Drake Hill Road Bridge | |
Drake Hill Road Bridge adorned with potted flowers in September 2014. | |
Location | Old Bridge Rd. at Farmington River, Simsbury, Connecticut |
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Coordinates | 41°52′6″N72°48′1″W / 41.86833°N 72.80028°W |
Area | less than one acre |
Built | 1892 |
Architect | Buddington, J. H. |
Architectural style | Parker truss |
NRHP reference No. | 84000999 [1] |
Added to NRHP | July 19, 1984 |
Drake Hill Road Bridge, also known as the Old Drake Hill Flower Bridge, [2] is a bridge in Simsbury, Connecticut, originally carrying Drake Hill Road over the Farmington River. Built in 1892, it is one of three surviving Parker truss bridges in the state. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. [1] It now carries foot traffic only. [2]
The Drake Hill Road Bridge is located a short way southeast of the town center of Simsbury. It is located between Old Bridge Road, a former alignment of Drake Hill Road, and Riverside Road, which parallels the east bank of the Farmington River. Drake Hill Road now passes to the north, crossing the river on a modern bridge. This bridge is a single-span, pin-connected Parker through truss constructed with wrought iron, cast iron and steel. It rests on brownstone abutments and carries a 12-foot (3.7 m) roadway for a span of 183 feet (56 m). [3] It has a wooden plank deck suitable for foot traffic, and its sides are adorned with planters that are seasonally filled with flowers.
The bridge was built in 1892, and is one of three 19th-century Parker trusses to survive in the state. All three were designed by J.H. Buddington, an engineer for the state highway department. This bridge was built as a replacement for a timber-frame bridge that previously stood on the site. The town recognized the need for replacing the older structure in 1890, but financing of the replacement delayed its construction. [3] The bridge was taken out of vehicular service in 1992, when the present alignment of Drake Hill Road was established. This bridge is now open strictly for pedestrian and bicycle traffic. [2]
Simsbury is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, incorporated as Connecticut's 21st town in May 1670. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 24,517 in the 2020 census.
The Farmington River is a river, 46.7 miles (75.2 km) in length along its main stem, located in northwest Connecticut with major tributaries extending into southwest Massachusetts. The longest route of the river, from the origin of its West Branch, is 80.4 miles (129.4 km) long, making it the Connecticut River's longest tributary by 2.3 miles (3.7 km) over the major river directly to its north, the Westfield River. The Farmington River's watershed covers 609 square miles (1,580 km2). Historically, the river played an important role in small-scale manufacturing in towns along its course, but it is now mainly used for recreation and drinking water.
The Riverside Avenue Bridge is the only cast-iron bridge in Connecticut and one of a small number still in use in the United States. It carries Riverside Avenue over the New Haven Line railroad tracks in the Riverside section of Greenwich, Connecticut. The bridge was part of an earlier span built in 1871 over the Housatonic River by the New York and New Haven Railroad, and when that bridge was replaced, part of it was erected in Riverside in 1895. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
The Golden Hill Bridge is a historic bridge on Golden Hill Road over the Housatonic River in Lee, Massachusetts. It is a lenticular pony truss bridge built c. 1885 by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company, and is the state's oldest surviving bridge of this type. It is one of only five Berlin Co. bridges in the Berkshires, and is the only known surviving bridge to implement modifications to the pony truss design patented by William O. Douglas in 1885. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
The Lover's Leap Bridge is a wrought-iron lenticular truss bridge over the Housatonic River located in Lovers Leap State Park in New Milford, Connecticut. Built in 1895 by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company, it is one of the last bridges built by the company and is a particularly ornate example of its work. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and is now open only for foot traffic.
The Glen Falls Bridge is a historic bridge that formerly carried Brunswick Avenue over the Moosup River in Plainfield, Connecticut. Built in 1886 by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company, it is one of a shrinking number of surviving 19th-century lenticular truss bridges in the state. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. It has been closed to all traffic for many years.
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The Bridgeport Bridge was a historic structure located near Denmark, Iowa, United States. This span was a replacement bridge for the original structure whose middle stone pier was deteriorating. The weaknesses in the old bridge were noted in 1887 and 1893. Both Des Moines and Lee counties financed the $5,110 construction of this bridge, which spanned the Skunk River between the two counties. The 240-foot-long (73 m) Pennsylvania truss bridge was built in 1904 by the Clinton Bridge and Iron Works of Clinton, Iowa. It carried local traffic for nearly 90 years before it was closed. On February 27, 2024 the south abutment collapsed. The bridge was demolished over the next 3 weeks. It had the distinction of being the longest pin-connected truss remaining in Iowa. The Bridgeport Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
The bridge at New Bridge Landing, New Jersey was built in 1888 to replace an earlier wooden one, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 5, 1989.
The Turn-of-River Bridge, also known as Old North Stamford Road Bridge, is a single-span lenticular pony truss bridge built by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company in 1892. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. It formerly brought the Old Stamford Road across the Rippowam River, but is now open only to pedestrian traffic, as the road ends shortly before the bridge.
The Berlin Iron Bridge Company was a Berlin, Connecticut company that built iron bridges and buildings that were supported by iron. It is credited as the architect of numerous bridges and buildings now listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It eventually became part of the American Bridge Company.
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The Bog Bridge, also known as the Cilleyville Bridge, is a historic covered bridge in Andover, New Hampshire. Built in 1887 and located off New Hampshire Route 11 west of Andover center, the Town lattice truss bridge is one of New Hampshire's few surviving 19th-century covered bridges, and is relatively little altered since its construction, having had its roof replaced and an abutment reconstructed. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
The New Sharon Bridge was a single-span iron Pennsylvania truss that carried U.S. Route 2 (US 2) over the Sandy River in New Sharon, Maine. The bridge was built in 1916, closed to traffic in the 1990s, and was demolished on February 27, 2014. It had been listed on the National Register of Historic Places as one of only three pin-connected Pennsylvania truss bridges in the state.
The Old Boardman Bridge, formerly Boardman Bridge, is a historic lenticular truss bridge, which used to carry Boardman Road across the Housatonic River in New Milford, Connecticut. Built from 1887 to 1888 out of wrought iron, it is one of the state's three surviving examples of this bridge type, and along with Lover's Leap Bridge, one of two in New Milford. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The bridge was closed to vehicles in 1984 and to pedestrians in 1985; however, the Town of New Milford is seeking to restore it and reopen it to pedestrian traffic.
The Minortown Road Bridge is a historic lenticular pony truss bridge in northeastern Woodbury, Connecticut. It spans the Nonewaug River, connecting U.S. Route 6 (US 6) to Minortown Road and Mill Road. Built in 1890 by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company, it is one a small number of surviving lenticular truss bridges in the state. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
The Town Bridge is a historic truss bridge, carrying Town Bridge Road over the Farmington River in Canton, Connecticut. Built in 1895, it is one of only two surviving pin-connected Parker truss bridges in the state. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
The Perrine Road Bridge is a bridge carrying North Saginaw Road over Sturgeon Creek in Larkin Township, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. The bridge was moved in 2001 from its location at the time of nomination to the present location, carrying Perrine Road over Sturgeon Creek.
The Red Bridge is a historic bridge spanning the Quinnipiac River near Oregon Road in Meriden, Connecticut. It was built in 1891 by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company, and is one of a small number of surviving lenticular truss bridges in the state, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. The bridge is open to pedestrian traffic only.
The Lyme–East Thetford Bridge is a historic bridge over the Connecticut River between Lyme, New Hampshire, and East Thetford, Vermont. From the New Hampshire side it carries East Thetford Road, which becomes Vermont Route 113 as it enters Vermont. A Parker truss bridge completed in 1937, it is 471 feet (144 m) long. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.