Modjeski and Masters Company Records
name: label: Creator
content: Modjeski and Masters
label: Collector
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of History of Technology
label: Collector
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering
label: Names
content: Masters, Frank, 1883-1974
label: Names
content: Modjeski, Ralph, 1861-1940
label: Interviewer
content: Vogel, Robert M.
place: label: Place
content: Harrisburg (Penn.)
label: Place
content: Pennsylvania
topic: label: Topic
content: Civil engineering
label: Topic
content: Bridge failures
label: Topic
content: Bridges
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated by Modejeski and Masters Consulting Engineers, through Joseph J. Scherrer, October 2, 1990.
creator: label: Creator
content: Modjeski and Masters
setName: label: See more items in
content: Modjeski and Masters Company Records
abstract: label: Summary
content: The records document the work of consulting engineers and bridge builders, Ralph Modjeski (1861-1940) and Frank Masters (1883-1974) of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Rudolphe Modrzejewski was born to Helena Jadwiga Opid (d.1909) and Gustav Sinnmayer Modrzejewski (d. 1901) on January 27, 1861, in Cracow, Poland. His mother was an internationally known stage actress who went by the name Helena Modrzejewska. In 1868, Helena married Count Karol Bożenta Chłapowski. In July 1876, Helena and Rudolphe emigrated to America, where, for purposes of American citizenship, the Polish form of their surname was later changed to Modjeski (feminine form Modjeska). Modjeski became a naturalized citizen in 1883 in San Francisco, California. 

In 1882, Modjeski returned to Europe to study at the Ecole Des Ponts et Chaussees and graduated in 1885 with a degree in civil engineering. Modjeski worked with prominent civil engineer and "Father of American Bridge Building," George S. Morison, on the Union Pacific Railroad Bridge over the Missouri River at Omaha as an assistant engineer.  He remained with Morison from 1885 to 1892. Some of his assignments included working in the shops which produced steel sections; the design office where he advanced to chief draftsman; and as an inspector of quality control in shops that fabricated steel elements. Modjeski worked with Morison on his Willamette, Nebraska City, Sioux City, Winona, Cairo, and Memphis bridges across the Mississippi River.  The Memphis bridge was the longest span cantilever in the country at the time.

In 1893, Modjeski opened a civil engineering practice in Chicago with S. Nicholson. After some financial difficulties, Nicholson and Modjeski dissolved their partnership. Modjeski's first individual large commission was the bridge at Rock Island, Illinois (1895) across the Mississippi River where he designed and supervised the construction of the bridge for the federal government and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway Company.

In 1902, Modjeski went into partnership with fellow civil engineer, Alfred Noble (1844-1914) forming the firm of Noble and Modjeski. He went into partnership with Walter Angier, under the name Modjeski and Angier, civil and inspecting engineers, between 1912 and 1924 with several offices around the United States. Angiers had worked with him beginning in 1902 on the bridge across the Mississippi at Thebes, Illinois. Modjeski partnered, in 1924, with Frank Masters (1883-1974), who had worked with him and Angiers between 1904 and 1914 on the Memphis and Louisville Bridges, forming Modjeski and Masters. Clement E. Chase and Montgomery B. Case later joined the firm as partners. In 1937, Masters assumed full control and ownership of the firm which specialized in the design and construction supervision of large bridges and other structures, rehabilitation and reconstruction of existing bridges, the design of highways and expressways, subways and wharves, the design of large and complex foundations, inspection of construction materials, and the creation of surveys, investigations and reports. 

Modjeski built and/or consulted on over forty bridges in his lifetime. He built truss, steel arch, and suspension bridges. He introduced steel tower pylons in place of masonry towers and he used better grades of steel, such as new steel alloys with improved strength and durability. He also introduced advancements in the design of cable configurations and deck-stiffening beams. Some of his major projects included: the Columbia River and Willamette bridges, McKinley Bridge at St. Louis; the Celilo Railroad Bridge at Celilo, Ohio; the Thebes Bridge over the Mississippi; the Quebec Bridge over the St. Lawrence River; the Delaware River Bridge; the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge, and the Mid-Hudson Bridge. 

On December 28, 1885, Modjeski married Felicie Benda (d. 1936) in New York and the couple had three children: Felix Bozenta Modjeski (1887);  Marylka Stuart Modjeski (1894) and Charles Emmanuel John Modjeski (1896-1944). Ralph and Felicie divorced in 1931. He later married Virginia Giblyn on July 7, 1931. Modjeski died in Los Angles on June 26, 1940.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 60 Cubic feet (140 boxes, 23 map folders)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1870-1979
label: Date
content: bulk 1900-1940
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: Transferred from Division of Work and Industry to the Archives Center in 2006.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0976
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Oral history
label: Type
content: Lantern slides
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Contracts
label: Type
content: Letterpress books
label: Type
content: Correspondence
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into ten series.

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1915-1986

Series 2: Letter Press Books, 1898-1906

Series 3: Photographs, 1878-1979

Series 4: Contracts, 1895-1960

Series 5: Printed Materials, 1862-1969

Series 6: Newspaper Clippings, 1924-1941

Series 7: Lantern Slides, undated

Series 8: Glass Plate Negatives, 1906-1926

Series 9: Film Negatives, 1924, undated

Series 10: Drawings, 1901-1952
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by NMAH staff.
label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Alison Oswald, 2015-2016.
bibliography: label: Bibliography
content: Barghouti, Kim, comp.  -- Nevada State Journal -- , 1870-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.

Duran, W.F.  -- Biographical Memoir of Ralph Modjeski, 1861-1940 -- . National Academy of Science, 1944. 

Głomb, Józef.  Translation by Peter J. Obst; edited by Halka Chronic.  -- A man who spanned two eras : the story of bridge engineer Ralph Modjeski --  Philadelphia, Pa. : Kosciuszko Foundation, Philadelphia Chap, c 2002, 1988.

Griggs, Frank. "Ralph Modjeski,"  -- Structure -- , January 2013. (last accessed on January 12, 2016, http://www.structuremag.org/?p=1182)

"Modjeski Dies, 79; Famous Engineer,"  -- New York Times -- , June 28, 1940.

Journal of the Franklin Institute -- , Vol. 194, July-December 1922, pages 372-374.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Oral history -- 1950-1970
label: Genre/Form
content: Lantern slides
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Glass
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Contracts
label: Genre/Form
content: Letterpress books
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- 19th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: This collection documents the civil engineering career of Ralph Modjeski (1861-1940) and Frank masters (1883-1974). The materials include bound volumes and loose photographs of bridge work-in-progress; printed reports; articles, pamphlets; drawings, blue prints and tracings of bridges;  letterpress books of correspondence; contracts; reports; studies of bridge materials; and glass plate negatives and lantern slides depicting bridges.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Materials in the Archives Center


Bollman Truss Bridge Collection, 1852-1986 (AC1064)

Canadian Bridges Photograph Albums, 1873-1911 (AC1025)

Victor C. Darnell Bridge Construction Photographs, 1911-1913 and undated (AC1018)

Beata Drake Covered Bridge Collection, 1954-1981 (AC0998)

Ben Franklin Bridge Photograph Album, 1922-1926 (AC1029)

Hartford, Connecticut Bridge Collection, 1903-1905 (AC1066)

Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad Bridge Profiles, 1877-1896 (AC1073)

Richard H. Miller Bridge Collection : postcards and slides, circa 1950-1988 and undated, #950

George S. Morison Collection, 1846-1903 (AC0978)

Niagara Falls Bridge Commission Records, 1848-1946 (bulk 1890-1929) (AC1060)

Northern Pacific Railroad Bridge Construction Photograph Album, 1883-1884 (AC1030)

David Plowden North American Bridge Photographs, 1970-1976 (AC1019)

Quebec Bridge Photograph Collection, 1905-1986 (bulk 1905-1916) (AC1026)

Railroad Bridges Construction Photograph Album, circa 1905-1914 (AC1024)

Samuel Reed Bridge Collection, 1947-1964 (AC1001)

Rip Van Winkle Bridge Photographs, 1933-1935 (AC1027)

John A. Roebling Collection,1836-1975 (bulk 1930-1950) (AC0981)

Holton Duncan Robinson Papers, 1889-1938 (AC0963)

Lucinda Rudell Covered Bridges Collection, 1942-1979 (AC1028)

Lester Shanks Collection of Covered Bridge Photographs and Ephemera, 1876-2010 (bulk 1973-2008) (AC1244)

Washington, D.C. Bridges Collection, 1900-1905 (AC01095)

Raymond E. Wilson Covered Bridge Collection, 1958-1974 (AC0999)

Materials at Other Organizations

Southern Illinois University, Morris Library Special Collections

Walter E. Angier photograph collection, 1901-1915

Walter E. Angier Vertical File Manuscript, 1924

Michigan Historical Collections, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan

Alfred Noble Papers, 1862-1922