The American Legion Memorial Bridge, also known as the South Cass Street Bridge, is a reinforced concrete arch
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
carrying South Cass Street over the
Boardman River
The Boardman River ( '), also known as the Ottaway River ( ') or the Boardman–Ottaway River, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed November 21, 2011 river in the northw ...
in
Traverse City, Michigan
Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population wa ...
. It was completed in 1930 and 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 ...
in 2000.
History
In 1929 the city commission called for a public referendum to decide if the city should build bridges over the Boardman River at
South Union and South Cass Streets. The referendum passed, and at the same time the state agreed to build the Union Street Bridge. The city commission hired
Indianapolis bridge engineer
Daniel B. Luten to design the bridge at South Cass. The firms of Aldrich & Cook and Jerome Wilhelm were hired to build the bridge, which was completed in 1930. Dedication plaques were purchased during construction at the request of the
American Legion.
At some point, the original handrails were removed and jersey barricades were added, detracting somewhat from the original design.
However, the bridge is still in use. In 2021/22, the bridge underwent extensive renovation, including a removal and replacement of the bridge and the installation of a decorative pedestrian railing.
Description
The American Legion Memorial Bridge is long and wide, with a roadway width of .
The span is formed by a barrel-vaulted elliptical arch. Sidewalks, supported by concrete brackets, overhang the face of the arch. The original balustrade railings on the bridge have been replaced with planks, but the approaches still contain the original solid-concrete parapets and concrete balustrades with urn-shaped spindles. A plate on one parapet reads: "American Legion Memorial Bridge 1930."
See also
*
*
References
External links
* {{Structurae, id=20008463, title=American Legion Memorial Bridge
Information on the American Legion Memorial Bridge (Michigan Web Site)South Cass Street Bridge
from HistoricBridges.org: multiple photographs.
Bridges completed in 1930
Traverse City, Michigan
Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
Monuments and memorials in Michigan
American Legion
Buildings and structures in Grand Traverse County, Michigan
Transportation in Grand Traverse County, Michigan
National Register of Historic Places in Grand Traverse County, Michigan
Concrete bridges in the United States
Arch bridges in the United States