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Understanding the "World's Largest" All-Reinforced-Concrete Office BuildingAuthor(s): GREG DONOFRIO and MEGHAN ELLIOTTSource: APT Bulletin, Vol. 44, No. 2/3 (2013), pp. 23-33Published by: Association for Preservation Technology International (APT)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41982402.
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Understanding
the World's
Largest
All-Reinforced-Concrete Office
Building
GREG DONOFR 10 AND MEGHAN ELLIOTT
An
unrecognized
uilding
s
determined o
play
role
n
the
development
f
he modern ein-
forced-concrete
rame,
egging
he
question,
Is
engineering istory
'significant'?
Every uilding
as an
engineering
nd
construction
istory.
omeofthese
histories
ay
yield mportantnsights
about echnical
nnovation,
ocioeco-
nomics,
nd,
quite iterally,
he truc-
ture f our built nvironment.
owever,
documentinghy
hese
spects
f a
building's istory
ake t
significant
as defined
y
he riteriand evaluation
standardsftheNationalRegisterf
Historic
laces,
dministered
y
he
U.S. National ark
ervice,
oses
ev-
eral
practical
nd
perhaps
ven
philo-
sophical hallenges
or
reservationists
and historians.hese ssues nclude
difficulties
stablishing
he
historical
context f
buildingystems
orwhich
theres ittle
cholarship,
he
elative
scarcity
f rchival
ngineering
ocu-
ments,
nd the
way
that he
preserva-
tion
ield ses erms elated o architec-
tural
tyle
nd thinks bout he rans-
mission f
ignificance
hrough hysical
materials. hese hallenges aynotbe
exceptional
r
unique
o
buildings
ith
potentiallyignificant
ngineering
r
construction
istory.
heymay,
ow-
ever,
e
persistent.
f
o,
they
ave
he
potential
o nfluencehe
way
preserva-
tionists
construct
ignificance,1
imit-
ing
not
only
he
cope
of
history
ocu-
mented
y
heNational
Register
ut
also access o the conomic enefits
available or he
edevelopment
f ome
buildings
n
theNational
Register,
which s
defineds the fficialist f
the
Nation'shistoric
lacesworthy
f
preservation.Powerfulinancialncentives
ffer
compelling
easons o ist
uildings
n
theNational
Register.
he
history
fold
buildings
s
receiving
ew
ttention
n
many
.S.
states, hich,
ike
Minnesota,
have
nacted tate ehabilitationax-
credit
rograms
ithin he astfive o
ten
years.2
When ombined ith ederal
rehabilitationax
credits,
tate-level
incentivesre
encouragingroperty
owners nd
developers
o consider ore
carefully
he conomic
alue folder
buildings
nd the inancial
easibility
f
their
reservation
nd
adaptive
euse.
Among
he irst
uestionshey
must sk
is whether
he
building
s isted
n
the
National
Register.
f
not,
s t
ligible
or
listing? learly,
ot ll old
buildings
re
historic. ut heresgoodreason,long
with
trong
market
ressures,
o
bring
new
pproaches,ophisticated
esearch
techniques,
nd creative
rguments
o
the ssessmentfhistorical
ignificance,
which s thebasis fNational
Register
listing
nd,
n
turn,
ccessibility
o his-
toric
ax credits.
n
some
ases,
ngi-
neering
nd construction
istory
ffers
new
perspectives
n the valuationf
significance.
This
rticle
egins
y ntroducing
he
Plymouthuilding, 12-storyky-
scraper
n
downtown
inneapolis
uilt
in1909 and 1910. tsowner ontracted
Preservation
esign
Works
PVN)
to
evaluate he
building's istory
n
the
interestf
aking dvantage
f tate nd
federalax creditsvailable or he
rehabilitationf
ncome-producing
buildings
isted
n
theNational
Register.
The firstection f he
paper xplains
howthe
preliminaryuilding istory
and
physical
etailswere
leaned
rom
primary,
rchival
ource
materials,
uch
as
old
newspaper
rticles,
riginal
on-
struction
rawings,
nd historic
ho-
tographs.
he next ection
resents
n
assessmentf he
Plymouthuilding
and the vidence or
ignificance
hat
was establishedasedon both
rimary
and
secondary
ources.
he research
methodsrethen
escribed,
sing
he
Plymouthuilding
s a case
study
o
illustrate
idespread
mpediments
o
documenting
onstructionnd
engineer-
ing
details nd
evaluating
heir
ignifi-
cancewithin broader ontext f
ngi-
23
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APT
BULLETIN:
OURNALF PRESERVATION
ECHNOLOGY
44:2-3,
013
neering
nd construction
istory.
he
conclusion
roposes range
f oordi-
nated
trategies
hich,
n
time,
may
mitigatejie
esearch
hallenges
reser-
vation esignWorks ncountered ith
the
Plymouthuilding.
hese
ugges-
tions nclude
igitizing
heNational
Register
nd
making
ominationsn-
tirely
ord earchable
n
order o facili-
tate esearchbout
ngineering,
ncour-
aging
tudy
f
ngineering
nd construc-
tion
history
s
part
f
professional
engineeringedagogy,
nd
evaluating
engineeringignificance
ith
ewer
theoreticalrameworks
ncreasingly
sed
to
understandhe
history
f
rchitecture
and
technology.
The Historic lymouth uilding
The
Plymouth
uilding
as named or
itsfirstnchor
enant,
he
Plymouth
Clothing ompany.
stablished
n
1880,
the
ompany
ad become neof.
Minneapolis'argest
etailers
y
he
time tsnew
flagship
torewas finished
in
1910;
the
lothing
tore,
nown or
new
tyles,arge
ales,
mall
rofits,
occupied
he ntire irstnd basement
floors f the
argest
nd most labo-
rate ffice
uilding
n
theNorthwest. 3
Upper
loors ere illed ith ffices
leasedby ndividualenantsanging
from ealtorso a small ocal aw
school. ts
easing gents
ad
no diffi-
culty
inding
enants or he
pace,given
the
apid rowth
f
Minneapolis
t
the
turn f
he wentieth
entury.4
etween
1900 and 1910 the
ity's opulation
increased rom
02,718
to
301,408
residents.5
Likewise,
einforced-concreteon-
struction
n
America aw a
period
f
immense
rowth
nd
change
n
the wo
decades
eading p
to the onstruction
of he
Plymouth
uilding.
umerous
new
patents,echnologies,nnovations,and
entrepreneurs
nteredhemarket.
During
his ransitional
eriod,
oncrete
construction
volved rom
xperimental
designs
nd
proprietaryroducts
o a
codified
ngineeringpecialty
hatwas
practiced ydesign
nd construction
companies
ith
xpanding anagerial
sophistication
nd
geographicange.6
Designed
nd built
mid
ntense
rowth
and
change,
he
Plymouthuilding
s an
excellentase
study
o
contemplate
he
relative
ignificance
f
construction
technologies
nd
processes
n
a time
f
flux.
Accounts fconstruction
ctivity
found
n
old
newspapers
rewell-
known ources f nformationhatmay
form hebasisfor
nderstanding
istori-
cal
significance,
ut
hey
an sometimes
also be naccuratendshould herefore
be corroborated
y
on-site
xamination
of he
building
henever
ossible.
uch
wasthe ase with he
Plymouth
uild-
ing.
A
newspaper
rticle hat nnounced
the
beginning
f onstruction
nd
pon-
dered The Romance fModern nd
Ancient oncrete ttributed
hebuild-
ing's ngineeringesign
o the
ocal
Minneapolis-based
ngineer
laude
Allen orter
C.
A.
P.) Turner,
ho s
nowwidely ecognizeds a pioneer f
reinforced-concreteonstruction.7
he
Plymouth
ouldnot
have
been
mong
the irst
xamples
fTurner's
nnovative
Mushroom
ystem, four-way
ein-
forced-concrete
lat-slabtructuralloor
system;
twouldhave
been
merely
ne
of
many
f hat
ngineer'suildings
located
hroughout
heTwinCities f
Minneapolis
nd St.
Paul,
arlier xam-
ples
ofwhichwere
lready
isted
n
the
National
Register.
ndwhile twas
admittedly
arge,
r even he
argest
office
uilding
ntheTwin
Cities,
s
localnewspapersnthusiasticallye-
ported
t the ime f ts
onstruction,8
size lone eemed ninsufficientasis
for istorical
ignificance.
ore
mpor-
tantly,
he
building
id nothave
he
characteristiclared olumn
apitals
nd
girderless
loor
ystem
hat urnermade
famous.
ather,
walk
hrough
he
building
eveals
redominantly
quare
columns nd a
regular rid
f
girders
cast
ntegrally
ith he
wo-way
loor
slab.Themismatchetween
arly
e-
porting
nd the
physical
tructure
f he
building
aised dditional
uestions
about hehistoryf hebuildingnd ts
historical
ignificance.
Preliminary
esearch
or his
roject
suggested
hat
he
Plymouthuilding
might
epresent
n
important
ransition
in
the
development
f he einforced-
concrete rame nd was
potentially
noteworthy
n
part
ecause twas de-
signed
nd constructed
nder he
uper-
vision f n
engineer
ther han urner.
The
nvestigation
as facilitated
y
he
existence
f
n
unusuallyarge
mount
of
privately
eld rchivalnformation.
Despite
ts
more-than-hundred-year
history,
he
Plymouthuilding
as
had
only
wo
owners.
Many
f he
arly
building
ocuments,
hich re o com-
monlyost,misplaced,rdiscarded,
were
assed
n to
the urrent
wner;
they
ncluded
partial
et f
reproduc-
tions f he
riginal
rchitecturalraw-
ings,
xtensive
hotographs
f he
rigi-
nal constructionnd ater
emodeling
projects,
nd the
daily
onstruction
og.
The
og
recorded
uchdetailednforma-
tion
s the
participation
fdifferent
trades,
uantities
f
materials,
eather
conditions,
nd thenames
f
project-
managementersonnel.
ated
photo-
graphs
llustratehe onstruction
e-
quence
nd
steel-reinforcement
etails,
many fwhichwere xecutednwintry
conditions.
xcavation
egan
n
Decem-
ber
1909,
with he irstoncrete
oured
incold weather n
February
,
1910.
Construction
f he
building
as
argely
completed
y
October
5,
1910.
FourQuestions
Combined
with hemore arrative
descriptions
f
engineering,
abor,
nd
construction
rocesses
ffered
y
his-
toric
ewspaper
ccounts,
hese
rimary
sources
rovided
antalizing
eads
o
pursue more omplete istoryf he
building.
he research
evealed hat he
Plymouth
uilding
as
engineered
ot
by
C.
A. P. Turner utrather
y
he
John
M. Ewen
Company
f
Chicago,
Illinois,
orNew York nvestor
ohn
.
Andrus,
ith
Minneapolis-based
ong,
Lamoreaux
nd
Long
s
the rchitec-
tural
irmfrecord.
ll
steel einforce-
ment
or he oncrete as
a
product
called he
M/B
pecial
Open
Hearth
Bar,
whichwas
produced
y
heWil-
liamB.
HoughCompany,
lso
based
n
Chicago.Rising
2 stories bove
grade,
the
building
eached he
maximum
height ermissible
n
Minneapolis
t the
time
fconstruction.
he
building
as a
basementnd
subbasement;
he
oot-
ings
xtend o the
imestone
edrock,
approximately
5 feet elow
grade.
he
building
ad a skeleton
rame,
ith
masonry
xterior.9
eams nd columns
are reinforced
o
be
continuous,
nd the
floors onsist f
pproximately
quare,
two-way
einforcedlabs
panning
o
beams.10
he
regular rid
f
girders
s
integral
ith he oncrete
lab;
the
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THE WORLD'S ARGEST
LL-REINFORCED-CONCRETE
FFICE UILDING
5
elevation
f
he
op
of he
girders
s the
same s the
op
of he oncrete
labs,
but he ower
ortion
f he
girders
s
visible rom elow.
ootings
nd foun-
dationwalls re also constructedf
reinforcedoncrete.
The archival ocuments ere n
themselves
nsufficiento
explain
ow or
why
he
Plymouth ight
e
significant,
but
hey
id
raise
uestions
bout he
building'sistory
hatmeritedddi-
tional esearch.our
uestions
bout
the
Plymouthuilding
eemed alient
andmost
ikely
o
yield
istorically
significantnsights:
Was the oncrete ramentendeds a
skeleton rame
esisting
oth ertical
and ateral
oads,
r was t
yet
n-
otherncrementalnd nadvertent
step
owards
moremodern oncrete
detailing?
Were he
wisted
/BBarsused o
reinforcehe oncretennovative?
Whowas
John
M.
Ewen,
nd
why
was
his
Chicago-basedngineering
and construction
ompany
elected o
build
n
Minneapolis
hen ther
well-knownocal
lternatives,
ike
C. A. P.
Turner,
ere vailable?
When idcold-weather
oncreting
become
general ractice
ithin he
constructionndustry,ndwhat
methods
ltimately
edto ts
ccep-
tance?
Assessing ignificance
Thesefour
uestions
eremotivated
y
a need o situate he
ite-specific
etails
of
he
Plymouthuilding's
onstruction
within broader istorical arrative
and
comparative
ramework
f
engi-
neering,
echnology,
nd the
building
arts.
According
o theU.S. National
Park
ervice
NPS),
To
qualify
or he
National
Register,property
ust e
significant;
hat
s,
t must
epresent
significant
art
f he
history,
rchitec-
ture,
rcheology,ngineering,
r
culture
of n
area,
'nd tmust ave he harac-
teristics
hatmake t a
good
representa-
tive
f
properties
ssociatedwith hat
aspect
f he
past.
NPS
guidance oes
on to
explain
hat
ignificance
ust e
evaluated ithin n
appropriate
on-
text,
meaning
those
atterns
r trends
in
historyy
which
specific
ccur-
rence,
roperty,
r site s understood
Fig.
.
William.
Houghompany
dvertisement
or
M/B
pecial pen
earth
ars,
ecember
191 The
lymouthuilding
s
proclaimed
s the
world's
argest
ll-reinforced
oncreteffice
building.
rom
ement
ge
3
December
91
):
9,
igitized
y
ooks.
and ts
meaning
and
ultimately
ts
significance)
ithin
istory...
s made
clear. 11
The
nvestigation
f
ignificance
nd
context
egan
with
very traightfor-
ward
trategy:Google
earch.
ntering
'Plymouthuilding,'
inneapolis
n
Booksreturned
provocative
it
of vidence
an
advertisement
or he
M/B
pecialOpen
Hearth ar
n
a
1911
issue f he
ndustry
ournal
ement
ge
(Fig.
1).
The advertisement
elebrated
the
product's
se nthe
ecently
on-
structed
lymouth
uilding,
hich,
t
claimed,
as the
world's
argest
ll-
reinforced
oncreteffice
uilding. 12
Tempting
s itwas
to
accept
his nsub-
stantiatedssertion
s
fact,
nyone
familiar
ith dvertisementsf he
arly
twentieth
entury,
rom cure-all
patent
medicines
o
building roducts,
knows hat uch laimsmust e taken
with
healthy
ose of
kepticism.
ev-
ertheless,
ocal
newspaper
ccounts
nd
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26 APT
BULLETIN:
OURNALF
PRESERVATIONECHNOLOGY
44:2-3,
013
Fig.
.
Concrete-beam
einforcing,lymouth
uilding,inneapolis,
innesota.he
rawing,
ated
April
5, 910,
hows
ypical
eam
einforcing
ith
spandrel
eam onditiont he eft.he
pan-
drel eams
oncealed
y
masonry
eneert he
rimary
acadesnd
xposed
t he
econdary
facades. oncretehelfsprovidedo ccommodatenewythefmasonry,ithdditionalythes
placed
n
op
f he eam ndnsetromhe ace f he
uilding.ourtesy
f
Meyerorgman
Johnson,
inneapolis.
a national
dvertisementere
ug-
gesting
hat he
building's
onstruction
was
unique
or ts ime.
Structural
rame
More
useful,
nd
arguably
more efen-
sible,
ources f
nformationere
foundnthe mall
ut
lowly rowing
body
f
econdary
iteraturebout
construction
istory.
otable ontribu-
tions nclude ooks
by
Peter ollins,
Carl
Condit,
eyner
anham,
onald
Friedman,
my
laton,
Andrew
aint,
and
Adrian
orty.13
he imited
et
ele-
vant iterature
as reviewed
n
search
of
nswers o the our
uestions
hat
couldformhebasisfor
he
ignificance
of
he
Plymouth
uilding,
f
placed
within n
appropriate
istoricalon-
text. hefirst
uestion
onsideredhe
structuralrame.
rame
ystems
re
generally
efineds
structural embers
that ct
together
o
resist oth ateral
and
vertical
oads.14 he
emergence
nd
refinementf he einforced-concrete
skeleton
rames
relatively
nderstudied
compared
o the
development
f
ron
framing;
he
development
f he truc-
tural-steel
keleton rame
receded
he
concrete
rame nd s
usually
resented
as a
key
omponent
fthe
nventionf
the
kyscraper.15
While everal
ources escribend
assess he
ignificance
freinforced-
concrete
eam-and-column
ystems
similar
o the ne
used
n
the
Plymouth
Building,
one
dentify
he tructural
design
ntentionr
capacity
f he
ys-
tem
o act ike frame. or
xample,
Carl
Condit's eview f he
ngalls
Building
n
Cincinnati
rovides
concise
history
f
reinforcedoncreteo
1903,
highlighting
he ontributionsfErnest
Ransome
n
particular.
owever,
he
article
otes hat he ontribution
f he
frame o the ateral esistancef he
buildingsunclear,oth t the ime f
its
onstruction,
hen he rchitect
referredo the
tructures a concrete
box,
s well s
today.16
n A
Concrete
Atlantis
eyner
anham escribes
he
rise f
he
daylight
actory
s a
building
type
hat
nspired
odernist
rchitects,
ratherhan s a structural
ystemignifi-
cant o construction
istory.17
hile
exterior
pandrel
eams llowed or he
use of
non-load-bearing
xterior a-
sonry
alls
n
daylight
actories,
he
design
f concrete rames notdis-
cussed,
nd
possibly
ot
ntended,
s
part
f he
ateral-force-resistingystemof he
buildings.
n
contrast,
he rame
of he
Plymouthuildingppears
o be
designed
s a
system
o resistateral
force.
he
engineering
esign
s llus-
trated
n
the
drawings.18
elevant etails
include
heuse of ontinuous eam nd
column
einforcing,arge
window
pen-
ings
n the
xterior,
ackof
designed
shear-transferechanismt the xterior
brick-masonry
nd nterior
lay-tile
partitions,
niformhickness
f xterior
masonry
alls,
nd the bsence f
ny
concrete alls bove
grade,
ven t the
elevator nd stair ores.19
Building pon
he
primary
nd
archival
ources,
econdary
ources ere
used o constructcontext, timeline,
and an
argument
or he
building'sig-
nificance
sing
he our reas f
xplo-
ration s a framework:
evelopment
f
the einforced-concrete
rame,
volution
of teel einforcementnd concrete-steel
bond
heories,
daptation
f oncrete-
building elivery
odels,
nd the rrival
of uccessfulold-weather
oncreting.
t
became lear hat
he
Plymouthuilding
was not he
biggest,
est, allest,
r
longest ngineering
andmark.20
n
attempt
o assess he
magnitude
nd
significance
f he izeof he
Plymouth
Buildingnrelationo other oncrete
contemporariesroved asically
utile.
Couldthe
Plymouth
avebeen he
world's
argest
ll-reinforcedoncrete
office
uilding?
asedon national rends
documented
y
Condit nd
Friedman,
t
is
possible
ut
ikely
lso
mpossible
o
prove.
More
mportantly,
ven
f
t
had
definitively
een
he
argest,
twas not
clear hat izemattered
n
the ontext f
reinforced-concrete
uilding evelop-
ment.
uperlative
izemadefor
ood
advertising
ut
rguably
ontributed
little o an
understanding
f hebuild-
ing's lace nhistory. ore onclusive
and
meaningful
as the act hat ts
structural
ystem
as distinctromts
documented
redecessors:
ts oncrete
frame
ppears
o havebeen
designed
with he ntento resist oth ateral nd
verticaloads.Rather
han definitive
-est,
he
Plymouthuilding
mbodies
advancementsnseveral
spects
f
concrete-engineeringnowledge
nd
building ractice,ncluding
he oncrete
skeleton
rame,
se
of
deformed
ein-
forcing
teel,
n
ntegrated
ontractor-
engineeringelivery,
nd cold-weather
concreting.hePlymouthuildinghus
represents
n
mportanttep
n
the
development
fmodern einforced-
concrete
ngineering
nd
design.
Plans nd construction
hotographs
revealed hat
key
eature
f he
Ply-
mouth's tructuralrame as a
spandrel
beambuilt
ntegrally
nto he xterior
edge
f he loor lab
Fig.
).
Allexte-
riorwallsof he
building
re
upported
at each
floor evel
y
he
pandrel
beams,
llowing
or heuseofnon-load-
bearing
masonry
nfill
alls nd
arger
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THE WORLD'S
ARGEST
LL-REINFORCED-CONCRETE
FFICE
UILDING
7
Fig.
.
Plymouth
uilding,
ctober
5,
910.
ecorativeeaturesf
he
originalrimary
acades
ncludedusticatederra-cotta
avilions,
ed
rick
wallsaid
n
lemishond ith olded-brick
indow
ills,
nd
twelfth-
storyichlyrnamenteditherra-cottaartouches,onsoles,entils,nd
projecting
ornice,
ll
oppedy
terra-cotta
alustrade.
ourtesy
f
Northwest
rchitectural
rchives,
niversity
fMinnesota
ibraries,
Minneapolis,
ollection
69,
ox
22 Larsen McLaren.
Fig.
.
Plymouthuilding,
936. he
hotograph
hows
he
rimary
a-
cades
fterheirmodernization.
he acades
ppear
ssentially
n-
changedoday.ourtesy
fNorthwestrchitectural
rchives,
niversity
f
Minnesotaibraries,inneapolis,ollection69, ox 22 Larsen
McLaren.
window
penings.
n
mportant
istinc-
tion f he
building's
oncrete
tructure
compared
o that f
many
f ts
prede-
cessors
as
detailing
hat nsured
hat
the rameould
upport
oth ertical
loads
dueto
gravity
nd ateral oads
from indwithout
elying
nthe xte-
rior
masonry
alls.Use
of reinforced-
concretekeleton-frametructural
ys-
tem lsomade t
possible
o dramati-
cally lter he acade s owners f he
building
ought
o
adapt
o
changing
architectural
tyles.
forward-looking
Minneapolis.
ribune
rticle
ublished
n
1910 alluded o
both he
novelty
nd
the
tility
f his
esign, oting
hat
The frame
f he
building
s built
separate
nd distinctrom he utside
shell. he frameherefore
ill
be
good
for enturiesnd couldnot
be demol-
ished
xcept
t
fabulous
xpense.
he
outside, owever,
an be redressed
ime
and
again;
ust
husked
ike orn
very
century
r
two,
nd
a new xterior
added. 21
When
ompleted
n
1910,
the
pri-
mary
acades f
he
Plymouth
ollowed
a Beaux-
rts
tyle opular
t that ime
(Fig.
3).
In
1936 the
TwinCities-based
architectural
irm
f Larson nd
McLaren
edesigned
ts wo
primary
facades
n
a restrained
eoclassical
tyle,
sometimeseferredo as Starved las-
sicism. 22
uring
his enovation
large
portion
f he acadewas removed
nd
replaced.
ssentially,
he acades
were
modernized
y tripping
ff he
ighter-
colored erra otta
nd brick etails
t
thebase and
top tory,
s well
s on the
pavilions
t the nds nd at
thebeveled
corner
f he wo
primary
acades;
or-
nices nd belt ourses
were lso
simpli-
fied,
enerally
lattening
hewall
sur-
faces
o achieve more
wo-dimensional
appearance
Fig.
).
Approximately
ne-
third
f he xterior
asonry
ays
were
removednd
replaced.
1936
newspa-
per
rticle
escribing
he
ecladding
noted hat ecause he
Plymouth
ad
incorporated any
esigns
nd struc-
tural eatures
n
buildings
fmore ecent
construction,
he
modernizing
f he
building
ecessitates
ewer
hanges
han
might
therwise
e
necessary. 23
Concrete
Reinforcement
The use ofthe wistedteel
M/BBars
for einforcement
as also
an indica-
tion hat he
Plymouthuilding
as
more emonstrativef
national rends
than
f he ocal
concrete
uilding
techniques
nfluenced
y
Turner,
hich
favored mooth
einforcing
ars
Fig.
5).
Publications
bout teel
einforce-
ment f
concrete,
uch s theConcrete
Reinforcing
teel nstitute's
valuation
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28 APTBULLETIN:OURNALF PRESERVATION
ECHNOLOGY
44:2-3,
013
Fig.
.
M/B
ar wisted
quare-steel
ar
einforcement,
lymouth
uilding,
pril
,
1910.
he
hoto-
graph
f he lab onstructionas akent n
typical
ne-way
lab earhe
levator
pening.
Typical
loorlabs ad he ameize nd
pacing
f teel
einforcement
n
oth irections.
ourtesy
ofHistoric
lymouthuilding,
LC.
ofReinforcing
teel
ystems
n Old
Reinforced
oncrete tructures
and
writings
y
proponents
f other ein-
forcementystemsrom he imewhen
the
Plymouthuilding
as constructed
(such
s Ernest ansome nd
C. A. P.
Turner)
elped
o
situate he
Plymouth
Building's
/BBarswithin
broader
context
f
arly
oncrete einforcement.
WhileM/BBarswere brand-name
product,hey
were
ust
ne
of
many
twistedRansome
tyle
ars
vailable
at that ime.24
ocumentingypes,
r
even
rands,
f
reinforcement
sed
n
constructions difficult
oday,
much ess
in
tructureshat
re
contemporary
ith
the
lymouthuilding.
owever,
heuse
of heM/BBarswasprescientf he
eventual
cceptance
f he
elationship
ofdeformed
i.e.,
wisted
r
textured)
steel
einforcementnd adhesion
with
concrete
y
heAmerican oncrete
n-
stitute
n
1919,
s
Ransome
romoted.25
It
was a
clear
eparture
rom
ccepted
contemporary
ocal
practice
f mooth
round
ars,
s Turner
trongly
dvo-
cated.26 ansome
rgued,
nd
proved
throughesting,
hat eformed
ein-
forcementchieved
reater
dhesion
with oncrete
ompared
o smooth
reinforcement,
esulting
n
greater
strength
f he verall
einforced-con-
crete
ystem.
his
ype
f wistedein-
forcement,ften eferredo as the
Ransome
ystem,
ventuallyained
widespread
se
nationally.27
Delivery
Method
John
M. Ewen's nvolvement
n
the
project
an
n
part
be understood
n
the
context
f
professional
ealignments
that
ed
to
the onsolidation
f ome
formerlyeparate
ectors fthe
building
industry
n
the
arly
ecades
fthe
twentieth
entury.
istorian
my
la-
tondescribes
hreemethods
sedhistor-
ically
o constructeinforced-concrete
factoryuildings.
hefirst ethod
required
uilding
wners o
employ
their wn forces or llconstruction
work,
nlisting
n
engineer
r architect
to create
lans
nd
engaging
ubcon-
tractors
or
pecialized
ork. he sec-
ond
option
nvolved he
wner's olicit-
ingplans
nd
specifications
or
build-
ing
from n
engineering
irm,
hen
submitting
hem o
general
ontractors
for ids.
The third
ption
was to hire
firmshat ffered
oth
ontracting
nd
engineering
s
integrated
ervices,
n
approach
hat
egan
o
gain
national
acceptance
round
910.28
The
expertise
ffered
y
n-house
engineersamiliar ith einforced-
concrete
onstruction,
he hird
ption,
resulted
n
ncreased
conomyhrough
efficient
esign,
s well s
higherqual-
ity
f ervices
y
ontrolling
ariables
through
nhanced
managerial
ophisti-
cation.29
his
dvantage
may
havebeen
recognizedy
he
developer
f he
ly-
mouth
uilding
nd
may
help
o
explain
why
he selected
firm
rom
hicago.
The
John
M.
Ewen
Company
dvertised
as
engineers
nd builders
Fig.
).
30
There
were number
f
ompetent
ocal
concrete
ontractors
n
Minneapolis
t
the ime f hePlymouthuilding'son-
struction,
ncluding
. F.
Haglin,
ames
Leek
&;
Company,
nd
J.
L.
Robinson,
among
thers,
ut
hey
dvertised
nly
as contractors
nd builders.31
n
addi-
tion
o
ntegrating
ngineering
ndcon-
struction,
wenwas also
known
or
having
eveloped
n
nnovative
ethod
for
imultaneously
xcavating
nd con-
structing
ubgrade
oundations
nd
structures,
hich,
ased n
newspaper
reports,ppears
o havebeenutilized
n
the onstruction
f he
Plymouth
uild-
ing.32
e described
is
method s
leav-
ing he arth nexcavatedntiluch
time
s
the
uper-structure
s
well
long,
the xact everse
f he
present
eth-
od. 33 he arrival f
n outside
ngineer
and contractor
n
a local
marketub-
stantiated
he
position
f
he
Plymouth
Building
s demonstrative
fnational
trends.
Cold-Weather
oncreting
The
Plymouthuilding
s also a well-
documented
arly xample
f old-
weather
oncreting,
hich laton
s-
serts
was
not
possible
n
the
United
States
rior
o1910.34 istoricon-
struction
hotographs
nd
the ore-
man's
og
ndicate
hat aborers
egan
pouring
oncrete or he
Plymouth
Building's
assive
oundations
n
February
, 1910,
when
emperatures
were
wellbelow
freezing.
orkers
continuedo
mix
nd
pour
oncrete
n
theweeks hat
ollowed,
s
tempera-
tures
ropped
o a low
of
2F
on Febru-
ary
16 and
17. Earlier
oncreteon-
struction
n theUnited tates
ad been
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THE WORLD'S
ARGEST
LL-REINFORCED-CONCRETE
FFICE
UILDING9
limitedo months hen
emperatures
were bove
freezing.
hile
working
n
warmweather as
a
practical
olution,
it ended
o ncrease he ostofconcrete
constructionue to abordemandsn
warmer
months,
hus
elaying
ational
acceptance
f hematerial
or he truc-
ture
f alloffice
uildings.
Early
rticles
romted
heuse of
salts
n
the oncrete
ix
o
prevent
freezing
f hewater
uring uring,
which venRansome
upported.35
n-
othermethod f
asting
oncrete
n
below-freezing
eathernvolves
he
heating
f he oncrete aterials:
ggre-
gate,
and, ement,
nd water. Port-
landCement
ssociation
andbook,
Cold
Weather
oncreting
1916),
de-
scribes he se of ubes ndstoves o
heat
he oncrete aterialsnd then
he
poured
tructure
uringuring.36
n
February
0, 1910,
he
Plymouth's
Building's
oreman oted
n
his
og
that
smoke aused
by
firenthe ubeswith
whichwe heat he oncrete
aterials,
has been
eaking
ut t the
dge
f he
roof...
nnoying
he hinamen ho
operated
chop-suey
estaurant
dja-
cent o thework ite
Fig.
7).37
Persistent esearch
hallenges
Effortso situatehePlymouthuilding
within historicalontext f
ocal,
state,
r national oncrete-construction
technologies,ypologies,
nd
processes
were
omplicatedy
everal
actors,
none fwhichwas
unique
o this ase
study.
ather,
he
history
f
engineering
is nsome
ways rguably
more ifficult
to researchhan rchitecturalistories
that re basedon associations
ith
notable rchitects
r
exemplary
tyles.
There
s a relative
aucity
f nforma-
tion
bout
ngineers
nd their ssoci-
ated
designs
nd construction ethods
compared
o the
ypes
frecords ocu-
menting
he
elationships
etween
architectsnd their lients.
here s a
wide
range
freasons
why
his s true.
First,
hercare
ragmatic
otives
and
practical
ifficulties.hile rchitec-
tural
rawings
fnotable
uildings
nd
structuresreoften aved
n ibraries
and archivess much
or
heir
isual
beauty
s for he
nformation
heymay
convey,ngineeringrawings
ere
typically
estroyed.
nsurancend iabil-
ity
onsiderationsed to the
ommon
Fig.
.
Construction
f he xterior
asonry
alls,
lymouth
uilding,eptember
2,
910. he
ohn
M.
Ewen
ompany
dvertised
s
Engineers
nd
uilders.
billboarddvertised
Lower
loorsre
Open
or usiness.
ourtesy
fHistoric
lymouth
uilding,
LC.
practice
f
hredding
ngineering
ec-
ords fter he
statute f
repose
had
expired,
trend hat ontinues
oday.38
Building
wnerswho have
retained
structural
lans
re
becoming
ncreas-
ingly
eluctant
o share hemwith he
public
utof
oncern or
afety
n
the
face f errorism.
lthough
ational
Registerominationsreusually ublic
record,
ven hat ccess s sometimes
limited.39
Another
eason or he
mphasis
placed
bypreservationists
n the
rchi-
tecturef
buildings
s that he tructure
is often
ompletely
oncealed.
tructural
systems ay
be clad
by
facade
n one
side nd
sheathed ith nterior
inishes
on the ther. windshield
urvey
s a
usefulmethod or istorians
eeking
o
documenthevariations
nd nuances f
architectural
tyle,orting
he
epresen-
tative
r
exemplary
rom hose
hat re
more ommon
r have ost
ntegrity.
Rapid
visual
nvestigation
f tructural
systems
n
the ield
s,
however,
ifficult
at
best;
omparative
nalysis
ithin r
across tructural
ypes
erges
n the
impossible,
hort
f
urking
n ubbase-
ments nd
poking
round
ttics.40
s a
result,he ngineeringomponentsre
often verlooked
n
the
nalysis
f he
historical
ignificance
f
building
le-
ments.
his rends reflected
n
publica-
tions
y
he
National ark
ervice,
whose riteriaeem
o
mply
hat he
integrity
f
building,
hich tdefines
as the
bility
f
property
o
convey
its
ignificance,
ust e
present
n
physical
eatures
hat
re visible
enough
o
convey
heir
ignificance,
although
t dmits his
s sometimes
subjective
udgment. 41
his
require-
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9/12
30
APT
BULLETIN:OURNALF PRESERVATION
ECHNOLOGY
44:2-3,
013
Fig.
.
Excavationnd onstructionf he
uilding
oundation,
lymouthuilding,
anuary
910.
Workersontinuedo
mix
nd
our
oncrete
s
temperaturesropped
o low
f F
n
ebruary
1910. mokeromubes sed oheat he oncrete
ix
otheredhe wnersf he
djacent
hop-
suey
estaurant,
hose
ign
svisible
n
he
pper-left
orner
f his
mage. ourtesy
f
Historic
Plymouthuilding,
LC.
ment eems o
potentially
isqualify
building's
tructurerom
eing ignifi-
cant
f t
s hidden nderneath
rchitec-
tural
inishes,
hich s commonnhis-
toric
uildings.
he reinforced-concrete
structuref he
Plymouthuilding
s
exposed
n
the ubbasementnd attic
floorsnd s also detailed
n
the
riginal
drawings,llowing
tto be described
and
photographically
ocumented
following
he
uidelines
f heNational
Park ervice.
Comparisons
o other
uildings
isted
in
theNational
Register
fHistoric
Placeswith imilar haracteristics
an
often e nvaluable
n
establishing
he
significance
f
building.
owever,
theres a large mphasisn architectural
significance
n
theNational
Register,
nd
the
ngineeringignificance
f struc-
ture s not
lways
ncluded,
venwhen t
is merited. ost
engineering
urricula
n
theU.S.
are
tructured
round he e-
quirements
f heAccreditationoard
of
Engineering
nd
Technology,
hich
doesnotmandate he
overage
f
ngi-
neering
istory.42
lackof
overage
f
this ield
n
engineering
urriculaeads
to a
subsequent
ackof wareness f
t,
which imitshe
uantity
fresearch
nd
analysis
y
hose
who
can
potentially
best nderstandhe
ubject
material.
Another
hallenge
ften ncountered
when
etermining
he
ngineeringignif-
icance f structure
s the
mplied
eed
to usewhat s referredo
n
this rticle
as the
superlativepproach
o estab-
lish
ignificance.
hen tcomes o
engineeringignificance,
xperience
as
shown hat t s sometimes
ot
nough
to
merelyembody
hedistinctivehar-
acteristics
f
type, eriod,
r method
of
construction ;
umerous
xamples
f
National
Register
ominations
ssoci-
atedwith
ngineering
uggest
hat
more
uperlative
enchmarks often
used o demonstratesignificance,ne
that
istinguishes
he tructures the
first,
he
tallest,
he
longest,
r
n
some
way
he
ingularlyreatest
xam-
ple
of
type.
his
pproach
s
problem-
aticbecause tobscures
hemore om-
mon lementsnd themes
n
thedevel-
opment
fhistorical
deas,
methods,
nd
designs
hat oster richer nderstand-
ing
f
ngineering
istory.
Conclusion
Several
trategies
ouldbe
mplemented
to
mitigate
he
hallenges
ncountered
inestablishinghe ngineeringignifi-
canceofthe
Plymouth
uilding.
irst,
theNational ark
ervice hould e
given
he esourceseeded o
com-
pletely
igitize
he
National
Register
archive. o
date,
t has
digitized
he
nominationsf ll but
11
states;
he
digitized
ominationsre
entirely
ord
searchable
ith he
help
f
Google.43
The National
ark ervice
uidelines
suggest
hathistoric esources
ust e
considered
nthe ontext fotherx-
amples
fthe ame
property
ype
o
evaluate
ignificance
nd determine
eligibility.44et,
until he ntirerchive
is
digitized,
t s not
possible
o search
among
ll nominations
or etails bout
buildingechnologies
r structural
ys-
tems. he National ark
ervice
might
also consider
modifying
heNational
Register
valuation
orm o
require
r
encourage
nformationbout he
truc-
tural
esign, qualing
hedetail
ow
dedicated
o
descriptions
f rchitec-
tural
tyle
nd ornamentation.
Details bout he tructure
ndthe
significance
frelated
echnologies
nd
building rocesses
might
e more
eadily
infusednto he
National
Registerro-
gramf ngineeringistoryecame
component
f
ngineering
ducation
and
f
hePark
ervice
eveloped reser-
vation
ngineering
s one of
he ecre-
tary
f
he nterior'srofessional
uali-
ficationtandards.45
ccreditation
standards or
ndergraduate
ngineering
programs
n
theUnited
tates,
irst
established
n
1932,
consistently
ecom-
mendedr
required
minimum
ercent-
age
ofoverall oursework
n
thehuman-
ities,
mong
which
istory
as
specifi-
cally
named,
ntil
his riterion as
eliminated
n
2000.46 cholars
nd
practitionersave ince uggestedhat
knowledge
f
ngineering
istory
ould
cultivate
etter
ngineers
ypresenting
themwith broader
erspective
f he
field nd the areer
pportunities
ithin
it;
moreover,
thas
recently
een
ug-
gested
hat he ime
s
ripe
or cademic
trainingpecific
o
preservationngi-
neering.47
rofessional
rograms
hat
train
reservationists
hould lsobe
encouraged
o nclude
more bout
ngi-
neering
nd
construction
istory
s
a
companion
o
architectural-history
This content downloaded from 142.150.190.39 on Tue, 7 Jan 2014 13:51:58 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp7/24/2019 APT-Understanding the Worlds Largest Reinforced-concrete Building
10/12
THE
WORLD'S ARGEST
LL-
EINFORCED
CONCRETE
FFICE UILDING
1
courses hat avefor o
long
been t the
core f
preservationedagogy.48
Preservation
esign
Workswas able
to make series
funconventional
rgu-
ments or he
ngineeringignificance
f
the
Plymouth
uilding.
he
Minnesota
StateHistoric
reservationffice
nd
theNational ark ervice
etermined
that
twas
eligible
or heNational
Register
fHistoriclacesunder rite-
rionC as a
representation
f hedevel-
opment
nd
acceptance
f he ein-
forced-concrete
keleton rame
y
he
American
uildingndustry,
s an
early
example
f old-weather
oncreting,
nd
as the
roduct
f nnovative
esign
nd
construction
rocesses
t a
pivotal
period
n
the
history
f oncreterchi-
tecture.
onstructing
his arrative
forced he
roject
eam
o
reject
he
superlativepproach,
way
of
hinking
about
ngineering
ignificance
hat s
analogous
o what rchitecturalisto-
rianRichard
ongstreth
alled he
problem
ith
tyle.
Instead f
complex
nd nuanced onstruct
evel-
oped
o
analyzemeaning, ongstreth
argues,
rchitectural
tyle
ften inds
preservationists
o a
rigid
et f
harac-
teristics,
faulty
lassificationcheme
in
which
nything
ess han
pure
x-
ample
s seen s a
hybrid,
nd there-
foreomethingnsignificant.49nearly
newspaper escription
f he
Plymouth
Building
ot
nly
misidentifiedhe
building'sstyle
f
ngineering;
t lso
raised
uestions
boutwhetherssocia-
tionwith well-known
ngineer
as
enough
o
make
he
tructure
ignificant
when here re
lready
o
many
ther
earlier,
ocumented
xamples
fhis
work
isted
n
the
National
Register.
This
ine f
hinkingrevents
onsider-
ing spects
f
ignificance
hat
ong-
streth
rgues
make or fullerense
of...
istoricalalue. These
nclude
function,tructure,rocesses,abor,
systems,
nd
patronage,
ll ofwhich
informedn
understanding
f he
Ply-
mouth
uilding's
ignificance.
Historians
nd
sociologists
f ech-
nology
ave
imilarlyargely
bandoned
attempts
o document
echnological
firsts
nd to
see the ndividual
nven-
tor s a
genius
igureperating
n
isolation rom
ther conomicnd
social
orces.
nstead,
cholars
ike
Thomas
Hughes
ave
ong ncouraged
systems
etaphor
or
nderstanding
the nterconnectedness
f
physical
rti-
facts,
conomic
orces,
nd nstitutions.
In
a similar
ein,
ociologists
f echnol-
ogy
dvocate esearch
o understandhe
influencend nteractionsfconsumers,
patrons, rofessional
ssociations,
nd
users f rtifacts
n
the
cceptance
r
rejection
f
echnologicalystems.
hese
insights ay rovide
reservationists
with ew heoretical
erspectives
o
construct
ignificance.50
Thesemore
ecent
pproaches
o
studying
he
history
f rchitecture
nd
technology
elped
make ense f
he
Plymouth
uilding
s an
artifact,
story,
nd the
product
f
processes
whose
ignificance
as
complex,
u-
anced,
nd not
nitially
lear.
ltimately,
even houghheNational ark ervice
formally
greed
hat he
building
as
eligible
or
isting
n
theNational
Regis-
ter,
ts
ignificance
ay
till e
subject
o
debate.While imilar
xamples
f ts
particular
einforced-concrete
etails
applied
o
a
skyscraper
r earlier xam-
ples
of
old-weather
oncreting
r
Ewen's
methods
f xcavation erenot
located,
twas
also not
possible
o
prove
that he
Plymouthuilding
as
a
fore-
runner,
he
irst,
r nsome
way
he
most
ignificant.
uch rethedifficulties
writing
ational
Register
ominations
for
uildingypologies,echnologies,
and
practices
like
tripping
nd
re-
cladding
facade,
s was
partially
one
to the
Plymouth
uilding)
n
the bsence
of
publications
hat
rovide
istorical
context. his s a call formore
esearch.
Modulatingteratively
ack nd
forth etween
rimary
nd
secondary
sourceswas the
key
o the uccessful
investigation
f
he
Plymouth
uilding.
The
Plymouth
uilding
eminds s that
historical
ignificance
s not
n inherent
quality
f
buildings
something
imbeddedn
materialsrom he
past.
Rather, econstruct,nd
hopefully
continuouslyeinterpret,
he
ignificance
of ll
types
f
cultural
esources
n
the
present.51
fter
ll,
ignificance
s an
argument,
nd
theNational
Register
needsnew
ones o
nvigorate
he
preser-
vationmovement
nd to sustain
he
economic
edevelopment
folder
nd
potentially
istoric
uildings.52
GREGORY
ONOFRIO, hD,
s
directorf
research
t
Preservation
esign
orks.e s
also n ssistant
rofessor
nd he irector
f
the
eritage
onservationnd
reservation
Graduate
rogram
t
he
niversity
f
Min-
nesota
choolfArchitecture.is esearch
includes
he
istory
f
echnology,
s
well s
the conomic
ncentivesnd
egulatory
on-
straintsf
historic-propertyedevelopment.
e
can e [email protected].
MEGHAN
LLIOTT,E,
Associate
IA,
s
founder
nd wnerf reservation
esign
Works
PVN),
company
edicatedo ncreas-
ing
he
se fhistoric
uildingshroughesign,
real-estate
evelopment
ervices,
nd esearch.
She s lso n
djunct
ssistant
rofessor
f
historic-building
onservation
n
he
niversity
ofMinnesotachool
fArchitecture.rior
o
PVN,
he
ed he
reservationngineering
group
t
Meyer
orgman
ohnson.
he an e
reached
t
Acknowledgements
The uthorsisho hankVN
roject
ssociate
Ryanalmon,IT, or is ubstantialssistance
researching
nd
writing
his
rticle.
elpful
om-
mentsnd
uggestions
erelso
rovidedy
he
APTBulletin'shree
nonymouseer
eviewers.
Notes
1. Howard. Green
rgues
hat ot ll
preser-
vationists
re
willing
o
ccept
hat
ignificance
is social
onstruct;
ee
his
ssay
The ocial
Construction
f
Historical
ignificance
n
Preservation
f
What
for
Whom?:Critical
Look tHistorical
ignificance
ed.Michael
Tomlan
Ithaca,
.Y.:
Nationalouncilor
Preservation
ducation,998),
5-94.
2. The
most
p-to-date
ist
f tates
ith
historic-rehabilitationax-credit
rograms
an
befoundnRutgersenteror rbanolicy
Research,
Third nnual
eport
n
he
co-
nomic
mpact
f he
ederalistoricax
Credit, 012,
ttp://www.nps.gov/tps/tax-
incentives/taxdocs/economic-impact-20
2.pdf
(accessed
arch
3, 013).
3.
$1,500,000
ffice
uilding
lanned,
Minneapolis
ribune
July
6,
909.
4. bid.
5.
John
orchert,
avid
ebhard,
avid
Lanegran,
nd
udithartin,
egacyf
Min-
neapolis:
reservationmid
hange
Min-
neapolis:ity
f
Minneapolis,
983),
1.
6. For briefutwell
ocumentedntroduc-
tion o
he
istory
f einforced
oncrete,
ee
Amy
.
Slaton,
aul .
Gaudette,
illiam.
Hime,nd ames.Connolly,Reinforced
Concrete,
n
Twentieth
Centuryuilding
a-
terials:
istory
ndConservationed.Thomas
Jester
Washington,
.C.:Nationalark er-
vice, 995).
ubsequent
itations
hroughout
this
aper
rovide
dditional
etail.
7.
The omance
fModernnd
Ancient
Concrete,
inneapolis
orning
ribune
May
15,
910.
8.
The
lymouth
uilding:omething
n
he
Naturef Recordreakern
tructural
Operations
ade
Here,
inneapolis
orning
Tribune
Sept.
,
1910.
9.
Completelans,
rawings,
nd
onstruction
specifications
or f
he
tructurere ocatedt
the
orthwest
rchitectural
rchives,
niver-
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http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp7/24/2019 APT-Understanding the Worlds Largest Reinforced-concrete Building
11/12
32
APTBULLETIN:
OURNAL
F
PRESERVATION
ECHNOLOGY
44:2-3,
013
sity
f
Minnesota
ibraries,
inneapolis,
Minn.
10.
Typicalay
imensions
ange
n
lan
rom
20 feet
inches
y
1
feet
ncheso
2
feet
inchesy 3feet nches,ithhe roportions
generally
eingquare.
11.National
egister
f
Historiclaces
taff,
National
egister
ulletin
5:How o
Apply
the ational
egister
riteria
or
valuation
revisedor
nternet
002,
ttp://www.nps.gov/
nr/publications/bulletins/nrbl5/
accessed
ov.
10,
012).
12. Call he
oll,
ement
ge
3
Dec.
1911):
9.
13.
Peter
ollins,
oncrete
TheVision
f
A
NewArchitecture
London:
abernd
aber,
1959).
arl
ondit,
merican
uilding
rt:
The wentieth
entury
New
ork:
xford
University
ress,
961).
eyner
anham,
Concrete
tlantis:
.S.
ndustrial
uilding
nd
European
odernrchitecture
Cambridge:
MITPress,989). onaldriedman,istorical
Building
onstruction:
esign
Materials,
nd
Technology
New
ork:
W.W.
Norton
:
Co.,
1995).
my
laton,
einforced
oncrete
nd
the
Modernization
f
American
uilding
1900-1930
Baltimore:ohnsopkins
niv.
Press,
001).
Andrew
aint,
rchitect
nd
Engineer:
Study
f ibling
ivalry
New
Haven:
ale
University
ress,
007).
drian
Forty,
oncretend
Culture
A Material
History
London:
eaktion
ooks,
012).
14.Donald
riedman,
The
evelopment
f
Modern
uilding
keletons,
PTBulletin
3,
no.
(2012):
8.
15.On
he
evelopment
f
he tructural-steel
frame,
ee or
xample
homas
.
Misa,
Nation
f
teel:
he
Making
f
Modern
mer-
ica, 865-1925Baltimore:ohnsopkins
Univ.
ress,
995),
5-89;
riedman,
istorical
Building
onstruction
41-55.
or discussion
of
how rchitects
nd
ngineers
ebated
he
relative
erits
f teel
ersus
oncretetruc-
tures
n he
arly
wentieth
entury,
ee
aint,
Architect
nd
ngineer.
16.Carl
ondit,
The
irst einforced-Con-
crete
kyscraper,
echnology
ndCulture
9
(Jan.
968):
6.
17.
Banham,
Concrete
tlantis.
18.
Engineering
rawings,
eparate
nd
istinct
from
he rchitectural
rawings,
ere
repared
for
he
lymouth
uilding.
19.
Whilehe
ngineering
rawings
ndicate
that
he
masonry
alls
eremost
ikely
ot
intendedo ontributeo heateral-force-
resistingystem,
ny
racticing
ngineer
ould
note
hat,
n
eality,
he
xterior
asonry
nd
interior
lay-tileartitions
ncrease
he ateral
stability
f
he
uilding.
20.
One
are,
f ot
uperlative,
ttribute
f he
Plymouth
uilding
as he
astrove
f
ri-
mary
ources
ocumenting
ts
esign
nd
construction.
21. The
omance
f
Modern
nd
Ancient
Concrete, inneapolis
orning
ribune.
22.
The
tyle
as
widely
tilized
n
he
mid-
19308or he
esign
f
arge
ublic
nd
nstitu-
tional
uildings
ike ederal
ost
ffices.
ee
or
example
ames
.
Bruns,
reat
merican
ost
Offices
New
ork:
Wiley,
997),
5.
23. Plan
efacing
f
lymouth
uilding
Soon,
inneapolis
ournal
June
,
1936.
24.Ernestansome's
atent
n
wisted-steel
reinforcement
xpired
n
1901;
eeU.S. atent
305,226,ept.6, 884.
25.
TheAmerican
oncrete
nstitute
ppears
o
first
akehe istinctionetween
he
iffer-
ences
n
oncrete-to-steel
ond
trength
f
smooth
ersuseformed
einforcement
n heir
Proceedingsf
he
ifteenth
nnual
onven-
tion
Atlantic
ity,
.J.:
merican
oncrete
Institute,
919),
93.
26.
Henry
.
Eddy
nd .
A.P.
Turner,
on-
crete-Steel
onstruction
Minneapolis:
uthor,
1919),
1. n he extbooke oauthored
ith
Henryddy,professor
t
he
niversity
f
Minnesota,
urner
rgues
hatteel
einforce-
ment
sheld
n
place y
oncrete
ue o
hrink-
age
nd
rovides
easoning
or he
ppropriate-
ness f mootheinforcement.
n
xample
f
building
hat
urner
esigned
hat
ncorporated
smootheinforcementas he orthwest
Knitting
ompany
uilding
n
Minneapolis,
described
n
he rticle
Reinforced
oncrete
Warehouse
or
orthwest
nitting
o.,
Min-
neapolis,
inn,
ngineering
ews
June
,
1905):
93-594.
27.
Friedman,
istorical
uilding
onstruc-
tion,
39,
50.
28.
Slaton,
einforced
oncrete
nd he
Mod-
ernization
f
American
uilding
139.
oday,
these
hree
ypes
f
uilding-industry
elation-
ships ight
e
described
s
in
house,
de-
sign-bid-build,
nd
bid-design-build.
29.
bid.,
40.
30.
Large
anufacturing
lant
nder
on-
struction,
he ement
ra
February
910):
53.Advertisement
itled
John
.
Ewen om-
pany:ngineersnd ontractorsor arge
Buildings
he
Omaha
aily
ee
April
,
1907.
wen dvertises
he ervices
e ffered:
Co-operate
ith
rchitects
ndOwners
o
advantage
f oth.
rect
uildings
or
ost
lus
a fixed
um
or ervices
endered.
ave n
experience
f 5
years
ithffice
nd
ommer-
cial
uildings.
31.
Today,
.F.
Haglin
nd
.
.
Robinson
(now
raus-Anderson)
re
till
rominent
contractors
n
Minneapolis.
n he
arly
ine-
teenth
entury,
he
irms
dvertised,
r
were
described
s,
contractors
nd
uilders
n
he
following
ources:
C.
F.
Haglin
ontractor
and
uilder
otel
adisson,
inneapolis
Morning
ribune
Dec.
15,
909,
2;
James
Leck c
o.,
Minneapolis
orning
ribune
Sept.1,1913, 3; TheNew awkesuilding
Houses
any
rominent
enants, inneapo-
lis
Morning
ribune
Nov.
6,
1916,
.
32.
A 1910
ewspaper
rticle
bout
he
on-
struction
f he
lymouth
uilding
otes,
So
rapidly
as
hework
one,
hat
he ontractors
did
otwait
oremove
hentire
ortion
f he
earth
romhe
asement
efore
eginning
he
rearing
f he
uilding.
nough
arth
as
removed
t
firsto
plant
he
afts
nd
moulds
[sic]
or he
eavy
oncreting
o
upport
he
walls
nd
illars,
nd
hen
he oilers
egan
o
mount
ithheoncrete.
The
lymouth
Building,
inneapolis
orning
ribune
Sept.
4,
1910.
33.
John
.
Ewen,
wen's ethod
f
ub
construction
s
Applied
o teel
uildings,
Subways
tc.
Chicago:
905),
.
34.
Slaton,
einforced
oncrete
nd
he
Mod-
ernizationfAmericanuilding225-226.
ee
alsoJohn.Nicoli,ColdWeatheroncrete
Work,
ement
ge
4
Feb.,
912):
1-84;
Charles
.
Anderson,
Reconstruction
f
Bridge
98,
New ork
entral
ailroad
Concreting
n
Cold
Weather,
ngineering
nd
Contracting
6
Dec.
,1911):
16-618.
35.R.
K.
Meade,
Prevention
f
reezing
n
Concrete
y
alcium
hloride,
ngineering
Record5
April
0,
1907):
01-502.
ansome
supported
se f alts
ecauseests
ndicated
thatt ncreased
he ire
esistance
f
oncrete;
seeRansome
nd
aurbrey,
einforced
on-
crete
uildings
185.
t s
nowwell
ecognized
that
hloride
ons eact
ith
he teeleinforce-
ment
esulting
n orrosion
nd
ltimately
failure
f he
ystem;
herefore
osturrent
construction
rojectslace
trict
imits
n he
additionf altso heoncreteix. ee or
example
dam
eville,
Chloride
ttack
f
Reinforced
oncrete:
n
Overview,
aterials
and
tructures
8
1995):
3-70;
merican
Concrete
nstitute,
CI 18-05:
uilding
ode
Requirements
or
tructural
oncrete
nd
CommentaryFarmington
ills,
ich.:
005),
54;
nd
lizabeth
ard-
aller,
Corrosion
Resistance
fConcrete
einforcement
PhD
diss.,
assachusetts
nstitutef
echnology,
June
005),
-18.
36.
Portland
ement
ssociation,
oncreting
inCold
Weather
Chicago:
916),
-6.
37.
Plymouth
uilding
aily
eport,
eb.
0,
1910;
he
ogs
o
notmention
he se f
ny
salts.
38.Nationalocietyf rofessionalngineersProfessional
iability
ommittee,ocument
Retention
uidelines
March
005).
39.
A
recent
equest
y
he
uthors
o he
Missouri
tate
istoric
reservation
ffice
or
the
RHP
omination
orm
or he
istoric
Bagnell
am nd
Osage
ower
lant as
denied
ecause
he
roperty
wners
equested
the
withholding
f he
nformation
rom
he
general
ublic
ue o homeland
ecurity
issues.
40.Some
esearchers
re
vercoming
hese
challenges
y
ombining
ultiple
ources
nd
survey
trategies;
lthough
t ims
o
dentify
buildings
n
need
f
eismic
etrofits
opposed
to
documenting
istoric
ignificance,
ee
or
example
he
oncrete
oalition,
hich
s
currentlyctivenCaliforniand he acific
Northwest,
ww.concretecoalition.org/.
41.National
egister
fHistoric
laces
taff,
National
egister
ulletin
5,
ection
III.
.
42.
ABET
ngineering
ccreditation
ommis-
sion,
riteria
or
ccreditingngineering
Programs
Baltimore:
ct.
9,
011).
43.
The
emaining
tates
anked
y
umber
f
NRHP
istings
rommallest
o
argest
re
Illinois,
ichigan,
issouri,
rkansas,
orth
Carolina,
irginia,
exas,
ennsylvania,
hio,
Massachusetts,
nd
New ork.
PS
s ur-
rently
eeking
unding
o
digitize
hese
emain-
ing
tates,
ossibly
n
artnership
ithhe
National
rchives.
PS
National
egister
taff
recommends
two-step
rocess
or
ord-
This content downloaded from 142.150.190.39 on Tue, 7 Jan 2014 13:51:58 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp7/24/2019 APT-Understanding the Worlds Largest Reinforced-concrete Building
12/12
THE WORLD'S
ARGEST
LL-
EINFORCEDCONCRETE
FFICE
UILDING 3
searching
he ext fnominationshat ave
already
een
igitized.
irst,
se he
oogle
Advanced
earcheaturet:
www.google.com/
advanced_search
nd
ut
he
alue
f
dfhost
.focus.nps.goy
n he
earch
ithinsite r
domainox,n dditiono earchermsf
interest.
econd,
nce
ou
indhe ocuments
in he
oogle
dvanced
earch
n
dfhost
.focus.nps.gov,ull p
he DF f nterestnd
use
he find
tility
o ee
xactly
here
n
he
documenthat
erm
ppears,
ince ocu-
ments
an e
uite
ong.
nformationnd
suggestions
ere
rovidedy
NPS
NRHP
taff
by
mailo
Greg
onofrioated
ay
1,
2013.Also sefulre he
ABS/HAER/HALS
archives,
ostfwhichs
digitized
nd
ccessi-
ble nlinet he
ibrary
f
Congressttp://
www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/digitizing
.html
accessed
une
,2013).
44.
National
egister
fHistoriclaces
taff,
National
egister
ulletin5.
45.TheNPS
ecently
aunched
n nitiativeo
revisend xpandhe OIProfessionalualifi-
cation
tandardso ncludeeveralew
ro-
fessions,
ncluding
reservationngineer;
ee
SOIS rofessional
ualification
tandards,
https://ncptt.nps.gov/articles/c2a/soi-professional
-qualification-standards/
accessed
une
,
2013).
46.SeeKarl .
Stephan,
All his nd
ngi-
neering
oo:
A
History
f
Accreditation
e-
quirements,
EEE
Technology
nd
ociety
Magazine
Fall 002):
-15.
47.
Christopher
issellnd tuart
ennett,
The ole f he
istory
f
echnology
n
he
Engineering
urriculum,
uropeanournal
f
Engineering
ducation
2,
no.
1997):
67.
John
.
Matteo,
Preservation
ngineering:
FramingNew urriculum,reservation
EducationndResearch
2011):
3-106.
APT
Bulletin
1,
no.
2013),
pecial
ssue
n
preservation-engineering
ducation.
48.
On he
istory
f
reservation
ducation,
see
Michael
omlan,
Historic
reservation
Education:
longside
rchitecture
n
Aca-
demia,
ournal
f
Architecturalducation
7,
no.
(1994): 87-196;
ichard
ongstreth,
Architectural
istory
nd he ractice
f
Historicreservation
n he nited
tates,
Journalf
he
ociety
f
Architectural
istori-
ans
8,
no.
Sept.
999):
26-333.
49.
Longstreth,
Architectural
istory
nd he
Practice
fHistoricreservation
n
he nited
States,
27-328;
ee lsoRichard
ongstreth,
The
roblemith
Style,'
he
orum,
ul-
letinf he ommitteenPreservationSAH,
(Dec.
984).
50.
An
xcellentverview
f hisiterature
is
providedy
Weibe.
Bijker,
homas.
Hughes,
nd revor
inch,ds.,
he ocial
Construction
fTechnologicalystems:
ew
Directionsn
he
ociology
nd
Historyf
Technology
Cambridge:
IT
Press,012).
51
Among
he cholarsomakehis
oint
most
ersuasively
n
he ontextf
reservation
practice
n
he nitedtatess
Randall
ason,
Fixing
istoricreservation:
Constructive
Critique
f
Significance,'
laces
6,
no.
(2004):
5.
52.
Historic
lymouthuilding,
LC,
ur-
chasedhe lymouthuilding
or
14.5
million
inDecember002. he uilding'sssessed
value ad
allen
o
9.7
million
y
013,
nd
only
5
percent
f he
lass office
pace
as
occupied.developer
s
urrentlyroposing
o
adapt
he
uilding
nto
52market-rate
part-
ments.eeBurl
ilyard,
Developer
ants
o
Turn
lymouthuilding
ffices
nto
part-
ments,
inance
ndCommerce
Minneapolis),
March
,
2013. he
eveloperlans
o ake
advantage
f ederalnd
tate istoric-rehabili-
tationax
redits,
ach fwhichas
potential
face alue f 0%
of
ualified
ehabilitation
expenditures
in
ther
ords,
0%
otal).
Using
ehabilitationax
redits,
reservation
standards
ill
e
maintained
hrough
HPO
andNPS
versight
f nterior
nd xterior
rehabilitation,
hichould ot ave
een he
casewithoutRHP esignation.
KM I
The
ogy
organization
Association
International,
APT
ulletin
of
dedicated
Preservation
s
an
published
interdisciplinary
to he
Technol-
prac-
by
he
I Associationf reservation
echnol-
ogy
nternational,
n
nterdisciplinary
I
organization
edicatedo he