Internal Discussion
We use Slack for intraoffice communication. Even before Covid, when we were not working hybrid, people were often on site,
Journal
Our work with old buildings has us studying a lot of different topics in addition to structural engineering – for example, architecture, history, and historic preservation – and we like sharing stories about what we’ve found.
So Badly Mislabelled
A circa-1811 postcard named after the Ansonia, one of the nicest apartment houses on the Upper West Side: The flip
A Panel Tonight
I will be taking part in a panel discussion this evening organized by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission and the
The Sticks
I’m almost done with the photos of the construction of the original IRT subway. This barely suburban scene is Broadway
This Time, It’s Personal
We have been asked, many times, if it’s possible to reduce the noise from facade repair. The answer, in general,
One Abandoned, One Being Destroyed
There is a lot going on in this February 1, 1956, photo from Max Hubacher, titled “The Third Avenue Elevated
Out The Window
From October 2018, as I was taking a train to Albany, the demolition of the old Tappan Zee Bridge, with
A Couple Of Years Ago
In Ellie’s words, “Bumped into some old friends” on the way to the doc”: Our work as part of the
Chagallesque
From 1908, a German postcard titled “New York From Hoboken”: The only buildings on the New York skyline that I’m
Boot Scrapers, Part 4: Unmentionable
I came across a source that may well have supplied some of the iron for the stoops I’ve been featuring:
Halfway Done
One block form last week’s IRT subway construction photo, we have Broadway and 135th Street in 1900: For some reason,
Do Not Overload
From a factory converted to apartments forty years ago, a sign uncovered by interior removals: It used to be required
Famous
From Max Hubacher, June 8, 1950, “The famous S-curve near South Ferry on the Third Avenue Elevated, Manhattan, N.Y.”: Unless
Multipurpose
Part of structural engineering education and research, for many people, is testing various materials to failure in a lab. Steel
A Misuse Of Gingerbread
From December, Kate Sigrist gives us the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in gingerbread: If you look closely, there are
It Made Sense Then
Time to sound like an old, old man. From Duncan Hartley, in 1977 or 78, “Grand Central Telephone Communications Center”:
Boot Scrapers, Part 3: Composite Materials
Another restored stoop, with another nicely restored boot scraper: This is a brick rowhouse, not a brownstone, but the original
The Past Is A Bucolic Foreign Country
From the New York Public Library collection of images from the original Interborough subway construction, a 1901 photo: The usual
Another Mystery That Won’t Be Solved
From Max Hubacher, April 6, 1951, “Third Avenue Elevated at 23rd Street Station”: So far, what you’d expect. The el
We’re Hiring
Old Structures is hiring. We are looking for an engineer to join our team and work on building alteration, renovation,