The Early Years
Kiewit Corporation traces its history to 1884, when Peter and Andrew Kiewit formed Kiewit Brothers, an Omaha masonry contracting partnership. It was a logical move for two sons of a brick maker, who had moved to the booming city a half dozen years before.
In 1889, Kiewit Brothers was awarded its largest contract to date, the masonry work for the seven–story Lincoln Hotel. Soon after completing that job, the brothers dissolved the partnership, and Peter continued the business as a sole proprietor, eventually becoming a general building contractor.
Peter Kiewit had six children. The youngest, also named Peter, was born in 1900. This is the Peter Kiewit best known for developing the company into a major national contractor.
In 1912, the firm was renamed Peter Kiewit & Sons to recognize that 23–year–old Ralph and 21–year–old George had joined their father as partners in the business. When Peter Kiewit (the father) died in 1914, Ralph took charge of the business. He changed the name to Peter Kiewit Sons, since his father was no longer involved.
In 1924, the company reached the 40–year mark and also landed its first million–dollar contract—the 10–story Livestock Exchange Building in the South Omaha meat packing district. The project superintendent was 23–year–old Peter Kiewit. When George Kiewit left the firm that year, the burden of running the company fell to Ralph and Peter. Peter ran the field operations, while Ralph supervised the estimating and bidding activities.
The company landed several significant projects in the late 1920s that remain Nebraska landmarks: the Nebraska State Capitol Tower (1927), Joslyn Art Museum (1928) and Union Station (1930).
In 1931, Ralph Kiewit decided to leave the firm, so Peter dissolved Peter Kiewit Sons and reorganized the company as Peter Kiewit Sons’ Co. Peter’s new firm had assets of $125,000. To conserve cash and motivate employees, Peter began selling shares of company stock to key managers. This philosophy of employee ownership would become a major factor in the company's future success.