Lockwood, Greene & Company was an American engineering firm. It was active under various names from 1871 to 2017.
History Lockwood, Greene & Company The firm that would become Lockwood, Greene & Company was established in 1871 in Boston as the mechanical engineering practice of Amos D. Lockwood. Lockwood, a native of Rhode Island, was self-trained in mechanical engineering and had extensive experience managing textile manufacturing and construction operations. Extenuating circumstances obligated him to move his residence to Providence in 1873 to manage his manufacturing interests.
His office remained in Boston until 1875, when he relocated it to Providence, where he established A. D. Lockwood & Company to manage all of his business interests. His partner was John W. Danielson, his son-in-law, who had at least fifteen years of similar experience. In 1879 Lockwood hired the engineer Stephen Greene, formerly associated with civil engineers Niles B. Schubarth and David M. Thompson. March 1, 1882, a new partnership was organized between Lockwood, Danielson and Greene, known as Lockwood, Greene & Company. Lockwood died January 16, 1884, in Providence. In 1886 Greene moved to Newburyport to be closer to the firm's business interests. In 1889 Danielson retired, selling his interest to Greene. The following January Greene moved the office to Boston, where it would remain. Lockwood, Greene & Company was incorporated January 1, 1901, in Massachusetts. Stephen Greene was the first president, and Frank E. Shedd the first vice president. Stephen Greene died unexpectedly November 7, 1901, at his home in Newton Center, where he had lived since relocating in 1890. His eldest son, Edwin Farnham Greene, was elected president in January, 1902.
In 1892 George W. Stevens, former engineer for the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company of Manchester, New Hampshire, was hired as general superintendent of construction for southern work."Obituary," Engineering News 38, no. 15 (October 7 1897): 127. When Stevens died in 1897, Joseph Emory Sirrene of Greenville, South Carolina, was hired as his replacement the following year. In 1899, when a southern office was established, it was established at Greenville under Sirrene's direction.Samuel B. Lincoln, Lockwood Greene: The History of an Engineering Business, 1832-1958 (Brattleboro: Stephen Greene Press, 1960)
The first twenty years of Edwin F. Greene's presidency was a period of major growth of the company. Lockwood, Greene & Company had established its first branch office in 1899, at Greenville, South Carolina, to serve as the firm's southern office. This was followed by a third office in Chicago in 1911,"Opens a Chicago Office," National Corporation Reporter 43, no. 11 (October 26 1911): 363. and in 1912 the southern office was relocated to Atlanta and the Boston office was moved into the new First National Bank Annex at 60 State Street, taking three full floors of the new building."Real Estate Transactions," Boston Daily Globe, October 24 1912, 17. In 1913 offices were added in Montreal"Trade Notes," Steel 53, no. 12 (September 18 1913): 532. and New York."Mill Notes," American Wool and Cotton Reporter 27, no. 8 (February 20 1913): 265. In 1919, after the close of World War I, offices were added at Cleveland, Detroit and Paris, the latter to manage reconstruction work. In 1920, offices were added at Charlotte and Philadelphia. In 1923, the southern headquarters was moved from Atlanta to Spartanburg, though the Atlanta office was retained.
Lockwood, Greene & Company Inc. In 1915, Greene organized a new Lockwood, Greene & Company Inc., with four subsidiary companies: Lockwood, Greene & Company, engineers, for design and construction; Lockwood, Greene & Company, managers, for management of manufacturing facilities owned or leased by the firm; Lockwood, Greene & Company of Canada Ltd. for foreign work; and the Greelock Company, a holding company for mill securities.
In 1918 Frank W. Reynolds, an employee since 1885 and head of the drafting room since the 1890s, encouraged the establishment of an architectural department. To lead this, in early 1919 Walter W. Cook was hired. This new department was in charge of exterior design in collaboration with the firm's other engineers.
Lockwood Greene Engineers Inc. In the 1920s, textile manufacturing revenues declined in New England and elsewhere, leaving the firm in a precarious financial condition. In early 1926, with the company under the control of a creditor's committee, the engineering and management subsidiaries were dissolved, their assets merged with those of the parent company. Edwin F. Greene stepped down as president, and Albert L. Scott, chairman of the former engineering subsidiary, succeeded him. Several branch offices were closed. These changes proved to be insufficient, and conditions worsened. By 1928, only the engineering department was generating a profit. As a result of these realities, in 1928 the firm was again reorganized. A new holding company, Building Engineers Inc., was formed by the directors, to which the engineering department sold. This new organization was then named Lockwood Greene Engineers Inc."Heard on the Street," Boston Globe, August 4 1928, 10. Within a month, Lockwood, Greene & Company gave up management of its remaining mills, effective October 1, 1928, leaving the old firm solely a holding company for mill securities."Heard on the Street," Boston Globe, September 16 1928, a59. Additionally, at this time the New York office was designated headquarters in place of Boston.
In the reorganization the architectural department was merged with the engineers, and Walter W. Cook and his chief assistant George F. Blount left to establish their own firm, known as Cook & Blount, in New York. Their work was part of the architecture event in the art competition at the 1928 Summer Olympics.
After the death of Scott in 1946 his replacement as president was Chester S. Allen."Record Reports," Architectural Record 99, no. 6 (June 1946): 142. In 1949 Allen was succeeded by Samuel B. Lincoln."Notices," Progressive Architecture 30, no. 6 (June 1949): 16. William J. Heiser was elected president in 1955,Engineering News-Record 154, no. 8 (February 4 1955) J. Robert Potter in 1961,"Notices," Progressive Architecture 42, no. 7 (July 1961): 200. and H. Morgan Rogers Jr. in 1968.Engineering News-Record 181, no. 19 (November 7 1968) In the decades after World War II, the company once again grew rapidly.
Later years In 1973, Morgan moved the headquarters to Spartanburg from New York.Judith T. Bainbridge, "Lockwood Greene," The South Carolina Encyclopedia (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2006), also at South Carolina Encyclopedia. In 1981 Lockwood Greene was acquired by Philipp Holzmann AG, a German contractor. In 1982, Donald R. Luger was elected president to succeed Morgan.Tappi 65, no. 5 (May 1982): 213 In January 1999 Holzmann merged Lockwood Greene with J.A. Jones Construction of Charlotte, North Carolina, a property of Holzmann since 1979.Carolyn Farr Smith, "Lockwood Greene, J.A. Jones to merge," goupstate.com, Spartanburg Herald-Journal, January 19 1999, accessed June 12 2021. The last president of the company was Fred M. Brune, named to that office in June of the same year.Carolyn Farr Smith, "Consulting firm president has grand designs for the future A new leader at Lockwood Greene," goupstate.com, Spartanburg Herald-Journal, July 24 1999, accessed June 12 2021. Holzmann declared insolvency not long after and was liquidated in 2002. Facing its own problems, Jones declared bankruptcy in 2003, after which Lockwood Greene was sold to CH2M Hill at a cost of $95.5 million."CH2M Hill Wins Prize In Bankruptcy Contest Lockwood Greene is sold by bankrupt J.A. Jones for $95.5 million as bid trumps two competitors," enr.com, Engineering News-Record, December 22 2003, accessed June 12 2021. In 2007 the firm was renamed CH2M Hill Engineers. It became CH2M Engineers in 2015, and was folded into Jacobs Engineering Group in 2017 along with the rest of CH2M.
Legacy A number of its works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Works American Legion Building (built 1937), 94 W. Park Dr. Spartanburg, South Carolina (Lockwood, Greene and Company), NRHP-listed Amity Leather Products Company Factory, 723-735 S. Main St. West Bend, Wisconsin (Lockwood Greene), NRHP-listed Arlington Mills Historic District, Broadway between Manchester, Stafford and Chase Sts. Lawrence and Methuen, Massachusetts (Lockwood-Green Company), NRHP-listed Athenaeum Press (built 1895), 215 1st St. Cambridge, Massachusetts (Lockwood,Greene,& Co.), NRHP-listed Atlantic City Convention Hall, Georgia and Mississippi Aves. and the Boardwalk Atlantic City, New Jersey (Lockwood-Greene & Co.), NRHP-listed Charlotte Supply Company Building, 500 S. Mint St. Charlotte, North Carolina (Lockwood, Green & Co.), NRHP-listed Cincinnati Enquirer Building (built 1926), 617 Vine St. Cincinnati, Ohio (Lockwood Greene & Co.), NRHP-listed Columbia Mills Building, on the Congaree River, Columbia, South Carolina (Lockwood, Greene & Co.), NRHP-listed Dallas Mill, 701 Dallas Ave., Huntsville, Alabama (Lockwood & Greene), NRHP-listed Dan River Mill No. 8 (Boundary Increase), 424 Memorial Dr. Danville, Virginia (Lockwood, Greene & Company), NRHP-listed Dobson Mills, 4001-4041 Ridge Ave.; 33502-3530 Scott's La. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Lockwood, Greene & Co.), NRHP-listed One or more works in Lawton Mills Historic District, Roughly bounded by Second St., Railroad Ave., Norwich Rd. and Fifth and Ninth Sts. Plainfield, Connecticut (Lockwood, Green), NRHP-listed Life Savers Building, N. Main St., Port Chester, New York (Lockwood, Greene & Co.), NRHP-listed One or more works in Loray Mill Historic District, Roughly bounded by W. Franklin Blvd., S. Vance and S. Trenton Sts., and W. 6th Ave. B Gastonia, North Carolina (Lockwood, Greene and Co.), NRHP-listed One or more works in Merrimack Mill Village Historic District, Alpine St., Triana Blvd., Dunn Dr., Cobb Rd., Drake Ave., & Grote St. Huntsville, Alabama (Lockwood Greene Co.), NRHP-listed Monaghan Mill, 201 Smythe St. Greenville, South Carolina (Lockwood, Greene & Co.), NRHP-listed New England Confectionery Company Factory, 250 Massachusetts Ave. Cambridge, Massachusetts (Lockwood, Greene & Co.), NRHP-listed Pacolet Mill Office, 180 Montgomery Ave. Pacolet, South Carolina (Lockwood, Greene & Co.), NRHP-listed Pelzer Mill Buildings 1-4 in Pelzer, South Carolina (Lockwood, Greene & Co.), destroyed Sacco-Pettee Machine Shops, 156 Oak St. Newton, Massachusetts (Lockwood, Greene & Co.), NRHP-listed Savona Mill, 528 S. Turner St. Charlotte, North Carolina (Lockwood, Greene & Co.), NRHP-listed One or more works in Shawmut Historic District, Roughly bounded by 25th Blvd., 29th Blvd., 20th Ave., 35th St., and 38th Blvd. Valley, Alabama (Lockwood, Greene & Company), NRHP-listed Southern Belting Company Building, 236 Forsyth St., SW Atlanta, Georgia (Lockwood, Greene & Co.), NRHP-listed One or more works in Stark Mill and Mill Village Historic District, Roughly bounded by Lincoln, Askew, Church, Keith, and Brazil Sts, Whaley Ave. and the Hogansville city limits Hogansville, Georgia (Lockwood, Greene & Co.), NRHP-listed Structural Science Building, Clemson University Clemson, South Carolina (Lockwood, Green and Company), NRHP-listed Joseph Sykes Brothers Company Building, 1445 S. Mint St. Charlotte, North Carolina (Lockwood, Greene and Company), NRHP-listed Textile Mill Supply Company Building, 1300 S. Mint St. Charlotte, North Carolina (Lockwood-Green & Co.), NRHP-listed Montgomery Building, Spartanburg, South Carolina, NRHP-listed Frank Evans High School, Spartanburg, South Carolina, NRHP-listed Drayton Mill, Spartanburg, South Carolina, NRHP-listed
See also Boardwalk Hall built 1926 New England Confectionery Company Factory Life Savers Building built 1920