George Sherwood Richardson (1896–1988) was an American engineer known for his elegant bridges, innovative construction techniques and skillful planning of highways. Designer of many bridges in the Pittsburgh and Allegheny County areas in the 20th century, he has been called "the dean of Pittsburgh bridge engineers".

Early life and education

Born in

Georgetown, Colorado Georgetown is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Territorial charter municipality, territorial charter municipality that is the county seat of Clear Creek County, Colorado, Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States. The town population was ...

, he served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

prior to graduating from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

in 1920.

Engineering career

After a stint with the Wyoming Department of Highways and time on the faculty of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, Richardson moved to Pittsburgh in 1922 to work for the

American Bridge Company The American Bridge Company is a heavy/civil construction firm that specializes in building and renovating bridges and other large, complex structures. Founded in 1900, the company is headquartered in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsb ...

before he joined the Allegheny County Department of Public Works in 1924, where he went on to rise to be assistant chief engineer by the time he left in 1937.

Richardson, Gordon & Associates

In 1939 he founded his own firm, as George S. Richardson, Consulting Engineer; after taking on partners, the firm was renamed to Richardson, Gordon & Associates in 1955. It has been involved in the planning and design of many major highway projects across the United States. In the 1980s, the company was acquired by international architectural and engineering conglomerate HDR, Inc. Among other notable work, the firm created the erection process and custom equipment used to put up the

Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer who created a wide array of innovative designs for buildings and monuments, including the General Motors Technical Center; the pa ...

-designed Saint Louis

Gateway Arch The Gateway Arch is a monument in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary Catenary arch, arch, it is the world's tallest arch and List of tallest buildings in Missouri, Missouri's ...

. Richardson retired in 1973 and moved from Pittsburgh in 1975, splitting time between homes in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

and

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...

. He died of a heart attack at the age of 92 at his home in Colorado and was buried in

Waterford, Pennsylvania Waterford is a borough in Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,475 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Erie Metropolitan Statistical Area. Waterford is an independent municipality located entirely within (and surr ...

Notable projects

* Pittsburgh Point Bridge II, 1925 * Liberty Bridge, 1928 * McKees Rocks Bridge, 1931 *

George Westinghouse Bridge George Westinghouse Memorial Bridge in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, carries U.S. Route 30, the Lincoln Highway, over the Turtle Creek Valley near to where it joins the Monongahela River Valley east of Pittsburgh. The reinforced concrete ope ...

, 1932 * West End Bridge, 1932 * Tenth Street / Philip Murray Bridge, 1933 *

Homestead Grays Bridge The Homestead Grays Bridge, also known as the (Homestead) High Level Bridge, was built in 1936 and spans the Monongahela River between Homestead, Pennsylvania, Homestead Borough and the southernmost tip of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh's ...

, 1936 * Jerome Street Bridge, 1937 *

Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge The Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge is a four-lane, steel through arch bridge crossing the Delaware River between Burlington Township, Burlington County, New Jersey and Bristol Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. As ...

, 1955 * Fort Pitt Bridge, 1959 *

Fort Duquesne Bridge The Fort Duquesne Bridge is a steel bowstring arch bridge that spans the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was colloquially referred to as " The Bridge to Nowhere" prior to its completion. History The bridge was constructed from ...

, 1963 * Fern Hollow Bridge, 1973

Industry service

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 ...

- National Director * American Institute of Consulting Engineers - President * American Road Builders' Association, Engineering Division - President

Awards

National Society of Professional Engineers The National Society of Professional Engineers (abbreviate as NSPE) is a professional association representing licensed professional engineers in the United States. NSPE is the recognized voice and advocate of licensed Professional Engineers repr ...

. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Chapter - Distinguished Service Award * American Society of Military Engineers - Distinguished Service Award In 1987, the Engineer's Society of Western Pennsylvania established the George S. Richardson medal, which has since been awarded annually for an outstanding achievement in bridge engineering.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, George S 1896 births 1988 deaths American civil engineers University of Colorado alumni University of Pennsylvania faculty People from Georgetown, Colorado 20th-century American engineers