From wikipedia's article on Othmar Ammann, builder of graceful bridges:
Othmar Ammann was born nearby Schaffhausen, Switzerland in 1879. His father was a manufacturer and his mother was a hat maker. He received his engineering education at the Polytechnikum in Zürich, Switzerland. In 1904, he emigrated to the United States, spending his career working mostly in New York City. ... In 1924, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
Ammann designed more than half of the eleven bridges that connect New York City to the rest of the United States. His talent and ingenuity helped him create the two longest suspension bridges of his time. Ammann was known for being able to create bridges that were light and inexpensive, yet they were still simple and beautiful. He was able to do this by using the deflection theory. He believed that the weight per foot of the span and the cables would provide enough stiffness so that the bridge would not need any stiffening trusses. This made him popular during the depression era when being able to reduce the cost was crucial.
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| Delaware Memorial Bridge, 1951 |
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| Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, 1964 |
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| Triborough Bridge, 1936 |
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| Bayonne Bridge, 1931 |
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| George Washington Bridge, 1931 |
