Arthur S. Bent (1922)

California’s AGC chapter owes this past-President a special debt of gratitude as Bent, President of the Los Angeles-based Bent Brothers firm, chartered the state’s first chapter. Bent was the first Californian to serve as the AGC president and, along with brother, Stanley, a bit of a visionary in the field. The pair foresaw the coming need for water in their fertile but dry region and so specialized in the construction of concrete pipe – plain and reinforced – for hydroelectric and irrigation projects. Among the firm’s major achievements was the construction of the Lake Hodges Dam. At 135 feet, it was, upon completion in 1918, the highest multiple-arch dam of its time.

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