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By 1962, the company had grown to five employees working on fifty
projects a year with annual billings approaching $150,000. As the staff
size increased to meet a growing demand for services, the partners
decided to construct their own building. Unable to afford property in
Des Plaines, they chose a site in Northbrook, Illinois, where developers
were hoping to convert a small, abandoned airport into an industrial
park. One of the special features of the 10,000 square foot building
was a structural testing laboratory.
Shortly after moving to the new headquarters, the National Academy of
Sciences retainedWJE to conduct full-scale load tests on three buildings
at the site of the 1964 New York World’s Fair. To date, it was the company’s
largest project with a fee of $280,000. The successful project was heralded
as an innovative engineering feat, and established the reputation of Wiss,
Janney, Elstner and Associates as a leading investigative and testing firm.
Years later, Jack Janney considered it the job that “put WJE on the map.”
Throughout the 1960s, WJE continued to build upon its growing national
reputation for structural testing and investigation. Notable assignments
included the investigation of glass breakage at a federal office building in
Pittsburgh; blast monitoring for the U.S. Bureau of Mines nationwide; and
a wind tunnel study for Lake Point Tower in Chicago. Among the firm’s
new high profile clients was the Chicago Park District, which engagedWJE
to conduct numerous condition assessments and load tests of Soldier
Field. Certification of the structural safety of the stadium prior to the start
of Chicago Bears’ football season became an annual assignment for WJE.
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
A new office and laboratory
facility was constructed
in Northbrook, Illinois.
Staff size was twenty
employees, with annual
billings surpassing
$500,000.
Martin Luther King, Jr.,
delivered his “I have a dream”
speech at the Lincoln Memorial.
President Kennedy was
assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
Lyndon B. Johnson became
the thirty-sixth president of
the United States.
The Beatles performed on
The Ed Sullivan Show
.
The Civil Rights Act was
passed.
The U.S. military sent an
increasing number of soldiers
to fight in Vietnam.
The National Historic
Preservation Act was
enacted.
Martin Luther King, Jr.,
and Robert F. Kennedy
were assassinated.
Richard M. Nixon was
elected thirty-seventh
president of the United
States.
Neil Armstrong walked on
the moon.
Woodstock music festival
was held.