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The Walnut Street Bridge is a historic
Pratt Pratt is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include: A–F * Abner Pratt (1801–1863), American diplomat, jurist, politician, lawyer * Al Pratt (baseball) (1847–1937), American baseball player * Andy Pratt (baseball) (bor ...
through
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 ...
over the North Fork of the
Zumbro River The Zumbro River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the Driftless Area of southeastern Minnesota in the United States. It is longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, access ...
in
Mazeppa, Minnesota Mazeppa is a city in Wabasha County, Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesot ...
, United States. It was built as a highway bridge in 1904 but has been restricted to pedestrian use since 1980. 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 2003 for having local significance in the theme of engineering. It was nominated for being the work of noted Minnesota engineer William S. Hewett and his bridge building firm the W. S. Hewett Co., an example further recognized for its exceptional ornamentation.


History

A previous bridge at this location, dating to the 19th century, was Mazeppa's only crossing over the Zumbro River and a link on a key road between
Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...
and
Lake City, Minnesota Lake City is a city in Goodhue and Wabasha counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It lies along Lake Pepin, a wide portion of the Mississippi River. The population was 5,063 at the 2010 census. Most of Lake City is located within Wabasha ...
. That bridge was condemned in 1901 but remained in use until the Mazeppa village council contracted with the W. S. Hewett Co. in 1904 for a replacement, selling bonds to help raise some of the $3,775 cost. The new bridge was completed in August of that year. As such it fell within a unique window in Minnesota bridge construction: in the prior decade
steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
had supplanted
iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
as the construction material of choice, but in 1911 the recently formed Minnesota State Highway Commission would enact standards that led to far greater similarity in bridge designs. The Walnut Street Bridge remained Mazeppa's primary river crossing until 1922, when a new highway bridge was built one block to the north. The Walnut Street Bridge continued to carry local traffic until 1980, when it was closed to vehicles. It served as a pedestrian bridge but was closed altogether in 1995. The city of Mazeppa rehabilitated the bridge from 2001 to 2002, removing non-historic elements, replacing deteriorated structures, and adding new safety features. The rehabilitation project reopened the bridge to pedestrian use and won an award from the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota.


See also

*
List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota This is a list of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in the U.S. state of Minnesota. References External links Historic Bridges
€“Minnesota Department of Transportation {{NRHP bridges Bridges on the National Register of ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Wabasha County, Minnesota This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Wabasha County, Minnesota. It is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Wabasha County, Minnesota, Unit ...


References


External links

*
Walnut Street Bridge (Bridge R0412)
€“Minnesota Department of Transportation {{National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota 1904 establishments in Minnesota Bridges completed in 1904 Buildings and structures in Wabasha County, Minnesota Former road bridges in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Wabasha County, Minnesota Pedestrian bridges in Minnesota Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Transportation in Wabasha County, Minnesota Zumbro River Pratt truss bridges in the United States Metal bridges in the United States