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The Founders & History of the Nishkian Firms Levon Hall Nishkian San Francisco was a city just a few days away from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake when Levon H. Nishkian, PE, re-opened the firm his father, and his grandfather before him, had established. Under the firm name of Nishkian Menninger and with his partner for the endeavors Kevin Menninger (see below), Levon H. Nishkian renewed the firm which has been a success since 1919. Opening the firm, with the imposing task of measuring up to his grandfather Levon H. Nishkian, whose biographers considered "an outstanding Structural Engineer," and "one of the greatest Structural Engineers of his time," was a daunting enough goal. But, add to that the additional measure of his father, Byron L. Nishkian, who was qualified as: "industrious in his work, regardless of hours and conditions, " and one whose "integrity is unquestionable and that his morals are above reproach." Such conditions must certainly have affected the drive and initiative to equal and eventually exceed the firm’s founders accomplishments. Levon graduated with a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Arizona in 1974. Although an active sportsman, avid skier and golfer (as his father and grandfather were respectively) he found his chosen field one in which he was quick to learn and in which he is eagerly interested. Immediately upon graduation he joined his Father’s firm, Nishkian Hamill & Associates. His first project was for Schlagg Lock’s office building, a straight-forward project to learn the ropes of the business. He later was significantly involved with the design and development of the Termann School of Engineering Building for Stanford University, a project requiring both problem solving and the proper representation of the field of engineering in the project’s design and implementation. And Levon continued to work, and he worked and he worked. Levon stayed with the firm when it merged with Martin Engineering to become Martin, Cagley, Nishkian, and became a Vice President and principal owner when his father, Byron, retired in 1981. Levon ran the San Francisco office, managing many significant projects. He also saw the office through an additional merger and name change to Martin, Middlebrook and Nishkian. In 1989 Levon resigned his position, in the current incarnation of his grandfather’s firm, to rejuvenated the family established firm as a private enterprise. Nishkian says he made the change because the Martin firm had grown very large, with offices all over the country and one partner operating out of Los Angeles. "It’s nice to do it on your own," Nishkian says, hoping to offer a more personalized service with attention to detail than he feels can be provided by a large corporate structure. What does he do with his spare time? In addition to his lengthy responsibilities as President of the firm, Levon is also on the Board of Director’s of Fort Mason, the Council of Directors of the Yosemite Fund, Chairman of the Retirement Fund of the ASCE (following in his grandfather’s tradition). Levon is an active sports and outdoor enthusiast as well. The firm has moved a few times since it first began. The first office under Levon was, fortuitously enough, located in 150 4th Street, the site of his grandfather’s business in the 1930s. The company grew well in it’s first years and established the reputation for the firm. In 1993 Nishkian and Associates moved to the Nishkian Building at #1 Holland Court as part of their expanding needs, and changed the firm’s name to Nishkian Menninger; in order to more properly reflect Kevin Menninger’s position as Vice President with the firm. Unfortunately for the firm, in 1997, the City of San Francisco took over the area as part of the "eminent domain" campaign for the Moscone Center and the firm had to move again. But, from an historical standpoint, the firm was continuing its association with the founder’s roots and traditions by moving into 510 Howard Street, a building designed by Levon’s grandfather. Continuing in the tradition of the area though; 510 Howard was torn down for the development of "Founder’s Square" and Nishkian’s firm moved again to their present location at 1095 Folsom Street. "The bright spot in the Founders Square move" says Levon, "was that we worked on the engineering for the project." Nishkian Menninger has enjoyed robust growth under Levon Nishkian and Kevin Menninger's leadership. A walk through downtown San Francisco is difficult to make without passing by building after building whose design, engineering, or structural rehabilitation was the work of the Nishkian firms. Often, it is the more difficult projects that come to their offices, keeping up with the tradition from the grandfather’s time: "the problems that stump most engineers, sooner or later found their way to Nishkian’s office to come out solved." The Nishkian Menninger partnership soon expanded to add, to the company roster, the name of Nishkian Dean, Portland, Oregon. This merger brought additional resources and markets and was the continuation of an association developed many years previously by Byron Nishkian. In 2002 Nishkian opened the office in Bozeman, Montana to serve the Intermountain Region. For information about today's team please go to this link: Sources: |
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