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Emil August Nordstrom scrapbook, 2013

 

Summary

Abstract:
This small scrapbook contains clippings and information about Nordstrom's engineering work and structures he was involved with in the City of St. Petersburg between 1926 and 1937. Although none of the clippings appear to be about Nordstrom in the narrowest biographical sense, most describe construction projects and engineering work in St. Petersburg during a decade between the mid-1920s and mid-1930s in some way.
Extent:
1 folders
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Emil August Nordstrom Scrapbook, Nelson Poynter Memorial Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL.

Background

Scope and content:

The contents occupy a single scrapbook (0.10 linear ft.).

Biographical / historical:

Emil August Nordstrom (born 1883/84, died Aug. 26, 1973) was a former structural engineer for the City of St. Petersburg, and was instrumental in the planning and construction of many well‐known city landmarks. He earned a degree in civil engineering in 1915 from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York. In 1925, a severe bout of arthritis forced him to leave a job at B.F. Goodrich in Akron, Ohio, in order to accept a structural engineer position in St. Petersburg and enjoy the better climate in the Sunshine City. During his three years1 with the city, Nordstrom oversaw work on all bridges being built in St. Petersburg, including the so‐called "Thrill Hill" bridge at Third Street (which he designed), Booker Bridge and the reconstructed bridge at Smack's Bayou. He also designed a new sewage treatment plant that was slated for Seventh Street South, and oversaw design on a 20‐story Florida Mutual building (at First Avenue North, between Fifth and Sixth Streets) that was to be St. Petersburg's tallest building at the time. By 1928, Nordstrom left his job with the city in order to join forces with Elliott Hadley, a well‐known St. Petersburg architect. Together, they formed Hadley and Nordstrom (later Hadley, Nordstrom and Atkinson), a firm that put architects and engineers under one roof. Among their more prominent contributions to the St. Petersburg include the Snell Isle Bridge and the Snell Isle Country Club. Other projects include the Temple Beth‐El and the designing of a new municipal pier. Nordstrom left the firm in 1939. Nordstrom was elected by the city council to become the engineering member of the general contractors examining board in 1933, and served as the first president of the Southwestern Florida Association of Engineers, an organization designed to protect the people of the west coast of Florida against illegal practices by unqualified engineers and surveyors. He was later appointed executive director of the Housing Authority of St. Petersburg. He retired at age 80.

Access and use

Restrictions:

None.

Terms of access:

None. The contents of the collection may be subject to copyright. Visit the United States Copyright Office's website at http://www.copyright.gov/ for more information.

Preferred citation:

Emil August Nordstrom Scrapbook, Nelson Poynter Memorial Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL.

Location of this collection:
140 7th Avenue South
St. Petersburg
FL
33701
USA