The company experienced tremendous expansion in the 1890s, growing in Chicago and opening satellite operations in virtually every major city on the Great Lakes. Drews, Lydon & Drews' first project was construction of an off-shore tunnel to extend the water intake at Chicago Avenue to a new intake farther out in Lake Michigan. and a major international competitor.įounded in 1890 as the partnership of William A. Through this period, Great Lakes has grown to be the largest dredging contractor in the U.S. Great Lakes has played a major role in creating shorelines and waterways through both its dredging and construction activities. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company's operations span the period between 1890 and the present day, and have helped shape the living environment and transportation resources of communities across the world, including America's largest cities and their ports. Several additional films are present on DVD, but it is unclear whether this duplicates any of the preivously mentioned material. For the 8 and 16mm films and MiniDV tapes in the collection, the content is mostly unknown since they cannot be accessed. The videotapes are copies of the content on 35mm films found in the collection. THe final portion of the collection consists of films and videotapes of GLD&D projects. Other records include calendars, pubilcations, publicity and marketing, case histories, and lists of projects. Photographs span 1906-1998.Īnother portion of the collection contains a run of corporate records, most notably the Board of Directors Minute Book for 1905-1918. Most of the images were created by professional studios and by staff photographers of GLD&D, resulting in excellent quality. Significant works include land reclamation for the extension of Lincoln Park and the building of Lake Shore Drive, bridge superstructures for the Michigan and Torrence Avenue Bridges, and the straightening of the South Branch of the Chicago River. As a result, projects in the Chicago area are especially well-documented. Most of the jobs undertaken by GLD&D up until the mid-20th century were centered around Chicago and Wisconsin, as the corporate headquarters of the company was located there until the late 20th century. A wide range of projects is represented, from building seawalls for residential customers to conducting large-scale land reclamamtion operations for locations both foreign and domestic, including Lincoln Park, Chicago Hart Miller Island, MD and Doha, Qatar.

The bulk of the collection is made up of photographs documenting nearly a century of marine construction work conducted by Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company (GLD&D).

Great lakes dredge and