Six Bridges : The Legacy of Othmar H. Ammann [Hardcover]

Director Darl Rastorfer (Author), Darl Rastorfer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2000

Othmar Ammann's name may be unfamiliar, but the six magnificent New York City bridges he created are known to all: George Washington, Bayonne, Triborough, Bronx-Whitestone, Throgs Neck, and Verrazano-Narrows. Ammann's long-span bridges came to define an epoch and shape the modern New York metropolis. This book is the first to examine the genius of Ammann and the special group of bridges he designed and engineered as part of the New York region's interstate highway system. With more than 200 archival photographs, the book vividly displays the physical transformation of New York, the development of long-span suspension structures, the construction process of each bridge, and the spectacular completed bridges. Widely considered the greatest American bridge designer of the twentieth century, Swiss-born Ammann (1879-1965) gained experience designing railroad bridges in Pennsylvania before beginning his work in New York City. This book considers the artistic, scientific, and technical achievements embodied in the six major bridges Ammann produced between 1925 and 1964, as well as the bridges' impact on the city. The book features an illustrated and annotated list of all Ammann's built and unbuilt projects and a glossary of technical terms.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

"It is a crime to build an ugly bridge," said Othmar Ammann, and the first span he built as an independent engineer, New York's George Washington Bridge, was among the elegant bridges recounted in Henry Petroski's fine Engineers of Dreams (1995). This handsome album summarizes Ammann's career and exhibits 200 photographs and design drawings of his principal achievements: the GW Bridge, the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, the Throgs Neck Bridge, the Triborough Bridge, the Bayonne Bridge, and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Rastorfer's text provides the political context (especially the muscle of public works czar Robert Moses) surrounding the creation of these distinctive elements of New York's skyline, but Rastorfer is more enthused about Ammann's management of these bridges' construction and his contribution to their unique engineering elements and overall aesthetic. The black-and-white images exalt the artistic aspects of the bridges, proclaiming their beauty and vitality to the life of the city, while commemorating their immigrant Swiss designer. Gilbert Taylor

About the Author

Darl Rastorfer is director of Projects in the Design Arts, Inc., a New York-based nonprofit educational organisation. He is curator for the Cooper Hewitt Museum exhibition Six Bridges: The Making of the New York Megalopolis that is showing in galleries across the United States.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; annotated edition edition (April 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300080476
• ISBN-13: 978-0300080476
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 10.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #757,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great 20th Century Bridge Engineer's Work, May 8, 2000

By 

Thomas Ammann - See all my reviews

This review is from: Six Bridges : The Legacy of Othmar H. Ammann (Hardcover)

"Six Bridges - The Legacy of Othmar H. Ammann by Darl Rastorfer is a very well written book about a great 20th Century engineer and his engineering feats in long span suspension bridges. This is a must read for everyone for it reveals the trials and tribulations of a man who made history by using scientific principles to design world record breaking bridges.

With his European education Ammann sought out a dream to come to America and seek opportunities in the new country. Within two weeks he started his first position. The early years of Othmar Ammann's career are clearly outlined showing how he gained his knowledge with diligence in various career positions. His thoroughness and dedication to hard work is demonstrated by the trust, faith and confidence of the people who hired him. His reputation was building.

I enjoyed the stories which tell of his character building during hard times also. After his plans for a bridge challenged his future with an employer, he was able to move on and demonstrate his convictions with successful accomplishments. Interesting political considerations are also profiled in the important decisions of costly construction and pressures from public opinion. Ammann's skill to work with people results in many obstacles being overcome.

When the trials and tribulations of office competition evoled, Ammann had the fortitude to break away and start anew. He was a man of visions and had dreams to fulfill. He was a man of principles and nothing could sway him. He was confident his engineering background and skills could lay a path of successful bridge design and construction.

No other bridge engineer has influenced one city more than O.H. Ammann. The history of the planning stages of the designing and construction of these six bridges is well written and interesting for all readers. These six bridges: Georg Washington, Bayonne, Triborough, Bronx-Whitestone, Throngs Neck, and Verrazano-Narrows all are beautifully photographed. A chapter for each bridge outlines their construction with great description and many breathtaking photographs. If you have never been to New York Ctiy this author will certainly take you there with beautiful photos and interesting, informative narrative. Another book including O.H. Ammann's life is: Henry Petrosky's - "Engineers of Dreams: Great Bridge Builders"

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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engineering as an experience in beauty, September 4, 2000

By 

Theodore A. Rushton (PHOENIX, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Six Bridges : The Legacy of Othmar H. Ammann (Hardcover)

During the first half of this century, American bridges became the largest and most beautiful structures ever built; Othmar Ammann, a Swiss engineer who came to New York in 1904, was the quiet genius who built six of the very best.

George Washington, Bayonne, Triborough, Bronx-Whitestone, Throgs Neck and Verrazano-Narrows are his monuments; like the skyscrapers, literally "invented" in New York, the builders of suspension bridges perfected their art in the US. It shows what can be accomplished with new wealth, pride and vision. One of the finest is the Verrazano-Narrows bridge; the towers for the cables are as high as a seventy story building. To put this in perspective, that's twice as high as the tallest "skyscraper" in Phoenix.

Each tower was assembled with 10,000 steel cells, fastened with six million rivets and two million bolts. The Empire State Building has 365,000 tons of steel, the bridge has 1,265,000 tons. Like the Parthenon, where the pillars were sculpted to present the most pleasing appearance, the bridge towers are tapered from top to bottom. The two towers are plumb, but the curvature of the earth means the tops are one and five-eighth inches further apart than the base. Since metal expands in hot weather, the roadway at the center of the span rises or falls by 12 feet during a temperature change of 100 degrees.

Bigger bridges will be built. Some will be more beautiful. But these six are the ones that set the standard. Everything from now will be an adaptation of them. It's like the Golden Age of radio, or television, or movies, or the Internet; experimentation and innovation is always greatest when technology is new.

A suspension bridge is truly an artistic sculpture, because it is based on natural curve of a cord strung between two points. Look at a spider's web, the curve of a bird's wing, or wheat bending in the wind; there is a contrast between nature and the massive stone blocks of earlier bridges. The book is admirably illustrated with more than 200 photos; they show the artistry, and the incredible labor that went into the construction of each.

In today's society, when lowest cost seems to be the only consideration, some wisdom from Ammann in 1958 stands out, "In fact, an engineer designing a bridge is justified in making a more expensive design for beauty's sake. After all, many people will have to look at the bridge for the rest of their lives. Few of us appreciate eyesores, even if we should save a little money by building them."

It shows good design is possible, and adds a great deal to a community. Like Will Bruder's design of the new Phoenix library, skillfully described in the book "Phoenix Central Library" by Oscar Riera Ojeda, et al, this book is a must for anyone interested in better communities.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must" for all bridge design students and enthusiasts., May 8, 2000

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Six Bridges : The Legacy of Othmar H. Ammann (Hardcover)

This is the first to examine the works of Ammann, one of the finest modern bridge designers of modern times. This uses over 200 archival photos to present displays of his New York bridges, their construction, and the development of his ideas. The in-depth details on bridge designs of the times and Ammann's place in the world of bridge designers makes for excellent coverage.

Diane C. Donovan Reviewer