History

On March 16, 2024, LAN celebrated its 89th anniversary.

LAN’s History

Founded in 1935, LAN has grown from its humble beginnings as a small Houston firm to a national leader in the civil infrastructure engineering industry. LAN has worked to build a reputable, multi-disciplinary firm that draws on the expertise of individuals to develop designs and solutions that are entirely based on the needs of our clients and the general public. With more than 85 years behind us, our journey has been one filled with milestones. Click through the timeline below to learn more.

1999

AUSTIN OFFICE OPENED

LAN opened a new office in Austin, Texas at a temporary location in 1999. The office moved to its new permanent address in early 2000.

1997

DALLAS ARCHITECTURAL GROUP JOINS LEO A DALY AND OMAHA CIVIL ENGINEERING GROUP JOINS LAN

In 1997, the Dallas Architectural Group became a part of the LEO A DALY Company, and the Omaha Civil Engineering Group joined LAN. This established an office for LAN in Omaha, Nebraska. Also in 1997, Geogram was sold.

1991

LAN MERGES WITH LEO A DALY COMPANY

In 1991, the LEO A DALY Company, a national architectural and engineering firm, acquired LAN, which then became the wholly owned subsidiary of the Daly organization. This enhanced LAN’s ability to provide services for a wide range of projects and assignments throughout the U.S. and internationally.

1982

HOUSTON OFFICE MOVED TO NEW LOCATION

LAN headquarters moved to another location at 1500 CityWest Boulevard in 1982.

1979

NEW OFFICE OPENED IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

In 1979, LAN established an office in San Antonio to carry out the Sanitary Sewer System Evaluation Survey and the San Antonio Wastewater Improvement Program. LAN was the lead firm in a joint venture with two San Antonio firms.

1978

FENSTEN ENGINEERING ACQUISITION ADDS OFFICES IN DENVER AND LOS ANGELES

LAN acquired Fensten Engineering Co. in Denver, Colorado and Carter Engineers in Los Angeles and San Diego, California in 1978 to expand its services geographically. These offices were closed in 1984 and 1985, respectively.

1977

LAN INTERNATIONAL ESTABLISHED AS SUBSIDIARY OFFICE OPENED IN RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

In 1977, LAN merged with the Houston-based architectural firm, Koetter, Tharp, Cowell & Bartlett, Inc. (KTC). KTC operated separately until 1982 when it co-located as a division of LAN. The acquisition of KTC represented the achievement of a long-standing goal to develop LAN into a full-service professional design firm. Also…
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1974

HOUSTON OFFICE MOVED AGAIN

To gain more space for the growing firm, the Houston office moved to a new multi-story building at 1900 St. James Place near the Galleria area. Additional space was leased nearby at 1900 Yorktown.

1973

GEOGRAM AND SETTLES ENGINEERING COMPANY ACQUIRED; FOWLER & GRAFE, INC. PURCHASED

In 1973, Geogram Corporation, a small surveying company in Houston, was acquired. Geogram Corporation was sold in 1997. LAN also acquired Settles Engineering Co. in Brownsville in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. The operation was sold in 1984. That same year, LAN purchased Fowler & Grafe, Inc., a well-known consulting…
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DALLAS, TEXAS

In 1973, LAN opened its office in Dallas, TX.

1969

SUCCESSION OF LEADERSHIP

In 1969, the firm suffered the loss of its distinguished Founder and first President Mason G. Lockwood. Since his death the leadership of the firm has been as follows: Frank H. Newnam, Jr. President — 1969-1973 Chairman of the BOD — 1973-1974 Edward A. Brinkman President — 1973-1974 Chairman of…
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1966

OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT PLAN INITIATED

In order to avoid the problems that have beset engineering firms upon the death or retirement of the original principals, a plan initiated in 1966 by Mason Lockwood and Frank Newnam detailed a process for the orderly transfer of ownership and management. LAN remained a wholly employee-owned company until its…
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LOWRY & SEALE ACQUIRED

In 1966, LAN acquired Lowry & Seale, Inc., a surveying company in Victoria. The company was subsequently merged into Geogram Corporation, another surveying subsidiary. The Corpus Christi and Victoria surveying operations were subsequently sold in 1984.

1964

ASTRODOME SETS NEW STANDARDS FOR STADIUM DESIGN

The firm provided the excavation and sub-drainage (sunken playing field), electrical design and plans and specifications for the Astrodome, Houston’s unique, domed stadium. Electrical design included the $2,000,000 scoreboard. Land development became more and more important as numerous housing areas and business parks were planned and detailed plans and specifications…
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1961

LAN FURNISHES MANAGING PARTNER AND PROJECT MANAGER FOR HOUSTON INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT

For the master planning and complete design of the Houston Intercontinental Airport, the firm participated in a joint venture called Engineers of the Southwest with two other Houston engineering firms. Two firms furnished the architectural services to the City. LAN furnished the Managing Partner and the Project Manager. This arrangement…
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1956

FIRM CHANGES ITS NAME TO LOCKWOOD, ANDREWS & NEWNAM

In 1956, the name of the firm was changed to Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam (called LAN hereafter). Until 1960, the three partners remained owners of the firm, assisted by key personnel or division heads. After the death of the original partner and founder Bill Andrews in that year, it was…
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HEADQUARTERS MOVED TO NEW LOCATION

The Houston office moved from the Union National Bank building in the downtown district to 1010 Waugh Drive, three miles from downtown to a building specifically designed for LAN.

1950

MAJOR PROJECTS INCLUDE LAKE HOUSTON PUMP STATION; MASTER PLANS FOR THE PORT OF HOUSTON AND STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND BASES

The firm was now off and running with a constantly increasing number of jobs and an ever-increasing list of clients. A major 1950s project was the intake structure and main pumping station at Lake Houston with 12 miles of concrete-lined canal from the pumping station to the city’s treatment plant.…
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1948

VICTORIA, TEXAS

In 1948, an office was opened in Victoria, Texas, initially to provide topographic and property surveys for the duPont plant near Victoria. The office was sold in 1984.

LAN MEETS THE CHALLENGES OF GROWTH BY ACQUIRING FIRMS AND OPENING OFFICES IN NEW CITIES

In its professional engineering capacity, the firm has been associated with some of the major development accompanying the remarkable industrial and commercial expansion of the Texas Gulf Coast and southwestern United States. Paralleling this growth, the firm established offices in other Texas cities or, when necessary, acquired other design firms…
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1946

FRANK NEWNAM, JR. JOINS AS A PARTNER—HIS EXPERTISE HELPS DIVERSIFY FIRM

With the growth of the firm, Mason Lockwood and Bill Andrews realized they needed additional help to run it. Frank H. Newnam, Jr., a classmate of Bill Andrews at Texas A&M, had been Chief of the Engineering Division at the Galveston District, US Army Corps of Engineers and subsequently, Chief…
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1945

HARRIS RESERVOIR PROJECT ADDS RESERVOIRS, PUMP STATIONS AND LARGE WATER SUPPLY LINES TO COMPANY RESUME

These were other war-related projects, such as reservoirs, pump stations and large water supply lines from river sources to the ship channel and other industries, and product lines between distant industrial plants. The Harris Reservoir on the Brazos for the Dow Plant at Freeport was one of the water supply…
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1941

MULTI-DISCIPLINE ENGINEERING ESTABLISHES FIRM’S IDENTITY

The San Jacinto Ordnance Depot catapulted the firm into the field of major civil engineering projects and established it as one of the few multi-discipline firms in the southwest. Contracts for the design of additional military projects followed. They formed the main workload for the firm for the rest of…
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SAN JACINTO ORDNANCE DEPOT IS AWARDED AS A MAJOR CONTRACT

The Depression, with its accompanying unemployment, was still dominating the economy in 1940, but the threat of war initiated major military construction programs. In the spring of 1941, Lockwood & Andrews, along with the consulting engineering and surveying firm of David M. Duller, were awarded the engineering contract for the…
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1936

TIMES WERE TOUGH, BUT LOCKWOOD AND ANDREWS PERSIST AND THE COMPANY GROWS

As would be expected, the first few years were very tough. Dr. Dowdell withdrew in 1936 and the name of the firm was changed to Lockwood & Andrews. Through persistent effort, they obtained additional clients and work. Retainer arrangements were made in many cases, which placed the firm on call…
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1935

THE GREAT DEPRESSION – LOCKWOOD AND ANDREWS VENTURE OUT IN A NEW BUSINESS ENDEAVOR

With a vision of the future, a small consulting firm opened its doors in 1935. The firm’s founders — Mason Graves Lockwood, a 1927 graduate of Rice Institute with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and William McIntosh Andrews, a 1931 graduate of Texas A&M with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering…
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