Engineers of Dreams: Great Bridge Builders and the Spanning of America

by Henry Petroski

  162. submitted a wire-cable bid: ENR, Oct. 6, 1927, p. 563; Oct. 13, 1927, p. 592; Oct. 20, 1927, p. 648.

  163. “esthetic considerations”: ENR, Aug. 11, 1927, p. 215.

  164. an early modification: ENR, May 24, 1928, p. 819.

  165. model tests: ibid., pp. 819–22.

  166. “He fully realizes”: ENR, Nov. 15, 1928, p. 741.

  167. The basic idea for the towers: see Ammann (1924).

  168. “another important part”: ibid., p. 25.

  169. “The opposite extreme”: ibid.

  170. “the combination and utilization”: ibid., p. 26.

  171. “the architecture of the towers”: ibid.

  172. “Not since December 1911”: Civil Engineering, Oct. 1933, pp. 583–84.

  173. the Gilbert stonework: see, e.g., Billington (1977), p. 1663; see also Ammann (1933b), fig. 22.

  174. “There is no part”: Ammann (1933b), pp. 46–47, 51.

  175. “the fact that”: Moisseiff (1933), p. 165.

  176. “When your car”: Le Corbusier quoted in a press kit prepared by the Port of New York Authority for the dedication of the opening of the lower deck of the George Washington Bridge, 1962.

  177. six months earlier: NYT, Oct. 18, 1931, p. 16.

  178. “George Washington Memorial Bridge”: NYT, Jan. 14, 1931, p. 1.

  179. “ridiculous name”: NYT, Jan. 20, 1931, p. 22.

  180. would continue to call: NYT, Jan. 22, 1931, p. 22.

  181. alternatives suggested: see, e.g., NYT, Feb. 12, 1931, p. 14.

  182. “Cleveland Bridge”: NYT, ibid., p. 27.

  183. “named to suit”: NYT, Jan. 22, 1931, p. 41.

  184. public was now invited: NYT, Jan. 23, 1931, p. 1.

  185. “Verrazano Bridge”: NYT, Feb. 9, 1931, p. 39.

  186. “volume of letters”: NYT, Feb. 12, 1931, p. 14.

  187. decided on “George Washington Bridge”: NYT, April 24, 1931, p. 25.

  188. “what the millions”: NYT, April 25, 1931, p. 18.

  189. “get its workaday name”: ENR, May 7, 1931, p. 753.

  190. “But probably the greatest”: NYT, Oct. 25, 1931, p. 30.

  191. “designer of the great”: ibid.

  192. “rendered special advice”: Ammann (1933b), p. 65.

  193. “Defying the age-old rule”: NYT, Oct. 25, 1931, pp. 1, 30.

  194. all the technical ingenuity: Doig and Billington, pp. 12 ff. 1923 article: Ammann (1923).

  195. slightly skewed view: see, e.g., ibid., p. 1074.

  196. unlikely extreme traffic condition: see Doig and Billington, pp. 15–16.

  197. “every dollar spent”: quoted in ibid., p. 10.

  198. economic attractiveness: ibid., pp. 17–18.

  199. “the stiffening system”: quoted in ibid., p. 21.

  200. “The setting”: quoted in Widmer, p. 19.

  201. “great monument to Mr. Ammann”: see Ammann (1931b).

  202. date of the first tunnels: ibid., p. 9.

  203. “In my preliminary studies”: ibid., p. 17.

  204. “a man of vast”: ibid., p. 25.

  205. “There was one”: ibid., p. 27; cf. Waddell (1916), p. 5, for another version of the story of squaws used in proof testing.

  206. engineers who were not in attendance: see Ammann (1931b), p. 3.

  207. James Wilkins: Golden, p. 11; Golden Gate Bridge (1994), p. 9.

  208. Hetch Hetchy Valley: van der Zee, p. 25; see also NYT, Aug. 5, 1987, pp. 1, 10.

  209. Aeroscope: see Anderson, pp. 128–31; cf. U.S. Patent No. 1,235,506.

  210. “Alcatraz and the Angel Islands”: Anderson, p. 130.

  211. Joseph Baermann Strauss: Who’s Who in Engineering, 1937.

  212. “to build the biggest thing”: Golden, p. 3.

  213. “$100 and told him”: ibid., p. 5.

  214. New Jersey Steel and Iron Company: see Darnell (1984).

  215. “element of movement”: Strauss Bascule Bridge Company, p. 4.

  216. O’Shaughnessy shared the data: van der Zee, p. 39.

  217. It was an ungraceful hybrid: see O’Shaughnessey and Strauss, pp. 3, 5; cf. van der Zee, p. 42.

  218. “to help stimulate”: van der Zee, p. 41.

  219. An attractive booklet: O’Shaughnessy and Strauss.

  220. “new cantilever-suspension type”: ibid., p. 6.

  221. “so reasonable”: see ibid., p. 12.

  222. Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District: ibid., p. 43.

  223. Charles Alton Ellis: ibid., pp. 48–50; cf. van der Zee and Cone.

  224. Moisseiff prepared plans: van der Zee, p. 57.

  225. Among the engineers: ibid., p. 78.

  226. Ammann had accepted: ibid., pp. 78–84.

  227. O’Shaughnessy: see, e.g., ibid., p. 86.

  228. newly printed letterhead: see ibid., p. 72.

  229. “the lowest ever written”: ibid., p. 85.

  230. Strauss sued: ENR, Nov. 19, 1936, p. 732.

  231. Early plans: van der Zee, p. 94.

  232. It was Ellis who assured: ibid., p. 100.

  233. “the stepped-off type”: ibid., p. 114.

  234. John Eberson: ibid., pp. 114–15.

  235. He produced a design: see ibid., p. 124.

  236. Irving F. Morrow: ibid., p. 115.

  237. “the Golden Gate Bridge”: ENR, May 28, 1931, p. 877.

  238. The university’s president: van der Zee, p. 125.

  239. “Mr. Strauss gave me”: ibid., p. 126.

  240. “who stands high”: ibid., p. 128.

  241. “even if Mr. Strauss:” ibid.

  242. “a problem of this nature”: ibid., p. 110; cf. van der Zee and Cone.

  243. “the structure was nothing unusual”: van der Zee, p. 142.

  244. “vexed” even Moisseiff: ibid., p. 155.

  245. “without diagonals”: ENR, Jan. 25, 1934, p. 125.

  246. “in protest over”: van der Zee, p. 156.

  247. “principal engineer”: Golden Gate Bridge (c. 1987).

  248. a plaque: van der Zee, p. 295.

  249. Strauss’s final report: Strauss.

  250. Pedestrian Day: see van der Zee, pp. 296–98.

  251. fiftieth anniversary: see, e.g., Kuesel, pp. 58, 59.

  252. known among engineers: see, e.g., Ketchum and Heldermon.

  253. $128-million project: ENR, Jan. 6, 1992, p. 12.

  254. disagreements over liability: ENR, Jan. 4, 1993, p. 19.

  255. “At last the mighty task”: San Francisco News, May 26, 1937, Golden Gate Bridge and Fiesta Section, p. 4; cf. Golden Gate Bridge (c. 1987).

  256. It is known that Ellis: van der Zee and Cone.

  257. “When Telford planned”: Ammann (1933a), p. 429.

  258. Triborough Bridge Authority: see, e.g., Caro, pp. 657–59.

  259. Tammany engineers: Caro, p. 391.

  260. The proposed design: see Shanor, pp. 149–56.

  261. “so that the structure”: Embury (1938c), p. 265.

  262. “It is now well established”: Ammann (1939), p. 218.

  263. “in no small degree”: ibid., p. 217.

  264. architect to the elite: Caro, p. 365.

  265. “had the good fortune”: Embury (1938b), p. 85.

  266. worked with Dana de novo: ibid.

  267. “wanted the anchorages”: ibid., p. 86.

  268. “until traffic conditions”: ibid., p. 87.

  269. “an anachronism”: ibid., p. 88.

  270. “how often do engineers”: Embury (1938a), p. 4.

  271. “a reversal of function”: Embury (1938b), p. 89.

  272. “it is always easier”: ibid.

  273. “pendulum action”: ENR, Dec. 5, 1940, pp. 54–55.

  274. Golden Gate moved sideways: Vincent, pp. 1817–1–1817–2.

  275. Two much shorter suspension bridges: see Billington (1977), pp. 1667–68.

  276. stranded on Deer Isle: NYT, May 31, 1978, p. 16.

&nbs
p; 277. “We have had to deal with”: ENR, Dec. 5, 1940, p. 56.

  278. Leon Solomon Moisseiff: see “Memoir”; DAB, suppl. 3, pp. 530–31.

  279. “Although he did not”: DAB, suppl. 3, p. 531.

  280. Tacoma Narrows Bridge: see Ammann et al.

  281. traffic over the bridge: ENR, Aug. 1, 1940, p. 139.

  282. “Unless there are”: Moisseiff, in Ammann et al., p. II-1.

  283. “raise the west end”: Moisseiff, in ibid., p. II-2.

  284. “result in a neat”: Moisseiff, in ibid., p. II-4.

  285. “be about one cent per lb. less”: Moisseiff, in ibid., p. II-6.

  286. In a second part: ibid.

  287. “height of the towers”: Moisseiff, in ibid., p. II-7.

  288. Theodore L. Condron: NYT, Apr. 14, 1955, p. 29.

  289. identified the board: Condron, in Ammann et al., p. IV-1.

  290. “full confidence in Mr. Moisseiff”: quoted in ibid., p. IV-6.

  291. Condron’s tabulation: ibid., p. IV-5.

  292. “certain tests had been made”: Condron, in ibid., p. IV-3.

  293. “Moisseiff and Lienhard”: quoted in ibid., p. IV-3.

  294. “there seems to be some question”: Condron, in ibid., p. IV-4.

  295. “In view of”: Condron, in ibid., p. IV-3.

  296. Freudian slipping: cf. Moisseiff and Lienhard.

  297. “gratifying”: Derleth, in discussion of Moisseiff and Lienhard, p. 1123.

  298. “had its inception,” ibid., p. 1122.

  299. “With regard to the super-structure”: Condron, in Ammann et al., p. IV-5.

  300. “the Bridge was undulating”: Cone, in ibid., p. IX-1.

  301. “It might seem”: quoted in Ammann et al., p. IV-6.

  302. Construction bids: see Farquharson, pt. 1, p. 17.

  303. Even before the bridge was completed: see, e.g., Ammann et al.

  304. on November 7, 1940: see ibid.; cf. NYT, Nov. 8, 1940, pp. 1, 5.

  305. “felt an obligation”: Pagon (1934a), p. 348.

  306. a series of eight articles: Pagon (1934a through 1935d).

  307. “must reading”: Farquharson, pt. 1, p. 14.

  308. The letter: ENR, Nov. 21, 1940, p. 40.

  309. Theodore von Kármán: Current Biography, 1955; NYT, May 18, 1963, p. 39.

  310. “an eccentric study”: NYT, May 18, 1963, p. 39.

  311. The committee’s report: Ammann et al.

  312. “the Tacoma Narrows Bridge”: ibid., “Summary of Conclusions,” n.p.

  313. bombastic autobiography: von Kármán.

  314. “the bridge was built correctly”: ibid., p. 212.

  315. “took home from Cal Tech”: ibid., p. 213.

  316. “long standing of the prejudices”: ibid., p. 215.

  317. “difference in thinking”: ibid.

  318. “more complete theory”: Woodruff, p. 214.

  319. “The most perfect system”: ibid., p. 215.

  320. “analyze all the assumptions made”: ibid., p. 214.

  321. “probably induced”: Ammann et al., “Summary of Conclusions,” n.p.

  322. Professor Farquharson: see Farquharson.

  323. consulting board: see ibid., introduction.

  324. “came as such a shock”: ibid., p. 13.

  325. “bridges severely damaged”: ibid., p. 14.

  326. J. Kip Finch: see Finch (1941).

  327. “This time the problem”: ibid., p. 407.

  328. “the modern bridge engineer”: ENR, March 27, 1941, p. 459.

  329. John Roebling: see J. A. Roebling (1841).

  330. J. Scott Russell: see Russell.

  331. “It is also a mistake”: Finch (1941), p. 459.

  332. “assisting in the solution”: ENR, Sept. 23, 1943, p. 451.

  333. obituary: ENR, Sept. 9, 1943, p. 373.

  334. unusual number of letters: ENR, Sept. 23, 1943, pp. 74–75.

  335. “The one great disappointment”: ibid., p. 75.

  336. memoir of Moisseiff: see “Memoir.”

  337. “one of the best informed”: “Memoir,” p. 1509.

  338. Charles S. Whitney: Cohen, p. 734.

  339. Ammann & Whitney: Widmer, p. 20.

  340. “the unprecedented increase”: Port of New York Authority and Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, p. 6.

  341. The consulting engineer: ibid., p. 62.

  342. “to help him”: Dunham, pp. 90–91.

  343. “While the truss members”: Ammann (1946).

  344. “inadequate vertical stiffness”: ibid., p. 102.

  345. motor-vehicle registration: Port of New York Authority and Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, pp. 11, 13.

  346. “masterpiece of traffic relief”: NYT, Aug. 29, 1962, p. 31.

  347. “small man”: Durrer, p. 32. (Note that a typographical error has Ammann as only “4 feet, 6 inches” tall.) “it took a few minutes”: NYT, Aug. 30, 1962, p. 59.

  348. bust of Ammann: see ENR, Sept. 6, 1962, p. 24.

  349. “reflect favorably”: NYT, Aug. 29, 1962, p. 59.

  350. “no one man designed”: NYT, Aug. 30, 1962, p. 28.

  351. “one of America’s outstanding engineers”: NYT, Sept. 11, 1962, p. 32.

  352. “anyone who would take”: NYT, Aug. 29, 1962, p. 59.

  353. statue of chief engineer Strauss: ENR, Dec. 7, 1939, p. 735; Feb. 1, 1940, p. 143;June 5, 1941, p. 862.

  354. Clarence Dunham: see Dunham, p. 90.

  355. Charles Worthington: NYT, Nov. 13, 1910, pt. 7, p. 2.

  356. “mercantile development”: ibid.

  357. “Every one of them”: Rensselaer, Dec. 1992, p. 7.

  358. Milton Brumer: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Distinguished Service Award, 1972, program.

  359. “and it was on Milton Brumer”: Cohen, p. 736.

  360. “his simply styled office”: NYT, Aug. 29, 1962, p. 59.

  361. also kept an apartment: see NYT, March 26, 1964, p. 37.

  362. “lucky”: NYT, March 26, 1964, p. 38; cf. Katz, p. 36.

  363. “at a thinly disguised”: NYT, Oct. 23, 1964, p. 26.

  364. Italy also issued a stamp: NYT, Nov. 29, 1964, sect. II, p. 35.

  365. “a brave vagrant”: NYT, Nov. 3, 1964, p. 30.

  366. ever-popular numbers: Cohen, p. 739.

  367. “the success of”: Joseph Gies, quoted in Talese, p. 38.

  368. Cornelius Vanderbilt: Réthi, pp. 8, 10.

  369. “the most important link”: ibid., foreword.

  370. long-established neighborhoods: see Talese, ch. 2.

  371. “essentially the application”: Ammann, in preface to Réthi.

  372. upper and lower decks: Talese, p. 45.

  373. The opening ceremonies: Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, Verrazano-Narrows Bridge Dedication, Nov. 21, 1964, program.

  374. Robert Moses rode: see NYT, Nov. 22, 1964, p. 30.

  375. “the careers of two men”: ibid., sect. IV, p. 8.

  376. “Through the bound cable strands”: quoted in ibid.; see The Bridge, sect. viii, “Atlantis,” in Crane, p. 55.

  377. Talese had written: Talese.

  378. “generals, admirals”: NYT, Nov. 22, 1964, p. 30.

  379. “I now ask”: ibid.

  380. “It’s Ed Sullivan”: Durrer, p. 32.

  381. “reshaping the skyline”: Blum, p. B1.

  382. “The rain was coming down”: Trump, quoted in ibid.

  383. “dreamer in steel”: “Remarks of Robert Moses on the Occasion of the Dedication of the Othmar Ammann College,” Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, February 18, 1968, program.

  Chapter 6 Ammann

  384. David Bernard Steinman: see Ratigan; see also Current Biography, 1957.

  385. “his father lashed him”: Ratigan, p. 23.

  386. “softly weeping”: ibid., p. 17.

  387. “He could rattle off”: ibid., pp. 21–22.

  388. A boxed charlotte russe: ibid., p
. 22.

  389. Talk about building a new bridge: NYT, May 2, 1883, p. 5.

  390. “steel wire suspension bridge”: EN, March 7, 1895, p. 145.

  391. Leffert Buck had had: EN, Feb. 13, 1896, p. 103; June 18, 1896, p. 393.

  392. bare steel towers: EN, Aug. 20, 1896, p. 126; Aug. 4, 1898, p. 66.

  393. He climbed upon the steelwork: S. R. Watson and Watson, p. 145.

  394. Morrill Land Grant Act: see Grayson, p. 43.

  395. “The most deserving case”: quoted in Current Biography, 1957, p. 527.

  396. “built by a troop”: EN, Sept. 25, 1913, p. 614.

  397. Steinman personally calculated: Ratigan, p. 101.

  398. Steinman reported the results: Steinman (1918).

  399. “special acknowledgement”: ibid., p. 1042.

  400. “able paper”: Lindenthal, in discussion to ibid., pp. 1089–90.

  401. unspecified “suggestions”: Steinman (1918), p. 1072.

  402. “The analysis”: Ammann, in discussion to ibid., p. 1106.

  403. “the expense”: ibid., p. 1108.

  404. In his closure: Steinman (1918), p. 1131.

  405. deliberately introduced titles: ibid., p. 1132.

  406. “wedding present”: Ratigan, p. 101.

  407. “commissioned him to write”: ibid., p. 103.

  408. biographer Ratigan: see Ratigan, [p. 460].

  409. “Steinman, bridge engineering is easy”: Ratigan, pp. 103–5.

  410. service under Lindenthal: see, e.g., Who’s Who in Engineering, 1959.

  411. “in the slums”: Daley, p. 33.

  412. Irene Hoffmann: Ratigan, pp. 100–101.

  413. he would be identified: see M. Davis.

  414. “active in Presbyterian affairs”: Daley, p. 33.

  415. “a man who modestly”: “Memoir” of Robinson, p. 1532.

  416. He went into private practice: S. R. Watson and Watson, p. 147; cf. Daley, P. 33.

  417. “a drafting table”: “Memoir,” p. 1533.

  418. Holton Duncan Robinson: see “Memoir.”

  419. “he suffered excruciatingly”: ibid., p. 1533.

  420. “Even in his last years”: ibid., p. 1535.

  421. Steinman’s article: Steinman (1924).

  422. “most pleasing outline”: ibid., p. 779.

  423. “for better appearance”: ENR, Nov. 27, 1924, p. 883.

  424. The review itself: ENR, Dec. 21, 1922, pp. 1080–81.

  425. Carquinez Strait Bridge: see Steinman (1927).

  426. “to take the Island”: see Robinson & Steinman.