 | ||
 | ||
 | ||
 | ||
 | ||
 | ||
 | ||
 | ||
 | ||
 | ||
 | ||
 | ||
 | ||
 | ||
 | ||
 | ||
 |
 |
 |
Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway
Washington, D.C.
Shoreham Hill Bridge, 1993 (Boucher/HABS) |
ROCK CREEK'S BRIDGES
Photographs of Bridge Adornments by Jack Boucher/HABS, 1992 |
The monumental bridges arching over Rock Creek contribute greatly to the parkway's appearance. Partially concealed by the surrounding vegetation, they evoke the aqueducts and ruins found in romantic landscape paintings. In addition to framing vistas and providing striking contrasts to the parkway's natural features, they serve as convenient platforms for viewing the verdant parkway landscape. They also perform the utilitarian function of bridging the chasm of Rock Creek, which serves as a natural boundary between Washington and Georgetown.
The need to establish convenient routes of commerce and communication between Georgetown and Washington ensured that Rock Creek was bridged early and often. The location of most bridges has remained fairly constant over the years, but their forms have changed dramatically in response to improved technology and shifting architectural fashions.
The mouth of Rock Creek was originally much wider than it is today. Boats once brought their cargo as far upstream as M Street. There were no bridges across Rock Creek during the colonial era, so horses and wagons forded the stream where it narrowed near present day P Street. The first bridge over Rock Creek was a wood-frame drawbridge built at M Street in 1788. This was followed by a triple-arched stone bridge constructed at K Street in 1792. Neither structure lasted for long. A number of elaborate iron truss bridges were built across the valley in the nineteenth century to carry wagon traffic, pedestrians, and street cars. These were replaced by concrete and masonry spans between 1897-1941.
The new bridges were designed to withstand the stresses created by modern traffic demands. Arched masonry bridges were also considered more attractive than iron bridges and more harmonious with the parkway landscape. The arched bridge pattern is broken only by the M Street Bridge and by the freeway access ramps near Virginia Avenue and K Street.
| Introduction | Acadia | Blue Ridge Parkway | Colonial Parkway | Generals Highway | George Washington Memorial Parkway | Great Smoky Mountains | Mount Rainier | Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway | Shenandoah's Skyline Drive | Southwest Circle Tour | Vicksburg | Yellowstone | Yosemite | Discover History |
