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Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.H. Craig Severance on

40 Wall Street 40 Wall Street (also the Trump Building; formerly the Bank of Manhattan Trust Building and Manhattan Company Building) is a neo-Gothic skyscraper on Wall Street between Nassau and William streets in the Financial District of Manhattan in Ne ...

, which for one month in 1930, was the tallest building in the world. The firm most likely closed at about the time of Corydon Purdy's death in 1944. They worked on the John B. Agen Warehouse in

Downtown Seattle Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by ...

in 1910 and the Royal Insurance Company Headquarters Building #2 in

Financial District, San Francisco The Financial District is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, United States, that serves as its main central business district and had 372,829 jobs according to U.S. census tracts as of 2012–2016. It is home to the city's largest con ...

, among others. Purdy and Henderson designed several buildings in New York City, including

One Times Square One Times Square (also known as 1475 Broadway, the New York Times Building, the New York Times Tower, the Allied Chemical Tower or simply as the Times Tower) is a 25-story, skyscraper on Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of ...

,

Macy's Herald Square Macy's Herald Square (originally named the R. H. Macy and Company Store) is a department store building on West 34th Street (Manhattan), 34th Street at Herald Square in New York City, New York (state), New York, United States. It was designed b ...

, and the

Flatiron Building The Flatiron Building, originally the Fuller Building, is a 22-story, steel-framed triangular building at 175 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Daniel Burnham and Frederick P. Dinke ...

.

Corydon Tyler Purdy

Professional history

Purdy had been a draftsman and surveyor's assistant in Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul and in Chicago, IL, in the early 1880s. Purdy specialized in bridge design and applied these skills to skyscrapers. He worked as a structural engineer on the thirteen story steel frame of the Tacoma Building, Chicago, IL, ( Holabird and Roche, Architects). Purdy and Henderson opened a New York City office in 1894 and moved its operations there by 1896. The New York City office designed the structure for the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, NY. ( Schultze and Weaver, Architects, 1893-1897). In 1899, Purdy supervised the start-up of a New York office for his friend, George A. Fuller (1851-1900). (Purdy maintained a professional relationship with the Fuller Company.) By 1900, Purdy and Henderson had obtained consulting work in Havana, Cuba and produced important buildings there including El Capitolio and the Hotel Nacional. By 1910, the office had in addition to its New York office, four branches including Havana, Cuba, Boston, MA, Chicago, IL, and Seattle, WA. During the Depression, Purdy and Henderson were involved in a race to build the world's tallest building, an American structure taller than the Eiffel Tower. Purdy and Henderson closed after Purdy's death. Purdy was a member,

American Society of Civil Engineers The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is a tax-exempt professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, it is the oldest national engineering soci ...

; Member, Institute of Civil Engineers of Great Britain; Member, Western Society of Engineers; Member, Engineers' Club of New York; Member, University of Wisconsin Alumni Club of New York; Member, Arctic Club, Seattle, WA; He won the Telford Premium Medal, Institute of Civil Engineers, London, 1909.

Writings

Purdy was a writer and spoke at national events for professional groups like the Boston Society of Engineers. He gave keynote speeches and educational lectures at his alma mater (UW), Cornell University, and other schools of engineering study. Said Purdy: Representative of Purdy's published writings are the following: *"The Steel Skeleton Type of High Building" (''Engineering News'', 1891) *"The Steel Construction of Buildings" (''Bulletin of the University of Wisconsin'', 1894) *"The Use of Steel in Large Buildings" (''Engineering Record'', 1895) *"Can Buildings Be Made Fireproof?" (''Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers'', 1898) *"The Relation of the Engineer to the Architect" (''Proceedings of the American Institute of Architects'', 1904) *"The New York Times Building" (''Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers'', 1909)

Lightner Henderson

Professional history

Henderson worked in 1890 for an engineering firm in Cleveland, OH. Purdy and Henderson incorporated in 1901. After incorporation, Henderson became the President of the corporation from 1901-1915. Purdy and Henderson worked on several buildings on the Eastern US, and on projects in San Francisco, CA, and Seattle, WA. In about 1900, Purdy and Henderson had offices in New York City, Boston, MA, Chicago, IL, Havana, Cuba and Seattle, WA. Henderson was a member of Western Society of Engineers, 1891-1916.

Education

Henderson attended the State Normal School in Millersville, PA. He obtained his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, in 1889. An obituary by Corydon Purdy stated of Henderson:

Selected commissions

One Times Square under construction 1903

* 1902:

Flatiron Building The Flatiron Building, originally the Fuller Building, is a 22-story, steel-framed triangular building at 175 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Daniel Burnham and Frederick P. Dinke ...

, New York, NY * 1904: The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel Philadelphia, PA * 1907:

Macy's Herald Square Macy's Herald Square (originally named the R. H. Macy and Company Store) is a department store building on West 34th Street (Manhattan), 34th Street at Herald Square in New York City, New York (state), New York, United States. It was designed b ...

New York, NY * 1911:

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower (colloquially known as the Met Life Tower and also as the South Building) is a skyscraper occupying a full block in the Flatiron District of Manhattan in New York City. The building is composed of ...

, New York, NY * 1919: Royal Bank of Canada Building, Havana, Cuba * 1926: El Capitolio, Havana, Cuba * 1930:

40 Wall Street 40 Wall Street (also the Trump Building; formerly the Bank of Manhattan Trust Building and Manhattan Company Building) is a neo-Gothic skyscraper on Wall Street between Nassau and William streets in the Financial District of Manhattan in Ne ...

, New York, NY * 1930:

Hotel Nacional de Cuba The Hotel Nacional de Cuba is a historic Spanish eclectic architecture, Spanish eclectic style hotel in Havana, Cuba, opened in 1930. Located on the sea front of Vedado district, it stands on Taganana Hill, offering commanding views of the sea an ...

, Havana. * 1931: Starrett-Lehigh Building, New York, NY * 1947: Radiocentro CMQ Building, Havana, Cuba

Gallery

File:Flatiron Building Construction, New York Times - Library of Congress, 1901-1902 crop.JPG,

Flatiron Building The Flatiron Building, originally the Fuller Building, is a 22-story, steel-framed triangular building at 175 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Daniel Burnham and Frederick P. Dinke ...

construction, New York City, 1902 File:BellevueStratford.jpg, Bellevue-Stratford Hotel. Philadelphia, PA, 1902 File:Lonja del Comercio de La Habana 1920.jpg, Lonja del Comercio building, Havana, Cuba, 1909 File:Hotel Plaza- Havana.JPG,

Plaza Hotel The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, ...

, Havana, Cuba, 1909 File:Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower at Night with Fog.jpg,

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower (colloquially known as the Met Life Tower and also as the South Building) is a skyscraper occupying a full block in the Flatiron District of Manhattan in New York City. The building is composed of ...

, New York, NY, 1911 File:The Great Theatre of Havana (Gran Teatro de La Habana).jpg, Centro Gallego, Havana, Cuba, 1915 File:Royal Bank of Canada Building, Havana.jpg, Royal Bank of Canada Building, Havana, Cuba, 1919 File:El Capitolio Havana Cuba.jpg, El Capitolio, Havana, Cuba, 1926 File:Centro Asturiano, Havana.jpg, El Centro Asturiano, Havana, Cuba, 1927 File:The Hotel Nacional, Havana, Cuba LCCN2010638840.jpg, Hotel Natcional, Havana, Cuba, 1930 File:40 Wall Street.jpg,

40 Wall Street 40 Wall Street (also the Trump Building; formerly the Bank of Manhattan Trust Building and Manhattan Company Building) is a neo-Gothic skyscraper on Wall Street between Nassau and William streets in the Financial District of Manhattan in Ne ...

, New York, NY, 1930 File:Starrett-Lehigh Building, 601 West 26th Street, Manhattan (NYPL b13668355-482660).jpg, Starrett-Lehigh Building, New York, NY, 1931 File:Cine_Yara.jpg, Radiocentro CMQ Building, Havana, Cuba, 1947

References

{{Authority control 1890s establishments in Illinois 1940s disestablishments in New York (state) Construction and civil engineering companies of the United States