Seeing as how we’re north of 1100 blog posts (as of March 2019), it’s probably too late for a Frequently Asked Questions post, but here it is anyway. This is the blog of Old Structures Engineering. Most of the posts are written by me (Don Friedman) but not all. Topics include pretty much anything touching …
Once again, a picture of the new West Thames Street pedestrian bridge. I have a soft spot for lenticular trusses, but I also particularly like the way the roof follows the curve of the upper chord. There’s an assumption that floats around in the AEC world that reinforced concrete is the material to use if …
A very long time ago, I worked on a project at the Fashion Institute of Technology, at what was then called Building C, and is now the Marvin Feldman Center. The early buildings on the campus were all variations on brutalism and, like so many buildings of that style, had partially open first floors to …
I may have used this picture before, but here’s the second New York Times Building under construction in 1903. The first Times Building was down on Park Row; a number of newspapers moved uptown around 1900, as it was no longer seen as necessary to be near City Hall. Again, we have the mature riveted …
I wish I had a higher-resolution versions of this picture. There’s a lot going on in this peaceful 1875 scene. Starting with the caption: this photograph wasn’t taken from the Astor House. The Astor House is the building in the lower right corner, with a lot of chimneys. It had been the premiere hotel in …
I’ve been cutting the stereoscopic views down to one image when I use them, but why? So here’s a stereoscope of the construction of the spires of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, circa 1888. The cathedral itself was some ten years old at that time, and the spires were being added to an already-functioning building. It looks …
