[1] Coate worked as a draftsman at the Manhattan firm founded by two fellow Cornell School of Architecture alumni, Trowbridge and Ackerman.
[2] During World War I, Coate served in the United States Army's 32nd Aero Squadron achieving the rank of first lieutenant.
Johnson generously structured the firm in a way that allowed the two younger architects to handle independent commissions on the side.
Fudger House located at 211 Muirfield Road in Hancock Park, Los Angeles; it was later purchased by Howard Hughes (1905-1976).
[9][10] In 1930, Coate designed the Elliott Bandini House located at 90274 Via Almar and Via Arroyo in Palos Verdes Estates, California.
[11] The same year, he designed the Monterey Colonial style mansion of D.C. Norcross located at 673 Siena Way in Bel Air, Los Angeles; A.E.
[15][16] The same year, he also designed the private residence of Henry W. O'Melveny located at 1709 Stone Canyon Road in Bel Air.
[19] Together with Silas Reese Burns (1855-1940), Sumner Hunt (1865-1938) and Aurele Vermeulen (1885-1983), Coate designed the headquarters of the Automobile Club of Southern California located at 2601 South Figueroa Street from 1921 to 1923.
[20] Together with Reginald Davis Johnson (1882-1952) and Gordon Kaufmann (1888–1949), Coate designed the All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California, in 1923, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
[25][26] In 1924-1925, they designed a new building for Saint Paul's Episcopal Cathedral located at 615 South Figueroa Street; it was demolished in the 1970s.