FINAL UPDATE: The further research and effort that went into the new wiki has completely outdated this early effort. I am leaving it in place for archival purposes, but it is a mere curiosity, not a useful guide to Frank Gilbreth's career. See the considerably updated and “live” listing of the wiki (link above) instead.
After ten years of apprenticeship and a rise through the ranks to site superintendent, Frank Gilbreth owned and managed his own commercial construction firm from 1895 until about 1911, when he turned exclusively to efficiency engineering and management consulting. In those fifteen or so years, his firm built some of the largest construction projects in the US, including entire mill towns.
A complete list of Gilbreth construction projects has never before been assembled. Most accounts rely on the selected list mentioned in Edna Yost's 1949 biography and passing references in the writings of Frank and Lillian Gilbreth. This list of 90 (possibly 91) projects was created by combing newspapers and trade journals for the relevant period, with followup research on each project located. This is believed to be the first extensive and nearly complete list of Gilbreth projects since the original firm's long-lost records.
Between the few projects that are well-known or even famous and the many that are relatively mundane will be found others that are unique, important and fascinating. Many of these are forgotten as Gilbreth's work but represent amazing construction history, skill and problem solving. Even after more than a century, many of these buildings, dams and other projects still stand, mostly across the Eastern seaboard. Some are even on the National Register of Historic Places, some in small part because they are Gilbreth's work.
This list is subject to continuing verification and expansion, for which I invite any and all assistance; please contact me for specific research priorities. Given its unique genesis based on significant research effort, notice of use of any of this material and specific citations would be greatly appreciated; also note that there is extended material available on a great number of these entries. Please note that project numbers are for convenient reference and are not (at this time) permanently assigned.
An academic paper based on this material has been published by Construction History Journal in the Spring 2021 issue:
And the extensive research notes that led to this list, that paper and considerable material for the book have been published as a wiki parallel to to this website, and can be found in the RESOURCES menu above.
| Project 01 | Unknown |
| Location | Auburn, New York |
| Dates | July 1895 |
| » | Ad calling for carpenters in Auburn in July, 1895. No other details known. |
| Project 02 | Prescott Hall dormitory |
| Location | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Dates |
Noted as under construction May 1896. Ready for occupancy by September. |
| » | Four-story dormitory for Harvard student housing on the corner of Prescott and Broadway. Still stands, and in original use. First known complete project for Gilbreth as independent contractor. |
| Project 03 | Webster Building |
| Location | Boston |
| Dates | 1896 |
| » | Five-story building on Warren Street. |
| Project 04 | Craigie Hall dormitory(masonry work) |
| Location | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Dates | 1897 |
| » | Five-story dormitory for Harvard; work as mason only. Still stands. |
| Project 05 | Brimmer Chambers apartments |
| Location | Boston |
| Dates | 1898 |
| » | Six-story apartment building in Beacon Hill. Still stands as a condo. |
| Project 06 | Women’s Club building |
| Location | Boston |
| Dates |
Contracted 1898 Completed 1899 |
| » | Ten-story fireproof building at 13 Beacon Street. |
| Project 07 | Boston Dispensary |
| Location | Boston |
| Dates | 1898-9 |
| » | Expansion of hospital for the poor at Bennett and Ash Streets, built in 1883. |
| No contracts or references to jobs have been located in the period between early 1899 and the start of 1902. | |
| Project 08 | Lowell Memorial Electrical Engineering Laboratory |
| Location | Boston (original MIT campus) |
| Dates | June 1902 |
| » | Electrical engineering labs and campus powerhouse. Noted speed-building record of under sixty days. |
| Project 09 | Brick Chimney & Powerhouse for Cambridge Light & Power |
| Location | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Dates | 1902 |
| » | Powerhouse with 255-foot brick chimney, noted as “the tallest in greater Boston” on the cover of Field System (1908). |
| Project 10 | Expansion of the Towns Hotel |
| Location | Bellows Falls, Vermont [now Rockingham] |
| Dates | 1901-2 |
| » | Added fourth floor to renovated hotel. Noted in November 8, 1902 letter in Field System. |
| Project 11 | Enlarged power station canal |
| Location | Garvin’s Falls, New Hampshire |
| Dates | 1902 |
| » | Noted in November 8, 1902 letter in Field System. |
| Project 12 | Extension of Mill for the Boston Manufacturing Company |
| Location | Waltham, Massachusetts |
| Dates | 1902 |
| » | Extensions and improvements of “large mill that had to be kept operating during construction.” |
| Project 13 | Factory for Cluett, Peabody & Company |
| Location | Leominster, MA |
| Dates | 1902 |
| » | Factory for the makers of Arrow collars and shirts, headquartered in Troy, New York. |
| Project 14 | Building for Lever Brothers |
| Location | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Dates |
1903 |
| » | Possible first US building (office, factory, warehouse) for the firm. One record notes FBG as the builder but no corroboration has been located. |
| Project 15 | Paper mill for Megargee Paper Company |
| Location | Modena, Pennsylvania |
| Dates |
Contract awarded March, 1903 Completed in 1903 |
| » | “Dove” Mill #1. |
| Project 16 | Mill Dam for the Potter Hill textile mill |
| Location | Westerley, Rhode Island |
| Dates |
Contract July 1903
|
| » | Concrete dam on Pawcatuck River. Still exists. |
| Project 17 | Moses Taylor Hospital |
| Location | West Seneca, New York (now Lackawanna) |
| Dates | Contract awarded October, 1903 |
| » | Hospital contracted for $40,000, for the railroad and steel mill workers and their families. |
| Project 18 | Irons & Russell Building |
| Location | Providence, Rhode Island |
| Dates |
Contract awarded October, 1903 Completed 1904 |
| » | Demolition of existing buildings at Chestnut and Clifford and construction of large 5-story building for jewelry manufacturer/wholesalers. Still stands. |
| Project 19 | Columbian Rope Company factory |
| Location | Auburn, New York |
| Dates | 1903-4 |
| » | Rope plant with eight acres of floor space. Production started “ten months and six days” after plans were started. Later expanded (see below). |
| Great Baltimore fire, February 1904. | |
| Project 20 | Piper Building |
| Location | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Dates | Contract awarded April, 1904 |
| » | Five story building plus a basement at the corner of Baltimore and Hanover streets. |
| Project 21 | Warehouse |
| Location | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Dates | Contract awarded April, 1904 |
| » | Three story brick warehouse at 121 South Gay Street. $5,000 contract. |
| Project 22 | Warehouse for John Duer and Sons |
| Location | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Dates | Contract awarded May 1904 |
| » | Six story warehouse at 36-38 South Charles Street. |
| Project 23 | Building for D.A. Sargent/Normal School for Physical Education |
| Location | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Dates | 1904 |
| » | College building (not a gymnasium, as sometimes noted) . |
| Project 24 | Ray Memorial Building |
| Location | Franklin, Massachusetts |
| Dates | 1904 |
| » | First dedicated home of the Franklin Public Library, the oldest continually operated public lending library in the U.S. The building still stands. |
| Project 25 | Storage Tanks & Pumping Plant for Boston Molasses Company |
| Location | Boston |
| Dates | 1904 |
| » | Large dockside concrete foundations, storage tanks, sheds and
pumping plant . (This is not the company or tank of the 1919 molasses flood.) |
| Project 26 | Factory for the Auburn Hame Company |
| Location | Auburn, New York |
| Dates | 1904 |
| » | Brick factory, 80 x 500 feet, (A hame is the wooden curve of a horse yoke.) |
| Project 27 | Hydropower dam |
| Location | Cadyville, New York |
| Dates | 1904-5 |
| » | Power generation dam on Saranac River. Still stands. |
| NOTE: An update and renumbering of this list is in progress, complete only to this point. See the parallel wiki for more complete listings as they are updated in parallel. | |
| A job list dated January 7, 1905 lists some fifteen jobs by name and city only. Some can be located and verified in other accounts. A number have no further corroboration. | |
| Project 26 | Two buildings |
| Location | Rumford Falls, Maine |
| Dates | 1905 |
| » | Two mercantile buildings for Rumford Falls Power Company. Noted in January 7, 1905 list. |
| Project 27 | Mill |
| Location | South Boston |
| Dates | < 1905 |
| » | Four story mill for Walworth Manufacturing Company. Noted in January 7, 1905 list. |
| Project 28 | House and stable |
| Location | Boston |
| Dates | < 1905 |
| » | House and stable for E.J. Bliss on Commonwealth Ave. $80,000 contract. Noted in January 7, 1905 list. |
| Project 29 | Powerhouse |
| Location | Lyons, New York |
| Dates | < 1905 |
| » | Powerhouse and machinery foundation for Syracuse, Rochester and Eastern Railroad. Noted in January 7, 1905 list. |
| Project 30 | Auto garage |
| Location | Boston |
| Dates | < 1905 |
| » | Garage at 482 Beacon Street. Noted in January 7, 1905 list. |
| Project 31 | Dormitory |
| Location | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Dates | 1905? |
| » | Seven story dormitory building. Noted in January 7, 1905 list. |
| Project 32 | Powerhouse |
| Location | East Orange, New Jersey |
| Dates | < 1905 |
| » | Powerhouse for the City of East Orange, New Jersey. Noted in January 7, 1905 list. |
| Project 33 | Factory |
| Location | Brooklyn, New York |
| Dates | < 1905 |
| » | Factory for Kursheedt Manufacturing Company. Noted in January 7, 1905 list. |
| Project 34 | Concrete canal |
| Location | Taylorsville, Pennsylvania (now Washington Crossing) |
| Dates | 1905? |
| » | Concrete canal for Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company. Possibly Hough’s Creek Aqueduct, connecting the Delaware River to the Delaware barge canal. |
| Project 35 | Factory |
| Location | Brooklyn, New York |
| Dates | 1905 |
| » | Six story manufacturing plant for John J. Latteman Shoes at St. Edwards and Sycamore Streets. |
| Project 36 | Plant |
| Location | Oneida, New York |
| Dates | June 1905 |
| » | New plant for Oneida Community Company Ltd. $35,000. |
| Project 37 | Factory and warehouse |
| Location | Montréal, Québec, Canada |
| Dates | July 1905 |
| » | Six-story brick factory and warehouse for the Walter F. Lowney chocolate and candy company. Factory built from foundation to complete shell from July 1 to 26; was ready for occupancy in 56 days. Factory was in operation until 1962. Converted to trendy condos in about 2006. |
| Project 38 | Mill & mill town |
| Location | Sprague’s Falls, Maine (now Woodland/Baileyville) |
| Dates |
Contract awarded February 1905. Construction begun March, 1905. Construction complete December 1905. |
| » | Dam, paper mill, adjunct buildings and thirty-two houses at falls on St. Croix River for the newly formed St. Croix Paper Company. Very remote, raw location. Teams arrived in March and built cabins on eight feet of snow. Mill was in operation by early in 1906. 1,600-foot dam still exists and mill still in operation on site. |
| Project 39 | Mill support buildings & mill town |
| Location | Piercefield, New York |
| Dates |
Contract August 1904 Completed 1905 |
| » | Power house with a tall chimney, stables, storehouse, office building and thirty-two houses—essentially the entire town of what is now Piercefield, around a newly built International Paper Company paper mill and dam. The mill buildings are long gone, but the dam, resulting “flow” (mill pond) and town, (still of about thirty houses) survive. |
| Project 40 | Dams and powerhouse |
| Location | Berlin, New Hampshire |
| Dates | 1905 |
| » | Two concrete dams, crib dam and powerhouse, with generating machinery on the Androscoggin River for International Paper Company mill. Still stands. |
| Project 41 | Rail car barn & substation |
| Location | North Syracuse, New York |
| Dates | Contract May 1905 |
| » | Railcar barn and substation for the New York Central Railroad with concrete roof for fire safety. |
| Project 42 | Roper Hospital |
| Location | Charleston, South Carolina |
| Dates |
Contract awarded May 1905 Completion announced on February 1906 |
| » | Hospital on the corner of Lucas and Calhoun streets. In December, with construction approaching completion, there was a dispute over the total cost. A lawsuit reached Federal District Court and was not resolved until 1913. Gilbreth was held to the contract amount and refused additional payment of $15-20,000. |
| Project 43 | Dam |
| Location | Milton, Massachusetts |
| Dates | 1905 |
| » | Concrete hydropower dam for Walter Baker Chocolate Company. Still stands. |
| Project 44 | Alexander residence |
| Location | New York City |
| Dates | 1906? |
| » | Grand residence for C.B. Alexander, 4 West 58th Street at 5th Avenue. $600,000. |
| Project 45 | Barge canal |
| Location | Sulphur, Louisiana |
| Dates | Contract awarded October, 1905 |
| » | Dredging and possible construction of a barge canal between sulfur production works at Sulphur, Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico for the Union Sulphur Company.The project was halted within the year and not completed until the 1920s. |
| Project 46 | Factory building |
| Location | Stamford, Connecticut |
| Dates | 1905 |
| » | Factory for Yale & Towne. |
| Project 47 | Factory |
| Location | Sioux City, Iowa |
| Dates | Contract May 1905 |
| » | Reinforced concrete manufacturing plant for Simmons Hardware Company of St. Louis. $300,000 contract. |
| Project 48 | Factory buildings |
| Location | Stamford, Connecticut |
| Dates | 1906 |
| » | Two additional buildings, one of reinforced concrete, for Yale & Towne. At least one had the first floor put into service while construction continued on the second level. |
| Project 49 | Textile mill |
| Location | Rockville, Connecticut |
| Dates | 1906 |
| » | Four story textile mill of reinforced concrete with chimney, and possibly concrete replacement for existing stone dam. In use until 1962, then stood abandoned until it was modernized and converted to loft condos in 2016. |
| Project 50 | MIT Naval Engineering Building |
| Location | Boston |
| Dates | July, 1906 |
| » | Brick building for the MIT school of Naval Engineering, well off campus near Park Square. Photos show completion from foundation to full structure from July 1st to 25th. Used Gilbreth’s system of precast concrete/hydro-driven piles. No corroborating information (from contemporary newspapers, etc.) of this building. |
| Project 51 | McGraw Building (Engineering Record) |
| Location | New York |
| Dates | 1906 |
| » | Ten-story reinforced concrete building in Manhattan. Contract canceled in November after significant construction. Gilbreth won subsequent lawsuit in 1908. |
| Project 52 | Georgetown Steam Plant |
| Location | Seattle, Washington |
| Dates |
Ground broken March 30, 1906 In operation 1907 |
| » | Steam power generation plant for Seattle Electric Lighting Co. Job started without decision as to build brick or reinforced concrete; 1906 earthquake and difficulty of getting ironwork for brick construction pushed decision to concrete. Uses 64-foot cast beams, then longest in existence. Many pictures in Concrete System. |
| San Francisco fire and earthquake of April, 1906. | |
| Project 53 | Mutual Life Insurance Building aka "Canadian Commerce Building" |
| Location | San Francisco |
| Dates | 1906-07 |
| » | Demolition project to remove top six of eight stories of surviving but gutted building at the corner of Sansome and California Streets. Undertaken to allow FBG to study its steel frame for quake and fire resistance. It is unclear if the building that stands there now is the rebuilt base or an entirely new building after further demolition. (Other references to a "Canadian Commerce Building" project almost certainly mean the reconstruction of this one, as the Canadian Bank of Commerce was a tenant.) |
| Project 54 | Two warehouses |
| Location | San Francisco |
| Dates | Contract June 1906 |
| » | Two three-story reinforced concrete warehouses built for Timothy Hopkins. $500,000 contract. One (or part of one) may still stand on Townsend Street. |
| Project 55 | Three buildings |
| Location | San Francisco |
| Dates | Contract June 1906 |
| » | Three buildings for Henry Sonntag. One was at Sansome and Jackson and appears to stand there now. Another was on (now-vanished) Oregon Street. The location of the third is not known. |
| Project 56 |
St. Clair Building aka Boyd Building |
| Location | San Francisco |
| Dates | Completed July 1907 |
| » | Eight story office building at the corner of California and Drumm Streets, all concrete including cornice. Built for the Boyd estate but known publicly as the St. Clair Building in others. FBG had offices in the building once complete. |
| Project 57 | North Beach Electric Power Station |
| Location | San Francisco |
| Dates | In operation October 1907 |
| » | Steam power generation plant built for the new City Electric Company. Reinforced concrete and used 48-foot cast roof beams. |
| Project 58 | Citizen’s Bank |
| Location | Alameda, California |
| Dates | 1907 |
| » | Neoclassical building entirely of concrete, including an elaborate cornice, for $40,000. Monolithic casting in place of front columns. Still stands at Park Street and Santa Clara Avenue after being quadrupled in size (in matching style) by Bank of America in 1924. |
| Project 59 | Wilson Building |
| Location | San Francisco |
| Dates | 1907/8 |
| » | Seven story building at 973 Market Street, originally built in 1901 for the Breuner furniture store. Gutted in 1906 fire and rebuilt to preserve the façade of elaborate terra cotta panels and columns. Still standing; converted to loft apartments about 2013. |
| Project 60 | Union Square Hotel |
| Location | San Francisco |
| Dates | ca. 1907 |
| » | Four story hotel. |
| Project 61 | Pacific Grand Hotel |
| Location | San Francisco |
| Dates | Opened July 1907 |
| » | Five story hotel of 150 rooms, on Ellis Street near Powell Street. Built in five and a half months. |
| Project 62 | Cement Plant |
| Location | Unknown |
| Dates | 1907 |
| » | Cement plant for Pennsylvania Cement Company. Details unknown. |
| Project 63 | Paper mill |
| Location | Canton, North Carolina |
| Dates |
Contract ca. March 1906 1907 |
| » | Paper (pulp) mill for the Champion Fibre Company. Largest wood-pulp plant in the country at the time of construction, with $2 million aggregate cost for 35 buildings, companion to Ohio finishing plant below. |
| Project 64 | Paper mill |
| Location | Hamilton, Ohio |
| Dates |
Contract September 1906 1907 |
| » | Paper (finishing) mill for Champion Coated Paper Co mill. One-quarter mile long along the Great Miami River, including a hydraulic wall along the water. Mostly reinforced concrete and steel, with rail tracks elevated on concrete trusses against floods.Building stands and is being rebuilt into an enormous indoor sports pavilion in 2019. |
| Project 65 | Railway power station |
| Location | Plymouth, Massachusetts |
| Dates | 1907 |
| » | Power station for Plymouth and Brockton Street Railway. Produced electricity three months after start of work. |
| Project 66 | Railway power station |
| Location | Canton, Massachusetts |
| Dates | 1907? |
| » | Power station for Blue Hill Street Railway. Shown largely complete “after 36 days.” |
| Project 67 | Factory addition |
| Location | Auburn, New York |
| Dates | 1907 |
| » | Large three-story plus basement addition to Columbian Rope building. |
| Project 68 | Factory |
| Location | Stamford, Connecticut |
| Dates | Contract April 1907 |
| » | Extensions to two factories for Yale & Towne. (At least two more buildings for Y&T are referenced in job listings but have not been confirmed.) |
| Project 69 | Factory |
| Location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Dates | Contract February 1907 |
| » | Five story reinforced concrete building for S.L. Allen and Company. $140,000 job. (Allen made Flexible Flyer sleds as year-round adjunct to agricultural equipment including the patented “Planet Jr” seed drill.) Still standing but vacant; facility is decaying and fire-damaged. |
| Project 70 | Paper mill |
| Location | Glen’s Falls, NY |
| Dates | 1907? |
| » | Sulfite paper mill for the Union Bag and Paper Company. Known as the Fenimore mill for its location between Glens Falls and Hudson Falls. The mill was at the time “one of the largest and best equipped paper mills in the state.” |
| Project 71 | Factory |
| Location | North Bennington, Vermont |
| Dates | Contract November 1907 |
| » | New factory with brick walls and concrete floors and structure for the H.C. White Company. $35,000 project. |
| Project 72 | Factory |
| Location | Gardner, Massachusetts |
| Dates |
Contract June 1907 Construction March 1908 |
| » | Brick factory with steel structure for Heywood Brothers & Wakefield Co, of Wakefield Massachusetts, makers of rattan and wicker furniture. Four story plus basement factory and office building. First FBG job that attempted to implement part of the Taylor System, but resistance from workers and unions led to abandonment of pay incentives. |
| Project 73 | Factory |
| Location | Eastport, Maine |
| Dates | Contract February 1908 |
| » | Can factory for Seacoast Canning Company. Still standing, one of the last fish plants/canneries left. Being converted to hotel and conference center. Added to National Register of Historic Places 2016 in part because Gilbreth built it. |
| Another job list from late 1908 lists several dozen jobs by name and city only. Again, some can be located and verified in other accounts but a number have no further corroboration. | |
| Project 74 | Exposition building |
| Location | Boston |
| Dates | Contract May 1908 |
| » | Exposition buildings for “First World’s Shoe and Leather Fair” along the Charles River. Contract first let to another Boston builder who was found to be doing inferior work (pilings shorter than required). Fair was delayed one year, from July 1908 to July 1909, while Gilbreth took over, removed inferior work and completed the buildings. |
| Project 75 | Two warehouses? |
| Location | Boston |
| Dates | Probably 1907 (< 1909 ) |
| » | Project for New England Confectionery Company (NECCO). Listed in 1908 ad. |
| Project 76 | Unknown |
| Location | Dalton, Massachusetts |
| Dates | < 1909 |
| » | Project for Z. & W.M. Crane paper company. Listed in 1908 ad. |
| Project 77 | Unknown |
| Location | Dalton, Massachusetts |
| Dates | < 1909 |
| » | Project for Dalton Power Company. Listed in 1908 ad. |
| Project 78 | Unknown |
| Location | Boston |
| Dates | < 1909 |
| » | Project for Columbia Electric Vehicle Company. Listed in 1908 ad. |
| Project 79 | Power station |
| Location | Boston |
| Dates | < 1909 |
| » | Power station for Boston Steam & Power Company. Listed in 1908 ad. |
| Project 80 | Unknown |
| Location | Lowell, Massachusetts |
| Dates | < 1909 |
| » | Project for the Lowell Bleachery Company. Listed in 1908 ad. |
| Project 81 | Powerhouse? |
| Location | Houghton, Michigan |
| Dates | < 1909 |
| » | Powerhouse(?) for Houghton County Street Railway. Listed in 1908 ad. |
| Project 82 | Unknown |
| Location | Waltham, Massachusetts |
| Dates | < 1909 |
| » | Project for the Boston Manufacturing Company. Listed in 1908 ad. |
| Project 83 | Unknown |
| Location | Syracuse, New York |
| Dates | < 1909 |
| » | Project for the Bay Road Construction Company. Listed in 1908 ad. |
| Project 84 | Paper mill |
| Location | Ridgefield, New Jersey |
| Dates | < 1909 |
| » | Paper plant for H.G. Lowe Paper. Listed in 1908 ad. |
| Project 85 | Cotton mill |
| Location | Paterson, New Jersey |
| Dates | Contract July 1908 Construction begun December 1908 Probably completed February 1909 |
| » | One-story brick mill extension for H.E. Danner Textile Company. |
| Project 86 | Box Factory |
| Location | Chelsea, Massachusetts |
| Dates | December 1908-March 1909 |
| » | Complete rebuild of Atwood-McManus Company box-making plant, destroyed in the second Chelsea fire. Power plant, two “very tall” chimneys, receiving building, office building, stable, sawdust and kindling wood building, two story factory, warehouse. First successful implementation of Taylor-Gilbreth pay incentive system after FBG negotiations with four labor unions. |
| Project 87 | Dam and powerhouse |
| Location | Columbia, New Jersey |
| Dates | Contract October 1909 |
| » | “Ransom hollow dam” 30 feet high and 350 feet long for the Warren County Power Company on Paulin’s Kill (a tributary of the Delaware River), reinforced concrete powerhouse and tailrace. Demolished in 2018. |
| Project 88 | Dam and powerhouse |
| Location | Creighton, Georgia |
| Dates | Contract February 1910 |
| » | “Ransom hollow dam” 42 feet high and 600 feet long and a reinforced concrete power house on the Etowah River. |
| Project 89 | Paper mill |
| Location | Three Rivers (Trois-Rivières) Québec, Canada |
| Dates |
Contract September, 1910 In service early 1912 |
| » | Paper (pulp) mill for the Union Bag & Paper Company, at Cap de la Madeleine, Trois-Rivières, Québec. Appears to still be in operation. Possibly the last major construction project for FBG. |