COOPER, James (fl. 1828-33) prepared a sophisticated design for St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Simcoe Street, NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, ONT. in 1831. It combined a refined Greek Revival facade with a shell inspired more by Georgian precedent (Eric Arthur, 'The Early Architecture of Ontario: St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church' in R.A.I.C. Journal, iv, Sept. 1927, 313-17, illus.; M. MacRae & A. Adamson, Hallowed Walls, 1975, 199-204, illus. & descrip.). The original tower for the church, resembling a design by James Gibbs of London, was toppled in a wind storm in 1854 and replaced with a smaller tower and steeple by Kivas Tully. The original drawings for the church and tower prepared by Cooper, a member of the congregation of St. Andrew's, have survived and are now held in the vaults of the church. These drawings, together with a detailed analysis of the design by Cooper, have recently been published in an article by Prof. Malcolm Thurlby entitled "St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Niagara-on-the-Lake, And Church Design in Upper Canada Down to 1840" (The Georgian Group Journal [London], Vol. xxvi, 2018, 247-62, illus. & descrip.)
In 1831 Cooper was one of five competitors whe submitted designs for the Market House, King Street East at Jarvis Street, YORK [now Toronto], UPPER CANADA, 1831-32; partly burned 1849 and demol. (M. MacRae & A. Adamson, Cornerstones of Order, 1983, 72-3, illus.; Parks Canada, Town Halls of Canada, 1987, 209, illlus.). Cooper was awarded First Premium of £ 25 for his scheme which incorporated a central block in the Georgian style with a triple-arched entry leading to an outdoor market courtyard. The complex later served as the first seat of municipal government for Toronto from 1834.