State Street Bridge (Harrisburg)
Coordinates: 40 ° 16 '2 " N , 76 ° 52' 43" W.
| State Street Bridge Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Bridge |
||
|---|---|---|
_HAER_color.jpg) |
||
| Official name | State Street Bridge | |
| use | four lanes, sidewalks | |
| Crossing of |
 PA 230 , Paxton Creek
|
|
| place | Harrisburg , Pennsylvania | |
| Entertained by | PennDOT | |
| Building number |
NBI number 223014003001900 NRHP ref. Number 88000761 |
|
| construction | Concrete arch bridge | |
| overall length | 400 m | |
| width | 24.4 m | |
| Load capacity | 49 t | |
| vehicles per day | 24,000 | |
| opening | 22nd August 1930 | |
| planner | William Gehron, Sidney F. Ross | |
| location | ||
|
||
The State Street Bridge , also known as the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Bridge , is a 400-meter-long concrete arch bridge in Harrisburg , Pennsylvania that spans both Pennsylvania State Route 230 and Paxton Creek . The bridge was completed in 1930 and was intended as the main entrance to the center of the city and the Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex from the east. On June 22, 1988, the bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places . A Historic American Engineering Record of the structure was documented in 1997.
history
After the then Pennsylvania State Capitol burned to the ground in 1897 , plans were made for an improved new building and an expansion of the park that surrounds the building. The plans were based on a more impressive building than before the fire because the city wanted to counter possible attempts by other cities in Pennsylvania, such as Philadelphia , to oppose Harrisburg's claim to be the seat of state government. After the land required for the expansion was purchased, Arnold W. Brunner was hired to design the plans for the construction and the landscape architecture of the area. These plans were interrupted by the First World War.
After the war, in 1919 a decision was made to build a bridge that would also serve as a memorial to the United States Armed Forces and the Pennsylvania soldiers who fought in the World War. The Pennsylvania General Assembly passed a law on July 18, 1919 that approved the construction of the bridge. In 1926, William Gehron and Sidney Ross revised the plan for the building that Brunner had submitted in 1921, since Brunner died in 1925. The changes made the bridge bulkier and the pillars higher and more "streamlined".
Construction of the bridge began in September 1925. The Pennsylvania General Assembly had released US $ 3,610,000 for the construction , and the City of Harrisburg contributed US $ 300,000. The structure was opened to traffic on August 22, 1930. The bridge was renovated in 1955 under the supervision of architect J. Richard Nissley. An 11 m long steel girder span was added to the east. The road surface and sidewalks were renewed in 1957.
design
_HAER_6.jpg)
The 44 m high and almost 5 m wide pillars stand on the flanks of the western end of the bridge. Each of the two pillars carries an eagle, one symbolizing the United States Army and the other the United States Navy . Each of the two eagles weighs approximately 272 t and is approximately 6.5 m high. The four sides of the pillars bear the dates of one of the eight wars in which the United States was involved up to the First World War.
A weapon that was developed and used during the First World War is engraved in the keystone of each bridge arch. The plans for the bridge called for a museum under the western end of the structure, but this was not implemented. The museum was to house the flags of the Pennsylvania units and the names of all soldiers from that state who fought during World War I.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c Federal Highway Administration National Bridge Inventory : Place Name: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania NBI Structure Number: 223014003001900; Facility Carried: SR 3014 ( English ) Nationalbridges.com (Alexander Svirsky). 2008. Retrieved October 21, 2008. (Note: This website formats the official information: PA06.txt ( English , TXT) Federal Highway Administration. 2006. Retrieved December 11, 2008.)
- ↑ National Register Information System ( English ) In: National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service . April 15, 2008. Retrieved December 11, 2008.
- ↑ a b c d e f Blythe Semmer: Soldiers '& Sailors' Memorial Bridge ( English ) Historic American Engineering Record . 1997. Retrieved December 11, 2008.
- ↑ a b c d Soldiers' and Sailors Grove and Memorial Bridge ( English ) Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs . Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 11, 2008.
