Wissahickon Memorial Bridge

40°01′26″N 75°11′46″W / 40.024°N 75.196°W / 40.024; -75.196CrossesWissahickon CreekLocalePhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaMaintained byCity of PhiladelphiaCharacteristicsTotal length333 feet (101 m)Width60 feet (18 m)Height170 feet (52 m)Longest span288 feet (88 m)HistoryConstruction cost$1,648,775OpenedMay 1932 LocationHenry Avenue over Wissahickon Creek and Lincoln Drive
Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaCoordinates40°1′27″N 75°11′46″W / 40.02417°N 75.19611°W / 40.02417; -75.19611Built1931ArchitectPaul Philippe Cret,
Ralph ModjeskiMPSHighway Bridges Owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation TRNRHP reference No.88000807^[1]Added to NRHPJune 22, 1988 Location

The Wissahickon Memorial Bridge, originally called and still also known as the Henry Avenue Bridge, is a stone and concrete bridge that carries Henry Avenue over Wissahickon Creek and Lincoln Drive in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

History

It is a two-ribbed, open-spandrel, reinforced concrete arch bridge with one principal span. It was designed in 1927 by Paul Philippe Cret, a nationally acclaimed Philadelphia architect, in collaboration with Frank M. Masters, engineered by Ralph Modjeski and Clement E. Chase.

It was completed in May 1932 at a cost of $1,648,775. It was designed to accommodate a lower deck, never constructed, to be used by trolleys or a subway extension to Roxborough.^[2] Shortly after its completion, it was renamed the Wissahickon Memorial Bridge and was dedicated to the people of Philadelphia's northwest neighborhoods who served in World War I.^[3]

The bridge is 333 feet long, with a main span of 288 feet. Its 60-ft-wide roadway carries two lanes of traffic in each direction. The roadway is approximately 170 feet above the ground.^[4] The bridge was repaved and repaired between 2008 and late 2010.

The bridge has been known as a suicide bridge since its opening. Beginning in 1941 for an unknown duration of time a policeman patrolled the span, questioning all pedestrians walking the bridge.^[5]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The bridge was featured as a filming location in the 1981 film Blow Out starring John Travolta and directed by Brian De Palma.^[6]

See also

• List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Pennsylvania
• Walnut Lane Bridge

References

External links

• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. PA-464, "Henry Avenue Bridge"
• Henry Avenue Bridge data from the Philadelphia Architects and Buildings (PAB) project of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia