Background
Othmar Ammann was born on March 26, 1879 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. He was the son of Emanuel Christian Ammann, a hat manufacturer, and Emilie Rosa Labhardt, the daughter of the landscape painter Emanuel Labhardt.
(The catalogue for an exhibition on the Llegacy of Othmar ...)
The catalogue for an exhibition on the Llegacy of Othmar H. Ammann. Widely considered the greatest American bridge designer of the twentieth century, Swiss-born Ammann (1879-1965) gained experience designing railroad bridges in Pennsylvania before beginning work in New York City, where he created six magnificent bridges: the George Washington, the Bayonne, the Triborough, the Bronx-Whitestone, the Throgs Neck, and the Verrazano-Narrows. Essay by Darl Rastorfer; statements by Donald B. Marron and Dianne H. Pilgrim. Single sheet, folded to form 6 pages, with a poster verso, as issued; 16 b&w illustrations; 6 x 12.5 inches unfolds to a 18 x 25-inch poster. The poster shows a view of NYC from space with all its bridges identified and pictured and two sidebars on the growth of the city and on long-span bridges.
https://www.amazon.com/Six-Bridges-Making-Megalopolis-January/dp/B014QBS9II?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B014QBS9II
https://www.amazon.com/Brobdingnagian-Bridges-original-Smithsonian-Institution/dp/B01IZPRRPC?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B01IZPRRPC
Othmar Ammann was born on March 26, 1879 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. He was the son of Emanuel Christian Ammann, a hat manufacturer, and Emilie Rosa Labhardt, the daughter of the landscape painter Emanuel Labhardt.
Ammann attended the Industrial School and the Swiss Federal Polytechnic Institute in Zurich, studying at the latter under Wilhelm Ritter, an authority on suspension bridges, and graduating in 1902.
In 1902 Ammann was employed by the construction firm of Wartmann and Valette, in Brugg. Later he moved to Frankfurt-am-Main to work for Buchheim and Heister.
Hoping to gain experience in American bridge-building techniques, Ammann came to the United States in 1904 (he became a naturalized citizen in 1924). He became associated with the engineering firm of Joseph Mayer in New York, where he worked on problems related to railroad bridges. A year later, he took a position with the Pennsylvania Steel Company, investigating the causes of the collapse of the Quebec Bridge over the St. Lawrence River.
From 1909 to 1912 Ammann was associated with the firm of F. C. Kunz and C. C. Schneider in the designing of steel bridges. Moving in 1912 to the firm of Gustav Lindenthal, one of the leading bridge builders in America, he served as chief engineer on the building of the Hell Gate Bridge over the East River.
Ammann secured his place as a leading designer of bridges through his work on the George Washington Bridge. The construction of a bridge over the Hudson River had been considered too costly by most experts. But the rapid increase in the number of automobiles in New York City and the movement of the population northward convinced him of the urgent need for a means of rapid communication between northern Manhattan and New Jersey. Determined to solve the problem, Ammann left Lindenthal in 1923 to work on the design for such a bridge. Under the auspices of the Port of New York Authority, construction on the bridge was begun in 1927 and completed in 1931, a time considered very short by most experts of the day.
During this same period, Ammann planned the Kill Van Kull Bridge at Bayonne, New Jersey, which was completed in 1931.
While continuing his association with the Port of New York Authority throughout the 1930s, Ammann also became involved with the Triborough Bridge Authority in the construction of the Triborough and Bronx-Whitestone bridges.
In 1946 Ammann entered into partnership with Charles S. Whitney to form Ammann and Whitney, consultants in engineering.
His last major project was the design and construction of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which links Brooklyn and Staten Island and spans 4, 260 feet. Ammann stated that the bridge designer "must be capable of bringing into order the skills and techniques of many varied and highly specialized fields, " and his long apprenticeship in the steel and bridge-building industries provided a sound and comprehensive background for his career.
Ammann died on September 22, 1965 in Rye, New York. His burial location is still unknown.
Ammann's work was known for its technical brilliance and economy of construction. His bridges were more than marvels of functional engineering, being characterized by grace and classic beauty.
The Hell Gate Bridge over the East River had the longest span (977. 5 feet) of any arched bridge in the world at that time, as well as the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which links Brooklyn and Staten Island and spans 4, 260 feet was the longest clear span in the world. The Kill Van Kull Bridge at Bayonne, New Jersey, when it was completed in 1931, was the longest arched bridge in the world and the Bronx-Whitestone bridge, which spanned 2, 300 feet, was regarded as one of the most graceful and elegant bridges in America.
The George Washington Bridge was remarkable for the absence of the stiffening trusses normally used to prevent vibration and swaying. Ammann's use of the weight and inertia of the bridge to stabilize the structure represented an important step in bridge design. It significantly reduced the cost of the bridge and at the same time enhanced its grace and beauty. With its towers rising 595 feet and its clear span of 3, 500 feet, the longest in the world at that time, the bridge quickly became a New York landmark and a model for bridge builders.
Other major accomplishments of Ammann's career, which spanned more than half a century in America, included the building of the Lincoln Tunnel under the Hudson River, the Throgs Neck Bridge, the Walt Whitman Bridge in Philadelphia, Lincoln Center in Manhattan, and Dulles International Airport in Washington, District of Columbia. He also served as a member of the board of engineers that built the Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco and his report on the causes of the collapse of the Quebec Bridge over the St. Lawrence River is still regarded as a model in the field.
In recognition of his contributions to science and engineering, Ammann was awarded the Thomas Fitch Rowland Prize (1919), the Metropolitan Section Civil Engineer of the Year (1958), the Ernest E. Howard Award (1960) and the National Medal of Science (1964).
(The catalogue for an exhibition on the Llegacy of Othmar ...)
Quotations: "A great bridge although primarily utilitarian in its purpose, should nevertheless be a work of art to which Science lends its aid. "
Ammann and his first wife, Lilly Selma Wehrli, whom he married on July 24, 1905, had three children. She died in 1933, and he married Karly Vogt Noetzli on March 2, 1935.
