Eugenius Harvey Outerbridge

Background

Eugenius Harvey Outerbridge was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Alexander Ewing and Laura C. (Harvey) Outerbridge, and a brother of Alexander Ewing Outerbridge.

Career

At the age of sixteen Eugenius Outerbridge went to Newfoundland, where, through his mother's connections, he served for two years with the century-old mercantile firm of Harvey & Company. In 1878 he settled in New York, which was thereafter his home, as their agent. In 1881 he established the importing and exporting house of Harvey & Outerbridge, of which he ultimately became president. He also took over and headed the Pantasote Leather Company, was vice-president and director of the Agasote Millboard Company, and director of various banks and other corporations. His prominence, however, was chiefly the result of his civic activities. He supported various philanthropic and economic movements, and, being an inveterate public speaker and writer of "letters to the editor, " as well as a shrewd tactician, he rendered them valuable aid as a promoter. His chairmanship of the reform Committee of One Hundred in 1909, in connection with which his chief interest was in securing better transportation facilities at a minimum cost, was only the beginning of a long record of such services. He was particularly active in the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York, of which he was twice president, several times vice-president, and for years a member of important committees.

When the First World War suddenly made New York the busiest seaport in the world he concerned himself with the unfortunate conditions that arose. Munitions, grain, and other supplies pouring in for export made it a congested "bottleneck" and delayed shipment overseas. The configuration of the port presented grave problems, while the fact that its waterfront lay in two states and several municipalities prevented adequate comprehensive control. With Irving T. Bush and others, Outerbridge began to work for a port authority based on European models, and in July 1917 he was appointed a member of the New York-New Jersey Port and Harbor Development Commission, which undertook a thorough survey of the problems. In April 1921 he was appointed a member of the New York Port Authority Commission and soon became its first chairman, a post which he held until March 1924. He was tireless in rousing public interest and political support for the project, which was finally authorized by the two state legislatures in February 1922 and by the federal government that summer. The original ambitious plans for coordination of shipping facilities ran foul of the rivalry of the two states over the lighterage problem, and gradually the Port Authority came to devote much of its energies to the construction of tunnels and bridges joining the two states in the port area.

Honoring Outerbridge and at the same time taking advantage of the opportunity to make a pun, the authority in 1926 named its new bridge linking Staten Island with Perth Amboy the "Outerbridge Crossing" since it lay nearer the sea than the other Staten Island bridge named for Goethals. After his death it was said of his work in connection with the Port Authority: "He stamped with his organizing ability the character and conduct of that progressive body. His diplomatic skill, his firmness, his judgment, his mastery of intricate problems contributed in large measure to the development of the Port of New York. "

Achievements

• Eugenius Outerbridge served as president of the Pantasote Leather Company and the Agasote Millboard Company, the latter produced a high-density fiberboard. Outerbridge served as chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (1921-1924) and as the first president of the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York (1918). The Outerbridge Crossing, a toll bridge between Staten Island, New York and Perth Amboy, New Jersey, is named in honor of Eugenius Outerbridge (1926).

Works

More photos

• book

  • Report On The Food Supply Of The Port Of New York District...

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

  • Report With Plan For The Comprehensive Development Of The Port Of New York ... December Twenty-first, Nineteen Twenty-one

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

Membership

Eugenius Outerbridge was a founding member of the Richmond County Country Club; the New York-New Jersey Port and Harbor Development Commission; the New York Port Authority Commission.

Connections

On October 27, 1891, Outerbridge married Ethel Boyd of New Brighton, Staten Island; they had a son, Kenneth Boyd, and a daughter, Ethel Harvey.

Father:

Alexander E. Outerbridge

Mother:

Laura Catherine (Harvey) Outerbridge

Sister:

Katherine Tucker (Outerbridge) Butterfield

Sister:

Mary Ewing Outerbridge

Wife:

Ethel (Boyd) Outerbridge

Daughter:

Ethel Harvey Outerbridge

Son:

Kenneth Boyd Outerbridge

Brother:

Alexander Ewing Outerbridge

Brother:

Harriet H. Outerbridge

Brother:

Sir Joseph Outerbridge

Brother:

Albert Albany Outerbridge

Brother:

Adolphus Outerbridge

Brother:

Augustus E. Outerbridge