J. Rich Steers, Inc.
| Construction and civil engineering | |
| Industry | Construction |
| Predecessor | Henry Steers, Inc. |
| Founded | 1929 |
| Founder | J. Rich Steers,Jr. |
| Defunct | 1986 |
| Headquarters | New York City, USA |
J. Rich Steers, Inc. was a prominent New York-based contracting company focusing on waterfront work. It specialized in heavy maritime infrastructure projects such as bridge and pier construction, tunnel, foundation and sewer and drain work. The firm and its related businesses maintained offices at 17 Battery Place in lower Manhattan, until ceasing operations in 1986.
Of English descent, the Steers family had been involved in various maritime pursuits for over 200 years in England and the US, a long lineage that included involvement in the Plymouth Royal Dockyards. The family came to the United States in 1817, when naval architect Henry Steers relocated to New York City with his sons James Rich Steers (1808-1896) and George Steers. James would go on to co-found the boat-building concern George Steers and Co with George, who is perhaps best known as the designer of the yacht America, winner of the first America's Cup race. James Sr. was succeeded in the business by his own son Henry Steers, born in 1832.
A number of American Steers family members, including company founder and owner James Rich Steers Jr. (d. 1936), his brother, also named Henry Steers (1865-1928), and Henry Coster Steers (d. 1947), among others were graduates of Saint Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire.
First incorporated in 1904 as Henry Steers, Inc., the company changed its name to J. Rich Steers, Inc. in 1929, with the owner being James Rich Steers, Jr. At its height the company employed over 350 staff, drawing heavily upon construction industry personnel with backgrounds in the military, railroad and utility company construction fields. Later the family's concerns would also expand to include related company Steers Sand and Gravel, which maintained a plant in Northport, NY from 1923 onward, and the Steers Towing Company, founded in 1934.
The Steers firm often obtained contracts in partnership or joint venture with other construction companies, and the bulk of the company's work was focused on the New York City waterfront and environs. This included the construction of major portions of Manhattan's East River Drive. Work in the City's outer boroughs included the building of the Hunts Point Sewage Treatment Plant in the Bronx for the NYC Department of Public Works, as well as the creation of flood-prevention measures at La Guardia Airport on behalf of the Port Authority. In 1939 the firm participated in the construction of the Cross Bay Blvd. Bridge connecting Queens to the Rockaways for the New York City Department of Parks, designed by Madigan-Hyland.
...
Wikipedia