From the Archive


A Treasure Trove of Archives

image
Click icon to read the full story.

Michelle Galindez, our director of marketing and communications, never thought of herself as a history buff until she discovered a huge collection of photos and articles from Syska’s past.

She first went through the collection during preparations for our 90th anniversary celebration in the spring of 2018. She returned to the collection more recently when researching the achievements of John Hennessy III and John Regan, whose obituaries appear in this issue.

The contents of the collection are fascinating, she reports. She’s been cataloging and organizing them, and she’s bought photo holders to protect the images. “I feel like I’m creating a book of Syska’s history in pictures, which is a truly rewarding endeavor,” she says. “But it also gives us insight into what engineering and society were like in different periods of the 20th century.”

We’ve decided to share one item from the collection in each issue of Connections, starting with this one. The image here is of a story that appeared in a Syska newsletter called EZ Riser in the 1980s. As you can see, the story covers the firm’s donation of mechanical and electric services to the renovation of the house of Steven McDonald, a New York City police officer who was shot and paralyzed in the line of duty.

“This is a great example of Syska’s longstanding tradition of pro-bono work,” says Michelle. “I can’t wait to share more stories and images that shed light on our culture across the decades.”

Keep your eye out for the new “From the Archives” column that will launch in our Fall issue. And maybe a book someday…

“I feel like I’m creating a book of Syska’s history in pictures, which is a truly rewarding endeavor”
Michelle Galindez, Director of Marketing and Communications