McKee Street Bridge

	McKee Street Bridge
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	The bridge in 2010
Location	McKee Street and Buffalo Bayou, Houston, Texas
Coordinates	29°45′57″N95°21′7″W / 29.76583°N 95.35194°W Coordinates: 29°45′57″N95°21′7″W / 29.76583°N 95.35194°W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1932
Built by	Don Hall Constructors, Inc.
Architect	Joseph Gordon (J. G.) McKenzie
Architectural style	Moderne
MPS	Historic Bridges of Texas MPS
NRHP reference No.	02000729
Added to NRHP	September 3, 2002

Last updated May 25, 2021

The McKee Street Bridge carries McKee Street across Buffalo Bayou in Houston, Texas. Built in 1932, the three-span reinforced concrete girder bridge connects the Second and Fifth Ward areas, northeast of downtown Houston. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 3, 2002.^[2]

Description

The 290-foot-long (88 m) continuous girder bridge is divided into two 85-foot (26 m) spans and a center 120-foot (37 m) span. The center span crosses the entire central channel of Buffalo Bayou. The bridge provides 42 feet (13 m) of vertical clearance. As it is located between two bends in the bayou and crosses it at an angle, the design also allows for 100 feet (30 m) of horizontal clearance to accommodate the small craft traveling the bayou at the time it was built. The road surface atop the concrete deck is 2.5-inch (64 mm) brick on a 1-inch (25 mm) sand cushion. The concrete girders are curved in a way that is aesthetically pleasing and reveals the distribution of the bridge's load on the girders. The bridge was painted aquamarine, purple, and lavender by a local artist in 1985.^[3]

History

Buffalo Bayou was an import trade route between Houston and Galveston Bay as early as 1836. Steamboat service was established in 1837. The area around the future McKee Street had become a major industrial and commercial center by the start of the twentieth century. The new automobile as well as continued growth in train and bayou transportation required more, and better, bridges. The first bridge built at McKee street was a steel truss swing bridge, using a motor to move the bridge out of the way of water traffic.^[3]

The 1932 bridge was built to replace the 1908 bridge that had been demolished in 1928. A requirement by the War Department for both a minimum vertical and horizontal clearance, coupled with McKee Street meeting the bayou at a 77-degree angle required a new bridge that was unique for its time. The concrete girders, usually designed as any other type of wood or steel beam, were instead shaped to match the calculated bending moment curve,^[4] resulting in reduced cost and a longer span. Indeed, the central span was the longest of any concrete girder bridge at the time, and the undulating wave-like shape had also never been used before. The bridge was built between 1931 and 1932 for a contracted price, including removal of the previous bridge, of $122,000.^[3]

Related Research Articles

Truss bridge Bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss

A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. The basic types of truss bridges shown in this article have simple designs which could be easily analyzed by 19th and early 20th-century engineers. A truss bridge is economical to construct because it uses materials efficiently.

Conde McCullough Memorial Bridge United States historic place

The Conde B. McCullough Memorial Bridge, is a cantilever bridge that spans Coos Bay on U.S. Route 101 near North Bend, Oregon. When completed in 1936 it was named the Coos Bay Bridge. In 1947 it was renamed in honor of Conde B. McCullough who died May 5, 1946. This and 10 other major bridges on the Oregon Coast Highway were designed under his supervision.

The Yaquina Bay Bridge is an arch bridge that spans Yaquina Bay south of Newport, Oregon. It is one of the most recognizable of the U.S. Route 101 bridges designed by Conde McCullough and one of eleven major bridges on the Oregon Coast Highway designed by him. It superseded the last ferry crossing on the highway.

The Rainbow Bridge is a through truss bridge crossing the Neches River in Southeast Texas just upstream from Sabine Lake. It allows State Highway 87 and State Highway 73 to connect Port Arthur in Jefferson County on the southwest bank of the river. Bridge City in Orange County is on the northeast bank.

The Siuslaw River Bridge is a bascule bridge that spans the Siuslaw River on U.S. Route 101 in Florence, Oregon. It was designed by Conde McCullough, built by the Mercer-Fraser Company of Eureka, California, and funded by the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works. It opened in 1936.

Isaac Lee Patterson Bridge United States historic place

The Isaac Lee Patterson Bridge, also known as the Rogue River Bridge and the Isaac Lee Patterson Memorial Bridge, is a concrete arch bridge that spans the Rogue River in Curry County, Oregon. The bridge was constructed by the Mercer Fraser Company of Eureka, California. The bridge carries U.S. Route 101 across the river, near the point where the river empties into the Pacific Ocean, and connects the towns of Gold Beach and Wedderburn. A bridge with strong Art Deco influences, the Isaac Lee Patterson Bridge is a prominent example of the designs of the Oregon bridge designer and highway engineer Conde McCullough. It was designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1982. It is part of a series of notable bridges designed by McCullough for the Oregon Coast Highway in the 1930s. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

The Tower Bridge is a vertical lift bridge across the Sacramento River, linking West Sacramento in Yolo County to the west, with the capital of California, Sacramento, in Sacramento County to the east. It has also been known as M Street Bridge. It was previously a part of U.S. Route 40 until that highway was truncated to east of Salt Lake City. The bridge is maintained by the California Department of Transportation as part of State Route 275 and connects West Capitol Avenue and Tower Bridge Gateway in West Sacramento with the Capitol Mall in Sacramento.

The Sidney Sherman Bridge is a strutted girder bridge in Houston, Texas. It spans the Houston Ship Channel and carries the East Loop segment of Interstate 610 on the east side of the city. It is more popularly known as the 610 Bridge or The Ship Channel Bridge.

The Lamar Boulevard Bridge is a historic arch bridge carrying Texas State Highway Loop 343 over Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin, Texas, United States. The bridge features six open-spandrel concrete arches spanning 659 feet (201 m) and carries tens of thousands of vehicles daily across the lake. Completed in 1942, the Lamar Boulevard Bridge was the second permanent bridge to cross the Colorado River, and one of the last Art Deco-style open-spandrel concrete arch bridges built in Texas. The bridge was named an Austin Landmark in 1993 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

The Ellsworth Street Bridge is a highway bridge that crosses the Willamette River in Albany, Oregon, United States. Built in 1925, the two-lane structure carries U.S. Route 20 eastbound traffic, with the adjacent Lyon Street Bridge carrying westbound traffic. The 1,090-foot (330 m)-long steel-truss bridge was designed by Conde McCullough and opened in 1926.

Beaver Creek Bridge, also known as FM 2326 Bridge at Beaver Creek or WC2215-02-002, is a historic bridge built during 1925-1926 near Electra in Wichita County, Texas. It brings Farm-to-Market Road over Beaver Creek, connecting the Beaver Creek community with the Rock Crossing oilfield area in Wilbarger County.

Niantic River Bridge, also known as Amtrak Bascule Bridge No. 116.74, is a railroad bridge carrying Amtrak's Northeast Corridor line across the Niantic River between East Lyme and Waterford, Connecticut. It is a drawbridge with a bascule-type draw span. A new bridge was constructed in 2012 to replace the former span built in 1907. It opened on September 8, 2012. Related construction work finished in June 2013.

The Main Street–Black River Bridge is a bridge located on Main Street over the Black River in Ramsay, Bessemer Township, Michigan, USA. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

The Paddock Viaduct, also known as the Main Street Viaduct, is a reinforced concrete bridge spanning the Trinity River in Fort Worth, Texas. Low-water crossings and ferries originally provided the only access across the Trinity River at this location, connecting the downtown area of Fort Worth with northern sections of the city. A two-lane suspension bridge, constructed near this site in the 1890s, proved inadequate for the growing population. This span, designed by the St. Louis engineering firm of Brenneke and Fay, was completed in 1914. It was the first reinforced concrete arch in the nation to use self-supporting, reinforcing steel. The bridge is named in honor of B. B. Paddock, former State Legislator and Mayor of the City (1980).

The Almeda Road Bridge over Brays Bayou is a bridge located in Houston, Texas and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The bridge was designed by J. G. McKenzie and Don Hall Constructors and is one of the last continuous span concrete girder bridges to be designed during the City Beautiful movement.

Hassayampa Bridge United States historic place

The Hassayampa Bridge is a bridge spanning the Hassayampa River in Hassayampa, Arizona, located in Maricopa County. The bridge was completed in 1929 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The bridge was scheduled for demolition in 1983.

The West Sixth Street Bridge is a historic stone arch bridge in downtown Austin, Texas. Built in 1887, the bridge is one of the state's oldest masonry arch bridges. It is located at the site of the first bridge in Austin, carrying Sixth Street across Shoal Creek to link the western and central parts of the old city. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.

The San Jacinto Street Bridge is a viaduct which crosses Buffalo Bayou in Houston, Texas. The structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). This bridge was built in 1914 to replace an iron pivot bridge of 1883 origin, and rehabilitated in 1997. It is a transportation conduit connecting downtown and the historical Fifth Ward.

The Route 66 Bridge over the Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf Railroad, in Wheeler County, Texas near Shamrock, Texas, was built in 1932. It carried Route 66 traffic until 1960. It now carries the south frontage road of Interstate 40 over the former Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf Railway right-of-way. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

The West Fifth Street Bridge is a historic cantilever concrete girder bridge in downtown Austin, Texas. Built in 1931, the bridge carries Fifth Street across Shoal Creek to link central Austin with neighborhoods that were then the city's western suburbs. It is one of only a handful of curved cantilever girder bridges in Texas, built as part of the city's 1928 master plan for urban development and beautification. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.

References

↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
↑ "National Register Listings" (PDF). Texas Historical Commission. p. 49. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
1 2 3 Farris, Kirk (October 5, 2001). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: McKee Street Bridge" (PDF). Texas Historical Commission. Retrieved May 21, 2015. A partial version for HTTP access is also available.
↑ Burns, John A.; The staff of the Historic American Buildings Survey, Historic American Engineering Record (2003). Recording Historic Structures (2nd ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley. pp. 171–176. ISBN 0-471-27380-5.

External links

Media related to McKee Street Bridge at Wikimedia Commons
Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. TX-80, " McKee Street Bridge, Spanning Buffalo Bayou, Houston, Harris County, TX ", 7 photos, 1 color transparency, 4 measured drawings, 1 photo caption page

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.

[2] "National Register Listings" (PDF). Texas Historical Commission. p. 49. Retrieved December 28, 2014.

[nom-3] 1 2 3 Farris, Kirk (October 5, 2001). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: McKee Street Bridge" (PDF). Texas Historical Commission. Retrieved May 21, 2015. A partial version for HTTP access is also available.

[4] Burns, John A.; The staff of the Historic American Buildings Survey, Historic American Engineering Record (2003). Recording Historic Structures (2nd ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley. pp. 171–176. ISBN 0-471-27380-5.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]