Our History

George B. Walbridge and Albert H. Aldinger pooled their resources to form Walbridge-Aldinger Company in March 1916. These two founders came from different backgrounds, worked together for a time, parted ways and then reconnected in the midst of a booming time in southeast Michigan.

Walbridge grew up in Pennsylvania and attended Lafayette College in Easton. He was a gridiron star at Lafayette, being named both team captain and an All-America halfback in 1896. Walbridge went on to earn a degree in civil engineering from Cornell University in 1900. Then, he went to work for the noted D.H. Burnham & Co. architectural firm in Chicago. That’s where his path crossed for the first time with Aldinger.

Aldinger was born in Stuttgart, Germany, immigrated to the United States with his parents and settled in Indiana. In 1898, he graduated from Purdue University with a degree in civil engineering. After a stint in bridge construction, Aldinger was hired at Burnham.

Both men worked on large-scale projects for Burnham. Then, in 1905 Aldinger left to work for Well Brothers & Company. Walbridge left to work for the Hedden Construction Company in New York City.

In 1907, Aldinger exhibited his entrepreneurial spirit for the first time by venturing to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, where he co-founded the construction firm of Carter-Halls-Aldinger Company with partners William H. Carter and Frank Halls. From 1909 to 1914, the trio built commercial office buildings, a building for the Manitoba Free Press, and two hotels.

Walbridge later joined the George F. Fuller Construction Company in New York, where he became vice president. Fuller, one of the largest contracting firms in the United States, sent Walbridge to Detroit in 1914 to manage its office and oversee several large projects.

About a decade removed from working together at D.H. Burnham & Co., Walbridge and Aldinger reconnected in Detroit. The city was booming at the time. Auto plants needed to be built. A massive in-flow of labor was converging on the city and new commercial opportunities were abundant. Walbridge and Aldinger jumped at the chance to forge something special together.

On March 11, 1916, the Walbridge-Aldinger Company held its first official meeting of shareholders. The four shareholders in this new venture were Walbridge, Aldinger, and Aldinger’s Canadian partners, Carter and Halls.

Within the first 10 months in business, Walbridge-Aldinger was awarded more than 20 sizeable contracts, including one to build the new 13-story Book Building and adjoining 38-story Tower on Washington Avenue in downtown Detroit.