19th Street Bridge

Truss bridge in Denver, Colorado April 2025 January 2025 19th Street Bridge 19th Street Bridge Denver CO.jpg Pedestrians South Platte River Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co. 2-span Pratt Through Truss 206 ft mFraser Hallberg 1985 1 22.5 ft m (roadway)Fraser Hallberg 1985 1 19 ft mFraser Hallberg 1985 1 101 ft mFraser Hallberg 1985 1 2 1888 $25,000 39.7598 -105.0041 region:US-CO_type:landmark inline,title yes 19th Street Bridge Colorado 5DV.535Listings by County: Denver (S-Z) http://www.historycolorado.org/oahp/denver-city-county-s-z#node-855 History Colorado December 2, 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20131204171426/http://www.historycolorado.org/oahp/denver-city-county-s-z#node-855 December 4, 2013 dead mdy-all bottom 19th St., Denver, Colorado 39.7598 -105.0041 inline Colorado#USA February 4, 1985 Vehicular Bridges in Colorado TR 850002012008a The 19th Street Bridge is a two-span through Pratt truss road bridge in Denver, Colorado, over the South Platte River, now used for pedestrians. It was built in 1888 to replace a wooden structure and carried automobile traffic until 1986. The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. History A number of bridges were built across the South Platte River beginning in 1859, and by 1875, there was interest in a bridge to span the river at the 19th Street location. In 1876, a wooden bridge was constructed at the site.Lange 1990 4 This previous bridge was closed to traffic in 1884 after it was damaged in a flood. Because of repeated floods destroying numerous wooden bridges, the city of Denver sought to replace them with metal structures. By 1887, because of their ready availability and low expense, the city began building metal bridges to replace the wooden spans. On August 26, 1887, the Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Works was contracted to build the 19th Street Bridge.Lange 1990 5 The structure cost $25,000, including $8,250 for 120 ft m of iron.Lange 1990 5Fraser Clayton B. Highway Bridges in Colorado MPS http://www.historycolorado.org/sites/default/files/files/OAHP/crforms_edumat/pdfs/632.pdf History Colorado December 2, 2013 E10 2000 https://web.archive.org/web/20120918120802/http://www.historycolorado.org/sites/default/files/files/OAHP/crforms_edumat/pdfs/632.pdf September 18, 2012 dead mdy-all Construction on the new span was complete in 1888.Lange 1990 3 Around 1898, a plan surfaced to rebuild the bridge as a viaduct so that it would not cross only the river, but also the rail switching yard. However, the plan was defeated in June 1904.Lange 1990 5 The bridge has remained mostly unmodified since construction. Timber decking was replaced with corrugated steel following a 1961 flood and some bent hinges were replaced as a result of a 1965 flood.Lange 1990 6During the 1965 flood, sixteen bridges in Denver were destroyed.McGhee Tom Colorado's flood history led to changes http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_24134434/colorados-flood-history-led-changes December 3, 2013 The Denver Post September 19, 2013 lower-alpha The 19th Street Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 4, 1985.Weekly Register List 1985 http://www.nps.gov/nr/listings/Weekly_Register_List_1985.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20090514080748/http://www.nps.gov/nr/listings/Weekly_Register_List_1985.pdf dead May 14, 2009 National Register of Historic Places National Park Service December 2, 2013 14 Because of repeated wear and deterioration caused by salt for melting ice, the bridge was restricted to pedestrians and bicycles beginning on December 16, 1986. Following the closure, a new vehicular bridge was planned downstream (to the northeast), tentatively referred to as the "Nineteen and A-Half Street Bridge"; it was built in 1992.Lange 1990 619th St at Platte River http://nationalbridges.com/index.php?option=com_lqm&2fb203a6cca50cd54d5fb9227441189a=1&task=showResults&query=8&lqm_id=78671&&format=raw&&Itemid=2 National Bridge Inventory December 2, 2013 Aside from serving as a pedestrian bridge, the structure has hosted the annual "Gala on the Bridge", a fundraiser for The Greenway Foundation. It began in 2011, and was described in The Denver Post as the "first time the bridge has been used for anything other than a way for people to cross the South Platte River".Davidson Joanne RSVP: A gala on a bridge? Yes! http://www.denverpost.com/ci_18879887 December 2, 2013 The Denver Post September 13, 2011Gala on the Bridge http://thegreenwayfoundation.org/web/riverside/gala-bridge/ The Greenway Foundation December 2, 2013 https://archive.today/20131203013631/http://thegreenwayfoundation.org/web/riverside/gala-bridge/ 2013-12-03 dead In the state of Colorado, at the time of its NRHP nomination, the 19th Street Bridge was described as the oldest surviving wrought iron bridge, oldest vehicular bridge at its original location, and oldest vehicular bridge still in public use.Lange 1990 3Lange 1990 6 Design thumb|left|Detail of one end of the bridge, showing the ornamental crests and finials (in 2008) The bridge's two spans have a through Pratt truss design, each with five panels.Lange 1990 6 The structure is about 200 ft m long with a roadway about 22.5 ft m wide.Fraser Hallberg 1985 1Lange 1990 6 The roadbed is concrete on corrugated metal, replacing the original wood decking. The structural members are made of wrought iron and are pin-connected. The top chords are horizontal, and the upper struts are "unusually deep" I-beams. Sidewalks, decorated with iron newels and latticework, cantilever off both sides of the bridge. The south sidewalk permits pedestrians, while the north one has no deck and carries utility lines. The bridge is supported by ashlar piers of solid stone.Lange 1990 6 The latticed portals feature decorative cast iron crests and finials, and a plaque with the builder's inscription.Fraser Hallberg 1985 1Lange 1990 6 The bridge is described by History Colorado as one of the most ornamental in Colorado. See also National Register of Historic Places Colorado Transport Engineering List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Colorado List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado National Register of Historic Places listings in downtown Denver, Colorado National Register of Historic Places listings in West Denver, Colorado Notes References 30em Bibliography Fraser Clayton Hallberg Carl February 4, 1985 National Register of Historic Places HABS/HAER Inventory: 19th Street Bridge National Park Service 85000201 https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/co/co0200/co0226/data/co0226data.pdf Nineteenth Street Bridge Lange Lorna Sue September 1990 Historic American Engineering Record Library of Congress Washington, D.C. January 2, 2022 External links CO-59 co0226 Nineteenth Street Bridge, Spanning South Platte River at Nineteenth Street, Denver, Denver County, CO 9 1 11 1 Category:Former road bridges in the United States Category:Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado Category:Historic American Engineering Record in Colorado Category:National Register of Historic Places in Denver Category:Pedestrian bridges in Colorado Category:Wrought iron bridges in the United States Category:Pratt truss bridges in the United States Category:Transportation buildings and structures in Denver