The Hope Memorial Bridge (formerly the Lorain–Carnegie Bridge) is a
art deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
truss bridge
A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...
crossing the
Cuyahoga River in
Cleveland, Ohio. The bridge connects Lorain Avenue on Cleveland's west side and Carnegie Avenue on the east side, terminating just short of
Progressive Field.
Four pairs of statues designed by sculptor
Henry Hering
Henry Hering (February 15, 1874 – January 15, 1949) was an American sculptor.
Early career
He was a student of Augustus Saint-Gaudens at Cooper Union and of Philip Martiny at the Art Students League of New York. He then went to Paris wher ...
and architect
Frank Walker, officially named the ''Guardians of Traffic'', are sculpted onto opposite-facing ends of two pairs of pylons, a pair at each end of the
viaduct. They symbolize progress in transportation. Each Guardian holds a different vehicle in its hands: a hay wagon, a covered wagon, a stagecoach, and a
1930s-era automobile, as well as four types of motorized trucks used for construction.
History
A bond issue to pay for the bridge was passed in 1921, but construction was delayed for years due to squabbles over how the money would be spent. The bridge was completed in 1932 at a cost of $4.75 million ($ with inflation). It stands 93 feet (28 meters) above the river's waterline in order to allow shipping to pass unobstructed. A second, lower deck designed to carry truck and commercial traffic was never put into service.
The bridge had originally been planned to go through the location of the
Erie Street Cemetery on East 9th Street.
The bridge was listed in 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 ...
on October 8, 1976, after a controversy in which
Cuyahoga County engineer
Albert S. Porter threatened to remove the historic pylons to widen the span, stating, "Those columns are monstrosities and should be torn down and forgotten. There is nothing particularly historic about any one of them. We're not running a
May Show here."
The bridge was renovated in the early 1980s.
On September 1, 1983, the Lorain–Carnegie bridge was officially renamed the "Hope Memorial Bridge". Press reports vary regarding whom the name honors: William Henry "Harry" Hope, a local
stonemason who helped build the ''Guardians of Traffic'' sculptures, and the father of comedian and former Cleveland resident
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...
; Bob Hope himself; the entire Hope family; or Harry Hope along with the other workers who helped erect the ''Guardians of Traffic''.
On December 10, 2012, officials opened a multi-use path on the north side of the bridge, part of a project which also added lighting to the ''Guardians of Traffic''.
The inaugural Guardian Mile road race was run across the bridge on August 11, 2018. The elite field boasts multiple Olympians and $14,000 up for grabs in prize money, as well as races for runners of all ages and levels.
On November 19, 2021, the Cleveland Indians of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
changed their name to
Cleveland Guardians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...
; the choice was inspired by the ''Guardians of Traffic'', which neighbor Progressive Field, the team's home ballpark.
See also
*
Detroit–Superior Bridge
The Detroit–Superior Bridge (officially known as the Veterans Memorial Bridge) is a through arch bridge over the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio. The bridge links Detroit Avenue on Cleveland's west side and Superior Avenue on Cleveland's eas ...
*
*
List of crossings of the Cuyahoga River
References
External links
Lorain–Carnegie Bridge (Cleveland Memory)*
Hope Memorial Bridge at HLNEO
{{Cleveland Indians
Art Deco architecture in Ohio
Bridges completed in 1932
Bridges in Cleveland
Bridges over the Cuyahoga River
Historic American Engineering Record in Ohio
National Register of Historic Places in Cleveland, Ohio
Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio
Truss bridges in the United States