Found 2 collections related to Thomas Crimmins Contracting Company

Project logbooks, 1890-1906, of Thomas Crimmins Contracting Company and antecedent partnerships, a major New York City construction contracting firm specializing in excavation and foundation work for commercial and private properties and public works. Founded by Thomas Crimmins in the 1840s, the Irish-American family business rose to prominence under the direction of his son John D. Crimmins (1844-1917). It ceased construction work in the 1990s. The logbooks document work for over 200 projects, almost entirely at sites in Manhattan and the Bronx. There are a few sites in western Queens County, including the Crimmins Realty Company, as well as plans for a trolley line in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. Projects include large private residences, public libraries, schools, churches, hospitals, municipal buildings, factories, breweries, hotels, and charitable institutions, as well as major transportation and utility projects, reflecting the expansion of the City's infrastructure at the turn of the 20th century. Project logs, varying in detail, typically contain the project name, contract text, specifications, estimates, and work notes, with engineering plans for excavations, foundations, paving work, and grading levels, as appropriate. Later logs are usually only titled plans. The collection also contains loose notes and computations, a 1901 letter of introduction for an engineer, and an oversize loose plan. Each volume contains an index. less

John D. (John Daniel) Crimmins (1844-1917) was the leading partner of a major New York City construction contracting firm, from which he retired in 1897. He was a prominent philanthropist and supporter of Irish-American and Roman Catholic institutions. In 1868 he married Lily Louise Lalor (d. 1888); ten children survived them.The John D. Crimmins diary documents his business and social affairs in New York City, and family life at Firwood, his estate on Long Neck Point near Noroton and Darien, Connecticut. Diary entries, in a printed journal for the year 1894, span 1897 April 19-August 27 and October 1-2. They are written in four distinct hands, including a poem copied by Crimmins's daughter Mercedes for his birthday on May 18, and tasks for construction jobs noted on pages printed for 1894 September 13 and 14. Entries concern important dinners and events attended, with prominent guests such as former President Grover Cleveland, Mayor Patrick Gleason of Long Island City, Archbishop Michael A. Corrigan, and Judge Charles P. Daly; his presidency of the Second Avenue Railroad Company; his philanthropic activities; and a few construction matters. There is more extensive coverage of family events, the renovation of Firwood and its decoration, and the payment of servants and employees. Summer activities include numerous sailings with family and friends on his rented steam yacht Calypso, mainly to points on Long Island Sound. less