Draftsman and Surveyor’s Assistant, Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul Railroad, Chicago, IL, c. 1880-1881; Assistant Engineer, Chicago and Evanston Railway, Chicago, IL, c. 1881-1883; City Engineer, City of Eau Claire, WI, 1886-1888; Engineer, Keystone Bridge Company, Pittsburgh, PA, 1888-1889; Partner, [Charles G.] Wade and Purdy, Engineers, Chicago, IL, 1889-1891; Partner, Purdy and [John T.] Phillips, Engineers, Chicago, IL, 1891-1893; Purdy specialized early in his career in bridge design. He also applied his skills to skyscrapers, working as the structural engineer for the innovative steel frame of the 13-story Tacoma Building, Chicago, IL, (Holabird and Roche, Architects), 1887-1889. Partner, Purdy and Henderson, Engineers, Chicago, IL, 1893-1944; Purdy and Henderson opened a New York, NY, office in 1894 and moved its base of operations to the city by about 1896. This New York office designed the structural scheme for the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, NY. (Schultze and Weaver, Architects, 1893-1897). In 1899, Purdy also supervised the start-up of a New York office for his friend, George Fuller (1851-1900), the Boston building contractor. (Purdy would maintain a close relationship with the prolific Fuller Company.) By 1900, Purdy and Henderson had obtained consulting work all over the US and in several foreign countries, most notably Cuba; by 1910, the firm had its New York headquarters and four other offices: Havana, Boston, MA, Chicago, IL, and Seattle, WA; it was through this Seattle office that Purdy and Henderson consulted on West Coast projects. The Purdy and Henderson firm closed shortly after Purdy's death.

Following high school, Purdy taught for two years in Grand Rapids, WI-area schools, and did various pursuits to earn money for the University of Wisconsin. Purdy also taught at Cornell University.

Member, American Society of Civil Engineers; Member, Institute of Civil Engineers of Great Britain; Member, Western Society of Engineers; Member, Engineers' Club of New York; Member, University of Wisconsin Alumni Club of New York; Member, Arctic Club, Seattle, WA;

Telford Premium Medal, Institute of Civil Engineers, London, UK, 1909;

Purdy attended primary and secondary schools in WI, c. 1877. A.B. University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 1885; B.S., Civil Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 1886.

Purdy was born in the town of Grand Rapids, WI, what became known as Wisconsin Rapids, WI. He moved to Chicago, IL, as a young man, doing formative engineering jobs, then relocated to Madison, WI, to attend university. He graduated from Madison and moved to Eau Claire, WI, where he worked as the City Engineer for two years, before taking another job at one of Andrew Carnegie's steel bridge making companies in Pittsburgh, PA, in 1888-1889; he moved from Pittsburgh back to Chicago to work in three partnerships doing engineering consulting. He relocated the headquarters of his engineering company, Purdy and Henderson, to New York, NY, just after the Panic of 1893, when construction activity plummeted in Chicago following the building boom of the Columbia Exposition. He relocated his residence first to Montclair, NY, by about 1896, then acquired a gentleman's farm in Monroe, NY, where he unwound from a frenetic pace at work. He would reside at this farm for most of his remaining years. He died at his residence in Melbourne, FL, at the age of 85.

Corydon T. Purdy was the eldest of three children of Samuel J. and Emma Tyler Purdy. Samuel (born in NY, c. 1825- 01/02/1906) grew up in New York State, but had become a carpenter and joiner in WI by 1859. (The US Census of 1850, indicated that a Samuel Purdy had been incarcerated at Ossining in 1845 for petty larceny; this man had been born in New York City according to the form.) Emma Purdy (born c. 1828 in NY) worked in the home. According to the US Census of 1860, the Purdys had a residence worth $1,200 and savings of $500. Samuel and Emma had a full house in Grand Rapids, WI, in 1870, with 11-year-old Corydon, 5-year-old Emma, and 1-year-old Benjamin, as well as a 16-year-old domestic servant, Deborah Crow, and a boarder, 25-year-old Eusebe Brier, a Canadian-born carpenter. Working as a farmer, Samuel lived by himself in 1880 in Seneca, WI, as Emma had died by this time. Daughter, Emma, and son, Benjamin, did not live with their father at this time.

Purdy married his first wife, Eugenie Cushing Purdy, (c. 1860-06/21/1890), a graduate of Oberlin College in 1881. They wed on 05/30/1889, and immediately thereafter took a horse and buggy tour of New England, returning to Oak Park, IL, to set up their household. (See Richard G. Weingardt, "Corydon Tyler Purdy," Leadership and Management in Engineering, vol. 10 no. 3, 07/2010, p. 125.) She died suddenly after only a year of marriage, leaving Purdy a widower. He married a second time, Rose E. Morse, in 1892.

Corydon and Rose Purdy had one son, Corydon Phillips Purdy, who lived in Fort Lauderdale, FL, in 1944. Corydon Phillips was named in honor of Corydon T. Purdy's one-time partner, John T. Phillips, who died prematurely in 1893. His grandson was named Corydon P.T. Purdy.

Engineer and engineering historian Richard G. Weingardt noted of Purdy: "Through his influential, pace-setting designs and professional practices, he did significantly more than any other engineer in his time to advance multistory structural design into a scientific endeavor. He helped establish the profession of consulting structural engineering as a vital business endeavor in the United States and almost singlehandedly secured universal recognition for the importance of engineering counsel in structural matters for all types of buildings. Through his efforts, architects, builders, developers, and owners were brought to recognize the importance of employing structural engineers on large construction work, especially high-rises." As buildings could became built with stronger steel alloys, they also could become taller. (Elevators were also crucial to this growth.) With exponential increases in height and complexity, structural (and other) engineers became vital consultants. Weingardt also stated: "Of particular concern became the handling of lateral loads, wind and seismic forces, differential temperature changes, column shortening, and material fatigue nuances. Needing sophisticated structural design analysis and detailing were such things as innovative beam-column moment connections and/or beam-column knee bracing—or full-bay x-bracing or the use of thin masonry or concrete shear walls—to stabilize buildings while still allowing for the architecture desired. Analysis of side-sway, deflections, and vibrations became crucial design issues. Instead of architects being able to depend on large steel companies for their steel design needs and structural drawings, as they had in the past, professionally-trained consulting engineers were needed and began being used extensively. Purdy was the early leader and champion in this movement and in efforts to get U.S. engineering colleges to offer advanced steel and multistory design coursework." The author concluded that, "During his career, he was involved in the design of more skyscrapers than anyone else in the world, by far." (See Richard G. Weingardt, "Corydon Tyler Purdy," Leadership and Management in Engineering, vol. 10 no. 3, 07/2010, p. 124.)

• Wisconsin Rapids, WI (Architect's Birth)
  Wisconsin Rapids, WI

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• Melbourne, FL (Architect's Death)
  Melbourne, FL

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