Laramore, Douglass and Popham (LDP) is a consulting engineering firm resulting from the merger of three firms which had independently established a considerable background in the engineering of utility, industrial, and institutional projects.

F. E. Laramore and F. S. Douglass were working as Chief Engineers for the Management Engineering Corporation. Between the two of them they had a vast amount experience in the deisgn and operation of steam electric generating stations, hydroelectric projects, transmission lines, gas plants and water works. Building on this knowledge, the two men established the consulting firm of Laramore and Douglass in Chicago in 1937. Recognizing the United States’ rapidly expanding need for electric power, Laramore and Douglass built an impressive reputation in the design of rural transmission and distribution systems. As the development of rural roads was amplified, L&D (and later LDP) designed and supervised construction of numerous steam-electric stations to serve the burgeoning electric power requirements of the agricultural revolution. In small municipal communities, LDP modernized outdated distribution systems and designed steam, diesel and gas turbine stations to meet the substantial post-WWII need for electric power.

Meanwhile, another firm, Tenney and Ohmes, Inc., which had originally been founded in New York City under the predecessor name of Alfred R. Wolff in 1879, was specializing in mechanical and electrical engineering of monumental buildings such as the New York Public Library, the Woolworth Building, and many other New York landmarks.

The third company, R.R. Popham Engineer, was started in New York under single ownership in 1949. This organization concentrated its activities in the electric power, refining and building service industries.

The three companies realized the benefits of offering a broader scope of services to their clients. Thus, over the four-year span from 1954-58, the three firms were merged into the current corporation of Laramore, Douglass and Popham Inc. In the late 1950’s, LDP engineered the first application of silicon-diode rectifiers for the rapid transit industry in the United States. LDP also pioneered the specification and installation of metal-clad DC switchgear for traction power applications. Since that time, the design of rapid transit traction power systems and the modernization of transit substations has become a significant part of LDP’s business.

Today, LDP continues to serve all segments of the electric power industry. A major portion of LDP’s business comes from the industrial, utility, institutional and rapid transit segments of the market with emphasis on the expansion, modernization and rehabilitation of existing facilities. All offices are wholly-owned subsidiaries of LDP Group, Inc., a holding company established in 1994. LDP is a privately held corporation.

Laramore, Douglass and Popham Consulting Engineers

c LDP Group, 2008

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