STRUCTURE magazine•May 2004 32 great achievements Othmar H.Ammann encouraged hisstudentstogotheStates to only“gray beards” inEurope. Hilgard U.S. were given responsibilities available He claimedthatyoung engineersinthe engineering practiceintheUntied States. Hilgard, regularly traveled toobserve Zurich. One ofhisprofessors, KarlEmil from theFederal Polytechnic Institute in earned adegree incivilengineering fi whenhe Ammann wasinhismid-forties express aninterest inbecomingadesigner. manager, butdidnotdesignastructure or himself asanoutstandingproject moved from jobtoanddistinguished fi bridges attheendofhiscareer. During his Ammann designedhissixmostimportant By Darl Rastorfer Authority of New York andNew Jersey) (Photographer unknown; ofthePort courtesy ofthelowerBridge duringtheconstruction deck. bridge designerstandsontheGeorge Washington Othmar H.Ammann, 1961. The 82-year-old rst triedhishandatbridgedesign. rst twenty years ofpractice,Ammann “…go totheStates andpractice advanced, and cost-competitive, whichiswhyAmmann isoneofthe20thcentury’s greatest civilengineers. Narrows, boastedtheworld’s longestclearspanwhentheyopenedin1931and1964,respectively. All are visuallyeloquent,tec Triborough, Bronx Whitestone, Throgs Neck, and Verrazano-Narrows Bridges. Two ofthem,theGeorge Washington and Verrazano- Born inSwitzerland in1879,Ammann Interestingly, hewasalatebloomer. Othmar H. Ammann’s mostsignifi for oneortwoyears.” The Early Years cant bridgeswere designedfortheNew York metropolitan region: theGeorge Washington, Bayonne, companies backing Lindenthal’s Hudson River atNew York. – astructure intendedtospantheHudson a bridgeproject hefi period, Lindenthalrevived andre-designed operation New Jersey. During thesame a positionasthemanagerofclay-mining practice, LindenthalhelpedAmmannfi projects. With nocontractstosustainthe opened, bringinganendtonearlyallcivil WW Ithree monthsafterthebridge triumph. Unfortunately, Americaentered 1917, theHell Gate Railroad Bridge wasa schedule andwithinbudget.Completedin management practiceskeptwork on among clients;Ammann’s meticulous who maintainedgoodrelationships splendid team.Lindenthalwasavisionary was delightedtojoinhispractice. look uponLindenthalasamentor, and began onthebridge.Ammanncameto ashischiefassistantonceconstruction serve engineer, LindenthalaskedAmmannto acquainted. Impressed by theyounger York whenheandAmmannbecame of theHell Gate Railroad Bridge inNew life. Lindenthalwascompletingthedesign whose infl and prominent long-spanbridge designer Gustav Lindenthal,agregarious, colorful, consultant inPhiladelphia, Ammannmet long-spansteelstructures. constructed that designed,detailed,fabricated,and with private fi and managedtolandasuccessionofjobs special interest inlong-spansteelbridges, his professor’s advice. Switzerland andGermany before following graduation, Ammannworked briefl and practiceforoneortwoyears. Upon When thewarended, railroad Lindenthal andAmmannmadea Six years later, whileworking asa He arrived inNew York Citywitha uence wouldchangeAmmann’s A TurningPoint rms andsteelcompanies rst conceived in1896 y in y nd courtesy ofMargot Ammann-Durrer)courtesy (Rendered byOthmar H.Ammann, 1923; crossing as fi Ammann’s proposal foraHudson River money asthe approval process dragged populated, lesscontentioussite. the bridgeorchangeitslocation toaless refusing toreduce the gargantuan scaleof order, Lindenthalsoundlyrebuffed him, that perhapssomeadjustmentswere in approached Lindenthalandsuggested in 2004). When Ammanndiplomatically $500 million(theequivalent of$5billion upward andnow stoodataneye-popping the estimatedbudgethadtobeadjusted against theproject too. Astimepassed, Costsweretrolleys, andtrucks. working streets were already cloggedwithcars, traffi bring anenormousvolume ofmotor lines onthelower deck: The bridgewould lanes onthetoplevel andtwelve railroad road systemthathadsixteenautomobile suspension bridge,withitsdouble-deck passionately opposedtothetrussed-cable studies. Many Manhattan residents were detailsandtraffi work onconstruction to Lindenthal’s offi promote thescheme.Ammannreturned design, estimatecosts,andpublicly himtodetailthe project instructed management practiceskeptwork on scheduleandwithinbudget.” Lindenthal’s offi c toasectionofthecitywhere “…Ammann’s meticulous rst presented tothepublicin1924. outof ce wasrunning ce thesameyear, to hnically c on. Ammann agreed to a greatly reduced great achievements salary with the understanding that the withheld pay would be reimbursed, and a partnership in the fi rm would be granted, once the contract for the construction phase was signed. For years he had longed for a partnership with Lindenthal, but now came to recognize that the Hudson project was doomed. He considered three options: he could leave Lindenthals’s offi ce and fi nd a job with a New York fi rm that did smaller, more conventional civil engineering projects; he could return to Switzerland and fi nd a position there; or, he could The George Washington Bridge after the completion of the lower deck in gamble with the riskiest career move of his 1962. The bridge was designed for two decks, but only needed an upper life… strike out on his own. With little left deck during its fi rst thirty years of service. (Photo, Jet Lowe; courtesy of the Library of Congress, HAER Collection) to lose, the characteristically conservative Ammann left Lindenthal, and in March, to become a double-deck bridge when elected offi cials on both sides of the Hudson 1923 began to work independently on the traffi c volume justifi ed more capacity. To were soon aligned with Ammann’s plan fi rst bridge he ever designed… his own economically engineer its 3,500-ft. central too. The state legislatures of New York and proposal for a Hudson crossing. span (nearly twice that of the Brooklyn New Jersey each authorized the proposal, Over the next eighteen months, Bridge), Ammann applied the largely and handed responsibility for constructing Ammann designed, developed, and untested defl ection theory in the design and operating the bridge to the recently promoted a suspension bridge that was of the shallow suspended roadway. The chartered Port Authority of New York and cost-conscious, practical, and disarmingly estimated construction cost of Ammann’s New Jersey. simple. It connected the relatively scheme was $40 million (equivalent to Ammann had produced the winning unpopulated northern end of Manhattan approximately $423 million today). Ten scheme, but was sidelined as a participant with Bergen County, New Jersey. This site bridges patterned after Ammann’s scheme in its construction until Governor Silzer avoided a contentious midtown location could be built across the Hudson for the arranged for Ammann’s appointment and placed the bridge where land prices cost of a single Lindenthal bridge! as the fi rst Chief Engineer of the Port were low. The scheme played down train Lindenthal and Ammann were not the Authority of New York and New Jersey. transit, recognizing that railway expansion only engineers with proposals. Schemes Over the next thirty-fi ve years, the Port was leveling off, while automobile and for tunnels and bridges at other locations Authority and New York’s Triborough truck traffi c was on the rise. The proposal were all competing for investment dollars Bridge and Tunnel Authority, for which called for a single suspended deck designed and governmental backing. As Ammann also served as Chief Engineer, a single practitioner with no undertook numerous large-scale civil fi nancial partners, it seemed engineering projects. Ammann’s position unlikely that Ammann would meant that the design of the authorities’ prevail. He had, however, projects came to him uncontested. His produced a brilliant design. In fi rst four long-span bridges, and the design addition, the current governor of the Lincoln Tunnel, were done as an in- of New Jersey, George Silzer, house Chief Engineer. served on the board of directors Ammann resigned in 1939, and began of the clay operation Ammann a private practice with Charles Whitney previously managed. Ammann in 1947. Through Ammann & Whitney, drew upon that acquaintance, Ammann designed his fi nal two structures, and presented his design to the Throgs Neck Bridge and the Verrazano- Silzer. Silzer and Lindenthal had Narrows Bridge. a long and collegial relationship, and Lindenthal was counting The Legacy of a Master Builder on Silzer to support his scheme. The story of the engineer’s emergence But, Ammann’s plan better and staying power on the world stage may worked to Silzer’s long-term seem startling, but Ammann was superbly political advantage. Silzer began qualifi ed to step into the role of master promoting Ammann’s proposal builder, a term that implies a mastery of The George Washington Bridge began its service with a from behind the scenes. The design as well as a mastery of construction. single-level roadway supported from below by a ribbon- like girder-truss. (Photographer unknown, courtesy of news media, general public, and His construction knowledge and skills were the Library of Congress) STRUCTURE magazine • May 2004 33 STRUCTURE magazine•May 2004 34 great achievements

For Advertiser Information, visit www.structuremag.org of hisstructures failed,sincestructures was helucky?He thatnone feltfortunate sensibility formonumentalform.How formidable intellect,oraprofoundly agile He didn’t mentionpersistence,a his success,reply wassimply, “luck.” Ammann wasaskedtowhatheattributed save alittlemoneyby buildingthem.” Few ofusappreciate eyesores, even ifwe should to lookatthebridgeforrest oftheirlives. sake alone.Afterall,manypeoplewillhave making amore expensive designforbeauty’s engineer designingabridgeisjustifi structures shouldpleasetheeye. In fact,an his practicality withaestheticsensitivity. His engineer’s He onlyconcerns. musttemper appeal. Ashestated, contributed tothestructure’s architectural expensive bridge iftheaddedexpense lines. Ammannadvocated buildingamore favored simplestructures withclean,taught that a clearandexplicitaesthetictheory was arespectful collaborator, andpossessed dynamics.Heintuition aboutstructural He hadapassionforhiswork andvisceral his successasadesignerwere alsoinplace. Lindenthal. Other qualitiesthatimpacted fi rmly establishedbefore hebroke from When, toward theendofhislife, “Economics andutilityare notthe e in ed him todesign.Had Lindenthalandthe appreciated how steered goodfortune Narrows Bridge. He also seemstohave techniques had,mostnotablythe Tacoma designed by colleaguesusingsimilar Library ofCongress,Library HAERCollection) The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. (Photo, Jet Lowe; ofthe courtesy good fortune thathedid. good fortune taken updesigninthefi unlikely thatAmmannwouldeven have their Hudson River Bridge, it’s highly railroad companies beensuccessfulwith available spring,2005. Suspension Bridge: AHistory, willbe Press) His recently completedbook, Othmar H.Ammann. (Yale University author ofSix Bridges; The Legacyof nonprofi and publicationsconsultanttobusinesses, Darl isaresearcher, Rastorfer author, ts, andfoundations.He isthe rst place.It isour