H&H is an American infrastructure engineering company specializing in the design and management of bridges and other transportation and architecture projects. The firm was founded in 1887 by John Alexander Low Waddell, a structural engineer who pioneered the design of large-scale moveable bridge. Originally incorporated in Kansas City, Missouri as J.A.L. Waddell, Consulting Engineer, the company was renamed throughout the early 20th century as Waddell added junior partners to the organization. In 1920, the firm moved its headquarters to New York City, where it would go on to design many important bridges int the area, such as Newark Bay Bridge (rail), the original Goethals Bridge, and Marine Parkway Bridge.
Waddell's private consultancy gained a reputation for "daring and unusual structures" with a modern approach to the bridge design, and construction process.[1]: 63 The company's first project, the Illinois Central Missouri River Bridge, was a swing bridge designed by Waddell in 1893 and built across the Missouri River. At the time of its construction, it was the longest swing bridge in the world with a moving span of 520 ft (158.5 m).[2]
In 1899 Waddell promoted his chief draftsman Ira G. Hedrick to partner, renaming the firm Waddell & Hedrick.[3] This partnership produced what would become the company's oldest design still in operation as of 2021: the New Westminster Bridge.
In 1908 Waddell & Harrington patented an improved Bascule bridge.[5] That summer they also filed the first of several patents for improvements to Waddell's earlier vertical-lift bridge designs,[6][7]
In 1914, Waddell & Harrington announced the dissolution of their partnership effective in July of the following year.[11]: 923 Harrington would continue working with his colleague, draftsman Frank Cortelyou, in new firm known as Harrington, Howard & Ash (which would eventually become HNTB).[3][12]
Intercity Viaduct, of which the one on the right was designed by the firm
Waddell and Son (1915)
In 1915, Waddell promoted Needham Everett to junior partner, renaming the firm Waddell & Son. That same year, they celebrated the opening of the LS&MS Railway Bridge No. 6 in Chicago, IL,[10] and a satellite office in New York City, though the younger Waddell reportedly stayed behind to manage the Kansas City office through at least 1918.[13] In 1916, Shortridge Hardesty (who had previously been hand-picked to join the firm shortly after his 1908 graduation from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute[14]: 63 ) was promoted to Designing Engineer.[15]
The firm did well, receiving many contracts during the post-war economic revival,[10] and the New York office became its headquarters in 1920.
After the death of his son, Waddell continued to lead the firm, promoting Hardesty to Partner.[15] They continued to create important bridges; the CRRNJ Newark Bay Bridge (1926), original Goethals Bridge and Outerbridge Crossing (1928), and Marine Parkway Bridge (1937). In 1931 Waddell was personally honored with the American Association of Engineers' Clausen Gold Medal award for "distinguished service to the engineering profession",[16] and again in 1937 with the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Norman Medal. He died in 1938 at the age of 84,[17] leaving Hardesty to run the company.
In the following decades, the company developed many other moveable and fixed bridges across New York State and beyond. One of its earliest forays into moveable architecture was an amusement ride for the 1964 New York World's Fair that took the form of a Ferris wheel, known as the Uniroyal Giant Tire.[19]
In 2022, Hardesty & Hanover unveiled a new corporate brand & logo that complements recent company growth. Going forward, branding will identify the firm as H&H, with Hardesty & Hanover, LLC remaining the legal name. In 2022, the firm also received notification from the United States Patent and Trademark Office that the firm had been awarded a trademark designation for the key phrase “Designed to Amaze, Engineered to Last®” which had been used across the firm for more than four years. While the firm and its employees have multiple patents, this is the first trademark awarded to H&H. With 600 employees, the firm has 33 offices in the US and the UK.
