ABSTRACT
In the United States, the professions of architecture and structural engineering have an intertwined past. This can distinctly be seen directly in the history of the first structural engineering license in the United States. It is a story of professional growth for the structure engineer, and professional redefinition for the architect. Architects were threatened by the encroachment of the jurisdiction of building design, which they had controlled since their licensing law in 1897. Yet by 1915, the advancements in structural design of materials of steel and concrete meant that there was a greater need for engineering participation in structural system design. The battle for the law, eventually undertaken by both fields, gives insight into the strained relationship between architects and engineers, the internal identity of the profession, and shows that structural design was not yet owned by one field.
