Booth and Flinn (1876–1950) was one of the largest American general contracting companies of its era. It was established during the nineteenth century and was headquartered in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

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History

Founded by William Flinn (1851–1924) as a

sole proprietorship A sole proprietorship, also known as a sole tradership, individual entrepreneurship or proprietorship, is a type of enterprise owned and run by only one person and in which there is no legal distinction between the owner and the business entity. ...

in 1876, Booth and Flinn merged with a similar venture in 1881 that was directed by James J. Booth. The business later operated under the name of Booth and Flinn, Ltd. and finally as Booth and Flinn Company. The firm's origins were entwined with the Republican Party machine of the political bosses Flinn and Christopher Magee (1848–1901), his partner in politics, that controlled the city of Pittsburgh for the final twenty years of the 19th century. As a result of politics and a "lowest responsible bidder" scheme, Booth and Flinn won most large construction and paving contracts in Pittsburgh and

Western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the Unite ...

, where they built streets, trolley lines, and bridges, usually amid charges by competitors of graft. The firm built the Liberty Tunnels,

Wabash Tunnel The Wabash Tunnel is a former railway tunnel and presently an automobile tunnel through Mt. Washington in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Constructed early in the 20th century by railroad magnate George J. Gould for the Wa ...

, Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel and

Armstrong Tunnel The Armstrong Tunnel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, connects Second Avenue at the South Tenth Street Bridge, under the Bluff where Duquesne University is located, to Forbes Avenue between Boyd Street and Chatham Square. Construction The tunnel ...

in Pittsburgh. The firm also built the Henley Street Bridge in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

. Booth retired from the firm in 1898; George H. Flinn, son of the founder, succeeded him, and in 1924 two other sons, William and A. Rex Flinn joined the company. The company was purchased by a New York City construction firm in 1951 and closed.

References

General references

* * *{{cite book , author=Zink, Harold , title=City Bosses in the United States: A Study of Twenty Municipal Bosses, location=Durham , publisher=Duke University Press , year=1930 Companies based in Pittsburgh American companies established in 1876 1876 establishments in Pennsylvania