ABSTRACT
Edward Clapp Shankland (1854-1924) was a prominent structural engineer in Chicago, Illinois during a critical time in the transformation of architecture and construction technology. His career spanned the advent of steel-frame construction, the professionalization of the American engineer, and the standardization of engineering practice. His work, Skeleton Construction in Chicago (1896), presented to the British Institution of Civil Engineers reflected his own work in tall building design and the unsettled field of knowledge for such buildings. Shankland partnered with the architect Daniel H. Burnham and was the chief engineer for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Shankland designed several structures where the combination of engineering and architecture was essential including the Masonic Temple Building (1892) and Reliance Building (1895). Mentioned in many architectural and technical histories of this era, the literature on Shankland himself is scarce. A survey of E.C. Shankland's professional projects, his writings, and contemporary accounts shows that he was practicing at the highest level at a particularly important moment in architectural history. This initial study into Shankland provides an outline of his career as a first step to better understanding its arc, the significance of his work, and the form of structural engineering practice during this time of transformation for the industry.
