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SmithGroup is an international architectural, engineering and planning firm. Established in 1853 by architect Sheldon Smith, SmithGroup is the longest continually operating architecture and engineering firm in the United States that is not a wholly owned subsidiary. As of 2025, SmithGroup ranks #7 among the top 100 architecture engineering firms according to Building Design + Construction, with offices in 21 cities around the United States. The firm serves a range of clients, including cities, commercial, higher education, healthcare, science & technology, and cultural markets.
History
SmithGroup was founded in 1853 by Sheldon Smith, a self-taught architect. He opened an office in Ohio, and his first credited project was a hotel in Sandusky, Ohio later that year. In 1855, Smith moved the firm to Detroit. Smith's son Mortimer became a partner in the firm in 1861, and took over for his father after the latter's death in 1869. Mortimer's son Fred joined the firm in 1881, and led the firm after Mortimer's death in 1896. At this time, Fred brought in two University of Michigan College of Engineering graduates, Henry G. Field and Theodore H. Hinchman, Jr. The firm's name was changed to Field, Hinchman & Smith in 1903.
In 1907, H.J. Maxwell Grylls, a British-trained architect, joined the firm, and the name changed to Smith, Hinchman and Grylls (SH+G). In the 1920s, Smith, Hinchman and Grylls, and architect Wirt C. Rowland, designed some of Detroit’s most notable skyscrapers. In 1945, Minoru Yamasaki, American architect best known for designing the original World Trade Center, joined the firm as Director of Design.
Later years saw Smith, Hinchman and Grylls merge with other firms. In 1971, the firm merged with Johnson, Johnson & Roy (JJR), expanding the firm’s capabilities in landscape architecture, civil engineering and environmental science. In 1996, Smith, Hinchman and Grylls merged with the Washington DC firm of Keyes, Lethbridge & Condon and in 1998 they merged with Stone Marraccini & Patterson of San Francisco and Los Angeles. In 2000, Tobey + Davis, Reston, Virginia, joined Smith, Hinchman and Grylls.
In 2000, the firm changed its name to SmithGroup.
Additional growth took place in 2009 with the acquisition of Dallas-based F&S Partners, the 2018 acquisition of Boston-based TRO and Denver-based Paulien & Associates in 2019.
Hill, Eric J. and John Gallagher (2002). . Wayne State University Press. ISBN0-8143-3120-3.
Meyer, Katherine Mattingly and Martin C.P. McElroy with Introduction by W. Hawkins Ferry, Hon A.I.A. (1980). . Wayne State University Press. ISBN0-8143-1651-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Thomas J Holleman & James P Gallagher (1978). Smith, Hinchman & Grylls: 125 Years of Architecture and Engineering, 1853-1978. Wayne State University Press. ISBN0-8143-1615-8.