Doyle was born in Santa Cruz, California, and moved with his family at a very young age to Portland, Oregon, where he married Lucie Godley (1877–1953) and ultimately established his architectural practice. He began an apprenticeship with the firm of Whidden & Lewis in 1893 and remained until 1906, with the exception of two years in New York with the office of Henry Bacon. While with Whidden & Lewis he may have substantially designed the Forestry Building of the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. While with Henry Bacon, he attended architectural classes at, but was not enrolled in, Columbia University. From April to December 1906 he made a "grand tour" of Europe.