The Holme Avenue Bridge is a closed-spandrel concrete arch bridge that carries Holme Avenue across Wooden Bridge Run (a tributary of

Pennypack Creek Pennypack Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 creek in southeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. It runs southeast through lower Bucks County ...

) in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Department of Transportation, it should not be confused with the other "Holme Avenue Bridge" over Pennypack Creek about 1,000 yards west of Wooden Bridge Run. According to the

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania responsible for the collection, conservation and interpretation of Pennsylvania's historic heritage. The commission cares for ...

, this bridge "is a good example of an urban concrete bridge embellished to imitate stone."

History and architectural features

Built in 1921 by C. P. Boner, contractor, this bridge remains in use today. Its total length is ; the width of its deck is . Its concrete superstructure includes parapet railings with pebbled, recessed panels. Its concrete substructure includes smooth

abutment An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...

s, etched and pebbled wings, smooth

intrados An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vault ...

/ribs, and etched

voussoir A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault. Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The ...

s. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1988.

References

External links

Holme Avenue Bridge
at BridgeHunter.com
Holme Avenue Bridge
at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings {{NRHP bridges Arch bridges in the United States Bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Concrete bridges in Pennsylvania Northeast Philadelphia Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania