William LeMessurier-The Fifty-Nine-Story Crisis: A Lesson in Professional Behavior

William LeMessurier, one of the nation's most distinguished structural engineers, served as design and construction consultant on the innovative Citicorp headquarters tower, which was completed in 1977 in New York. The next year, after a college student studying the tower design had called him to point out a possible deficiency, LeMessurier discovered that the building was indeed structurally deficient. LeMessurier faced a complex and difficult problem of professional responsibility in which he had to alert a broad group of people to the structural deficiency and enlist their cooperation in repairing the deficiency before a hurricane brought the building down.

His story was recounted in detail in "The Fifty-Nine-Story Crisis," which appeared in the May 29, 1995 issue of The New Yorker, and on November 17, 1995, LeMessurier himself went to MIT, from which he received his doctorate, to speak to prospective engineers about the decisions he had to make and the actions he took.  In the video from that event seen below, LeMessurier discusses ethical dilemmas he faced with structural deficiencies in the design of the Citicorp headquarters.

The Story of the Citicorp Tower

Part 1: History of Skyscrapers

Part 2: LeMessurier's Innovative Citicorp Design

Part 3: The Discovery of the Change from Welds to Bolts

Part 4: Exploring the Effects of Quartering Winds

Part 5: Further Evidence of the Danger

Part 6: Mobilizing Support

Part 7: Accomplishing the Repair Without Causing Panic

Part 8: The Final Touch: LeMessurier's Good Name

Addendum:  The Diane Hartley Case

All images displayed herein, unless otherwise noted, courtesy William LeMessurier.This page and supporting pages were created by Eric Plosky for Caroline Whitbeck at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.