History of concrete (1930 to present)

1930

• Horizontal-axis revolving-drum mixer trucks — similar to today's concrete mixers — were introduced by three American manufacturers.

• Air entraining agents were introduced to improve concrete's resistance to freeze/thaw damage.

1933

• Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary is completed and opened. The first inmates were the prison work gang that built it.

1936

• The first major concrete dams, Hoover Dam and Grand Coulee Dam, were built.

1948

• Pre-stressed concrete was introduced and first used in airport pavements.

1951

• ~1,700 ready mix plants operate in over 1,300 U.S. towns and cities.

1954

• The slipform paver comes into use.

1956

• U.S. Congress approved the Federal Interstate Highway Act.

1967

• The first concrete domed sports structure, The University of Illinois' Assembly Hall, was constructed at Champaign-Urbana.

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1970s

• Fiber reinforcement in concrete was introduced.

1973

• The Opera House in Sydney, Australia was opened. Its distinctive concrete peaks quickly became a symbol for the city.

1975

• CN Tower in Toronto, Canada, the tallest slip-form building and Water Tower Place in Chicago, Illinois, the tallest concrete building, were constructed.

1980s

• Superplasticizers were introduced as admixtures.

1985

• Silica fume was introduced as a pozzolanic additive.

1992

• The tallest reinforced concrete building in the world was constructed at 311 South Wacker Drive in Chicago, Illinois.

1993

• The J. F. K. Museum in Boston, Massachusetts was completed. The dramatic concrete and glass structure was designed by renowned architect I. M. Pei.