With 100 years of quality craftsmanship and dedicated service to display, this timeline exhibits the evolution of Western. Starting as a two-man crew, to a nationally recognized company, Western has defied all odds throughout the years to successfully reach the centennial milestone.
Founders
St. Louis natives and brother-in-laws George Bishop Sr. and Benjamin Many open Western Waterproofing Company of Missouri in 1915
First Western workmen apply Ironite to basement wall
Audubon Building, New Orleans, LA 1915
1915-1919
President
- Woodrow Wilson 1913-1921
World Event
- World War I 1914-1918
Packard Automotive Plant
Western workers resurfaced the Packard Plant in Detroit, Michigan, in 1925.
United States Tobacco Company, Nashville, TN
Yale Bowl Barrier Wall, New Haven, CT 1927
1920-1929
- Expanded Concrete Cleaning Services
- Began to Offer Tuckpointing, Gun and Hand Patching of Concrete
- Began using Resto-Crete to restore disintegrated concrete and preserve against further deterioration.
Branches Opened
- St. Louis, MO
- Detroit, MI
- Cincinnati, OH
Presidents
- Warren G. Harding 1921-1923
- Calvin Coolidge 1923-1929
- Herbert Hoover 1929-1933
World Event
- Stock Market Crash 1929
Ford Motor Company Twin Cities Assembly Plant
Western completed the restoration of the concrete substructure of the hydro plant at the Ford Motor Company in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1938.
Santa Fe Railroad Elevator, Agentine, KS 1930
Rikers Island Penitentiary, New York, NY 1934
1930-1939
- Ben Many retires and George Bishop Sr. becomes sole owner of Western
Branches Opened
- Charlotte, NC
- Atlanta, GA
Sales
- $84,000 1934
President
- Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933-1945
World Event
- The Great Depression 1930-1941
Sportsman's Park
Western restored the concrete at Sportsman's Park, in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1947.
Seaboard Railway Roundhouse, Savannah, GA 1945
1940-1949
- Expanded The Service Mix To Include Above-Grade Masonry Cleaning and Restoration
Branches Opened
- Springfield, IL
- Kansas City, MO
- Tulsa, OK
Acquisitions
- Affiliate Restoration Company Formed
Sales
- $400,000 1941
- $1 Million 1946
President
- Harry S. Truman 1945-1953
World Events
- Attack on Pearl Harbor 1941
- World War II 1941-1945
St. Louis Cathedral, St. Louis, MO 1952
General Mills Grain Elevator, Ogden, UT 1955
1950-1959
- Ben Bishop Sr. started working for Western 1955
Branches Opened
- Little Rock, AR
- New Orleans, LA
- Denver, CO
- Omaha, NE
- Houston, TX
- Dallas, TX
President
- Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953-1961
World Event
- Korean War 1950-1953
Cotton Bowl Stadium, Dallas, TX
One Wall Street Tower, New York, NY
1960-1969
- George Bishop Jr. becomes President/CEO 1966
- George Bishop Sr. passed 1967
Branches Opened
- Des Moines, IA
- Minneapolis, MN
- San Francisco, CA
Sales
- $7 Million 1967
Presidents
- John F. Kennedy 1961-1963
- Lyndon B. Johnson 1963-1969
- Richard Nixon 1969-1974
World Event
- Vietnam War 1959-1975
Busch Stadium
Western removed the deteriorating roof at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, and replaced it, applying a special primer in 1979.
Southwestern Bell Headquarters, St. Louis, MO 1977
New Orleans Superdome, New Orleans, LA 1975
1970 - 1979
Branches Opened
- Indianapolis, IN
- Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Ridgefield, NJ
Acquisitions
- Brisk Waterproofing Co. 1977
Sales
- $25 million 1977
Presidents
- Gerald Ford 1974-1977
- Jimmy Carter 1977-1981
The Chrysler Building, New York, NY 1982
Georgia Pacific Headquarters, Atlanta, GA 1982
1980 - 1989
- Ben Bishop Sr. becomes President/CEO 1982
Branches Opened
- Washington D.C.
- Chicago, IL
- Honolulu, HI
- Orlando, FL
Sales
- $55 million 1982, $105 million 1987
Presidents
- Ronald Reagan 1981-1989
- George H.W. Bush 1989-1993
Transamerica Pyramid
Western was given the opportunity to work on the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, California, a number of times. In addition to installing the original exterior sealants on the 853-foot landmark, Western recaulked 20 miles of joints between the building’s 4,000 precast panels in 1984 and was hired in 1999 to clean the exterior of the skyscraper.
The Westin St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco, CA 1995
Hamilton County Courthouse, Noblesville, IN 1994
1990 - 1999
- Ben Bishop Sr. becomes Chairman of the Board 1991
- Bill Bishop becomes President/CEO 1991
Branches Opened
- Los Angeles, CA
- Cleveland, OH
- Seattle, WA
Acquisitions
- Harry S. Peterson Co. 1995
President
- Bill Clinton 1993-2001
World Events
- Gulf War 1990-1991
- Economic Boom of 1990's
215 East 68th Street
With 606 residential units, 215 East 68th Street is one of New York’s premier rental properties. Completing the project in 2012, Western removed the building’s white brick facade and replaced it with a white terra cotta cladding. Western’s Facades division received the 2013 Transformation Award from Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts as part of the design team for re-cladding the Rudin family’s East 68th Street property. In 2014, Western also received the Trinity Award from the Sealant, Waterproofing and Restoration Institute in the Waterproofing category for their work on the building.
The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 2005
Washington State Legislature Building, Olympia, WA 2012
2000 - 2015
- Mike Bishop becomes Vice President 2005
- Ben Bishop Jr. becomes President/CEO 2005
- Ben Bishop Jr. becomes Chairman/CEO 2013
- Jeff Kelley becomes President 2013
Branches Opened
- Peoria, IL
- San Antonio, TX
- Western Facades, Ridgefield, NJ
Acquisitions
- North Texas Waterproofing & Restoration 2007
- Peoria Roofing and Restoration Co. 2008
Presidents
- George W. Bush 2001-2009
- Barack Obama 2009-Incumbent 2017
