Joachim Gotsche Giæver

Constructed the Framework of Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World

Joachim Gotsche Giaver, the son of Jens Holmboe Giaver and Hanna Birgitte Holmboe, was born On August 15, 1856, in Jövik, a small town owned by his family, near Tromsö, Norway. His father, of a prominent Norwegian family, was a large landholder and one of the leading figures in the fishing industry in Northern Norway. Tutored at home, Mr. Giaver entered the Trondhjem Technical College, at Trondheim, Norway, from which he was graduated in 1881 with the degree of Civil Engineer.

As the engineering field in Norway was limited at that time he came to America in 1882, and found employment as Draftsman for the Pacific Railroad Company at St. Paul Minn. At the close of 1883, Mr. Giaver left for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to become a Draftsman for the Schiffler Bridge Company and from 1885 to 1890 served as Chief Engineer of that Company.

During that period he designed several of the bridges over the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers at Pittsburgh, and by odd coincidence one of his first engagements was the design of the structural framework for the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.

Mr. Giaver forged rapidly to the front as one of the leading structural designers of the United States and, in 1891, he went to Chicago, Illinois, to become Assistant Chief Engineer of the famous World’s Columbian Exposition. Having been one of the first to recognize the importance of wind bracing in the structural frameworks of buildings he was in charge of perfecting this feature in the structural design of the buildings for the Exposition. He designed the three-hinge arch in the dome of the Liberal Arts Building which at that time was the largest truss of its kind in the world, having a span of 368 feet.

Following the Exposition, Mr. Giaver was engaged in the general contracting business from 1893 to 1896 and served as the Bridge Designer for the Sanitary District of Chicago from 1896 to 1898. In the latter position he designed the various bridges over the Chicago Drainage Canal.

During the World’s Columbian Exposition, Mr. Giaver had become acquainted with and worked with Chicago’s famous architect, the late Daniel H. Burnham, and, in 1898, he became Chief Engineer for the firm of D. H. Burnham and Company, which position he held for 18 years, until 1915. During this time, Mr. Giaver’s engineering work was in the practical development of the modern skyscraper from the old spread-footing foundation, cast iron column, wrought iron structural framework to the modern caisson foundation and the structural steel framework.

As Chief Engineer of the Burnham Company he had charge of over 400 of the largest buildings in the United States, among which were the Flat Iron, Gimbel, Maiden Lane, and Equitable Buildings in New York, New York; the Field Museum, Continental and Commercial National Bank, Railway Exchange, Peoples Gas, Conway, Field, and other buildings in Chicago, Illinois; the Union Station and Post Office in Washington D. C.; the Frick, Oliver, Smithfield, and First National Bank in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; the May Company in Cleveland, Ohio; and the Wanamaker and the Land Title Buildings in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the most interesting designs was that for the dome of the Mount Wilson Observatory in California.

In 1915, Mr. Giaver interested himself in the questioning and licensing of structural engineers in the State of Illinois. He was the leader in securing the passage in 1915 of a bill to this effect by the Illinois State Legislature, and the result of which structural engineers are allowed to practice their profession on equal terms with the architects in that State. Prior to this it had been impossible for engineers to practice in building operations, except as employees of an architect, as under the former law, building plans could not be lawfully approved unless bearing the signature of a licensed architect.

In 1920, Mr Giaver was decorated with the order of Knight of St. Olaf, 1st class, by His Majesty King Haakon VII, of Norway, in recognition for his prominence as an engineer and his activities in behalf of Norwegians in the United States.This is the highest honor accorded by the Norwegian Government to a non-citizen of that country, Mr. Giaver having received his final papers as a citizen of the United States in 1896.

After the death of Mr. Burnham in 1915, Mr. Giaver established offices in Chicago as a Consulting Engineer, and, in 1916, organized the architectural and engineering firm of Giaver and Dinkelberg. His last work as a member of this firm, finished only a few months before his death, was the engineering design of the Jewelers Building being erected on Wabash Avenue and Wacker Drive, of Chicago, which will be the tallest office building west of New York.