User:Headphase/sandbox/Hardesty & Hanover

Hardesty & Hanover is an American infrastructure engineering company specializing in the design and management of bridges and other transportation and architecture projects. The firm was founded in 1887 by John Alexander Low Waddell, a structural engineer who became a world-leading pioneer of large-scale moveable bridge design. Originally incorporated in Kansas City, Missouri as J.A.L. Waddell, Consulting Engineer, the company was renamed throughout the early 20th century as Waddell added junior partners to the organization. In 1920, the firm moved its headquarters to New York City, where it would go on to design many of the metropolitan area's most important crossings including the Newark Bay Bridge (rail), original Goethals Bridge, and Marine Parkway Bridge.

In recent decades the company has expanded its footprint to the fields of highway design and movable architecture, contributing to projects like U.S. Bank Stadium, the New York City Shed, the redevelopment of LaGuardia Airport, and other major interchanges of highways in New York City.

J.A.L. Waddell, Consulting Engineer (1887)
From the beginning, Waddell's private consultancy quickly gained a reputation for "daring and unusual structures" with a modern, client-centric approach to the bridge consultation, design, and construction process. The company's first project, the Illinois Central Missouri River Bridge, was a swing bridge designed by Waddell in 1893 and built across the Missouri River. At the time of its construction, it was the longest swing bridge in the world with a moving span of 520 ft (158.5 m). Although no longer in use, as of 2021 the structure can still be seen standing just south of Eppley Airfield.

A year later in 1894, Waddell designed the South Halstead Street Bridge over the Chicago River. As the world's first major vertical-lift bridge, the project had a significant impact on infrastructure design.

Waddell & Hedrick, Consulting Engineers (1899)
In 1899 Waddell promoted his chief draftsman Ira G. Hedrick to partner, renaming the firm Waddell & Hedrick. This partnership produced what would become the company's oldest design still in operation as of 2021: the New Westminster Bridge.

Waddell & Harrington (1907)
In 1907 the company became known as Waddell & Harrington when Waddell partnered with John L. Harrington, former Chief Engineer of the Locomotive & Machine Company of Montreal. Together they created at least four bridges still in operation as of 2021 (three of them in the iconic vertical-lift style): the Hawthorne Bridge (1910), ASB Bridge (1911), Colorado St. (Arroyo Seco) Bridge (1913), and the Murray Morgan Bridge (1913). In 1914, Harrington departed the company with draftsman Frank Cortelyou to form his own firm.

Waddell & Son (1915)
In 1915, Waddell appointed his son Needham Everett Waddell as partner, renaming the firm Waddell & Son. That same year they celebrated the opening of the LS&MS Railway Bridge No. 6 in Chicago, IL. In 1916, Shortridge Hardesty (who had previously been hand-picked to join the firm shortly after his 1908 graduation from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ) was promoted to Designing Engineer. A year later, the firm reportedly opened a second office in Manhattan, which would soon become its headquarters from 1920-on amidst the United States' post-war economic revival. The company's fate was dramatically altered, however, when Everett passed away in 1927 at just 42 years old in New York. He was buried in his home state of Missouri.

Waddell & Hardesty (1927)
After the death of his son, Waddell continued to lead the firm, promoting Hardesty to Partner. They would soon create some of the company's most important designs yet; the CRRNJ Newark Bay Bridge (1926), original Goethals Bridge and Outerbridge Crossing (1928), and Marine Parkway Bridge (1937). In 1931 Waddell was personally honored with the American Association of Engineers' Clausen Gold Medal award for "distinguished service to the engineering profession", and again in 1937 with the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Norman Medal. He passed away in 1938 at the age of 84, leaving Hardesty to run the company.

Hardesty & Hanover (1945)
In 1945, Hardesty took on Clinton Hanover (former Chief of the New York City Bureau of Bridge Design) as a partner, solidifying the firm's continuing legacy under their names. The duo's leadership saw completion of the Rainbow Bridge in 1941. Spanning Niagara Falls, the structure was honored with the 1941 American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) 1st Place "Class A" Prize Bridge Award for beauty.

In the following decades, the company developed many other moveable and fixed bridges across New York State and beyond. One of its earliest forays into moveable architecture was an amusement ride for the 1964 New York World's Fair that took the form of a Ferris wheel, known as the Uniroyal Giant Tire. At 80 ft (24.4 m) in diameter and designed to hold 96 passengers, the structure became an iconic tourist attraction at the Fair, hosting even the likes of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and other dignitaries.

Among H&H's first highway projects was the I-80 / Rt. 19 interchange in Paterson, New Jersey. Since then, the company has added more roadway projects to its portfolio— most recently the reconstruction of LaGuardia Airport and Kew Gardens Interchange. The latter project features a design utilizing new NEXT Beam technology.

Notable Projects
Category:Companies established in 1887]]

Category:Companies of the United States]]

Category:Companies based in New York City]]

Category:Engineering companies of the United States]]

Category:Construction and civil engineering companies of the United States]]