In January
of 1962, Glen asked two of his brothers, Don, who had been working
for an engineering firm in San Francisco, and Richard, who had been
designing houses for the Westlake area in Santa Cruz, if they would
like to start an engineering firm in Santa Cruz. Glen outlined the
opportunities that he saw and said that he could get things started
and Don and Richard could join him when the workload could support
them.
In 1963,
Gintert, Schwenne and Warne, an insurance adjusting firm, bought a
lot at 125 Mission Street. They had hired our firm to design a new
two-story office building for the site and asked whether we would be
interested in moving into the building. On December 1, 1964, we
moved into a brand new second-story office overlooking downtown
Santa Cruz. There the firm continued to grow and in 1972 took over
additional space on the ground floor doubling the amount of floor
space. By then, the number of employees had grown to nine.
By 1976-77,
the subdivision development in Santa Cruz County had reached such a
pace that in those two years, Ifland Engineers took in 34
subdivision design projects. It was during those years that Ifland
Engineers, Inc. became the dominant land development engineering
firm in Santa Cruz County.
Two
structures which have become closely identified with Santa Cruz and
are possibly the most photographed subjects in our city are the
lighthouse on West Cliff Drive and the town clock at the head of
Pacific Avenue. Designed by our firm in 1964, the lighthouse, along
with Lighthouse Field, serves as a focal point for those enjoying
the panoramic views of Monterey Bay and the Santa Cruz Mountains.
The town clock, originally part of the Oddfellows building (seen
here in a 1920’s era photograph) was moved to its present location
in 1976 where it marks the entrance to Santa Cruz’ award-winning
downtown area. Having provided the structural design for the clock’s
tower, we are proud of our involvement in what is one of Santa Cruz’
most historic landmarks.
In 1979,
Ifland Engineers, Inc. was hired to design a new two-story office
building at 1100 Water Street. While performing the
design the decision was made to move into the building as the new
facilities would allow for the future expansion of the staff.
Today, the office continues to serve as the
location of Ifland Engineers, Inc.
In
November, 1992, Richard decided that he could afford to retire from
the business and turn his corporate position as secretary over to
his son, Gary, who had joined the firm in 1986 and assumed control
of the land surveying operations. In 1989 and 1993, Jim and Jon
Ifland, Glen’s sons, joined the firm, building a second generation
of Iflands to guide the business into the future.
In 1999, a
strategic decision was made to split off the surveying operations
into a separate business entity, thereby allowing the design and
surveying departments to more closely focus efforts on their
respective areas of expertise. Thus, on November 1, 1999 Gary opened
his new land surveying business as Gary
Ifland and Associates. Although the businesses are now separate
we continue to work closely together as a team to continue providing
the services our clients have come to expect.
Since 1962,
the extent of the methods used in providing
engineering services has seen overwhelming revolution. The drafting
tools have evolved from T-squares, scales, pencils, triangles and
templates to electronic computer design and computer driven drawing
plotters. Large clumsy rotary calculators and trigonometric function
tables have been replaced with hand held computers.
From humble
beginnings, Ifland Engineers, Inc. is one of the most well-known and
respected civil engineering firms in Santa Cruz County. It has been
a fascinating journey. We look forward to continuing this adventure into
the 21st century and hope that you’ll come along with
us.
