gilbane building company, originally known as william h. gilbane and brother, was founded in 1870 by william h. gilbane and his brother, thomas, as a carpentry and general contracting shop in providence, rhode island. the company first focused on building homes and later expanded to churches, hospitals and other buildings. william h. gilbane’s sons, william j. gilbane and thomas f. gilbane, joined the company as president and vice president in the late 1930s. in 1943, gilbane was awarded the army-navy “e” award by under-secretary of the navy, james forrestal.