Madigan-Hyland was an American engineering firm active in the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

area, named for founders Michael J. ("Jack") Madigan and Richard V. Hyland. Their offices were located in

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a neighborhood within the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek, which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brook ...

. The firm's work in New York City was closely associated with the tenure of

Robert Moses Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid-20th century. Moses is regarded as one of the most powerful and influentia ...

NYC Parks The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...

Commissioner, and included many major elements of the city's infrastructure. They often worked in concert with architects, other engineers and specialty consultants to complete large and complex urban infrastructure projects.

Origins

Madigan (1894-1981) was a

Danbury, Connecticut Danbury ( ) is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2020 was 86,518. It is the third-largest city in Western Connecticut, and the seventh-largest ...

native who worked his way up in the construction industry without formal education and who did not complete high school. Hyland received his training as a civil engineer from

Notre Dame University The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Catholic religious order o ...

. The two met in 1927 and formed the firm shortly after, with Madigan providing business experience and New York City connections, complemented by Hyland's professional design expertise. Madigan had met and impressed Robert Moses - then the president of the Long Island Park Commission - the year before while serving as superintendent on a portion of the development of

Jones Beach State Park Jones Beach State Park (colloquially "Jones Beach") is a state park in the U.S. state of New York. It is located in southern Nassau County on Jones Beach Island, a barrier island linked to Long Island by the Meadowbrook State Parkway, Wantag ...

for another company. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was a special assistant to

Robert Patterson Robert Patterson (January 12, 1792 – August 7, 1881) was an Irish-born American military officer who served in the United States Army during the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. He was the commander of the Pennsy ...

, then the Undersecretary of War, and was awarded the

Medal for Merit The Medal for Merit was the highest civilian decoration of the United States in the gift of the president. Created during World War II, it was awarded by the president of the United States to civilians who "distinguished themselves by exceptiona ...

as acknowledgement of his efforts. Subsequent to the war, he became the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

's chief engineer from 1947-49 and again from 1951-67 at which point he retired from the industry. Distinguished employees of the firm included

Emil Praeger Emil H. Praeger (August 2, 1892 – October 16, 1973) was an American architect and civil engineer. Biography He was born in 1892. Praeger graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1915. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War I ...

, a notable engineer and designer in his own right.

Selected work

West Side Elevated Highway The West Side Elevated Highway (West Side Highway or Miller Highway, named for Julius Miller, Manhattan borough president from 1922 to 1930) was an elevated section of New York State Route 9A (NY 9A) running along the Hudson River in the New Y ...

* Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge *

Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge The Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge (originally and often referred to as the Marine Parkway Bridge) is a vertical-lift bridge in New York City, New York, that crosses Rockaway Inlet. The bridge, which opened on July 3, 1937, con ...

* Gov. Thomas E. Dewey Thruway * Tappan Zee Bridge *

Pier 57 Pier 57 is a long pier located in the Hudson River on the West Side (Manhattan), West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Opened in December 1954, it sits at the end of West 15th Street (Manhattan), 15th Street on Eleventh Avenue (Manhattan), ...

(1954), New York City, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

The firm was also part of a large team of consultants who contributed to the design of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, including principal designer

Othmar Ammann Othmar Hermann Ammann (March 26, 1879 – September 22, 1965) was a Swiss-American civil engineer whose bridge designs include the George Washington Bridge, Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, and Bayonne Bridge. He also directed the planning and const ...

, and was also involved in the later strengthening and widening of the bridge.

References

{{reflist Engineering companies of the United States