1837–38), and the Merchants' Exchange (1835–36) on Royal Street.

James Dakin carried on after his brother's death, designing the Gayoso House Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee (1842), and the Medical College of Louisiana (1843).

He found the original design by Alexander Thompson Wood unsatisfactory and proposed instead a freestanding, cast-iron frame and a central courtyard for air circulation.

To create the courtyard for air and ventilation, Dakin proposed moving the main banking room from the center to the Canal Street front.

The Perry house in Brooklyn (remarkable for its conservatory wings) and the Julia Buildings show a competent use of the current Greek Revival forms.

The location of his major buildings in highly visible places, like the Mississippi River levees in Baton Rouge, Memphis, and New Orleans—the river was the highway of the time—and the New York University campus in New York City helped draw attention to his highly imaginative designs and set lofty professional standards.