University Avenue facing East passes under the Georgia Street Bridge, 1930 |
Yes, it is homely, but San
Diegans living in and around historic North Park, Hillcrest and University
Heights would have nothing to do with replacing the early 20th
century structure with something more modern [and better looking].
To make sure the bridge officially
ID-ed as CalTrans Bridge #57C-418 would always grace our part of town,
activists led by Alexander Bevil, and many others waded through the red tape and
had the span placed on the National Register of Historic Places. That was accomplished in Feb. 1999.
Located between the San Diego
communities of Uptown and Greater North Park, the Georgia Street Bridge is
situated in a moderately dense commercial/residential district. Completed in
1914, the bridge [designed by architect James R. Comly and built by Edward T.
Hale] and its flanking retaining walls represent a unique design solution to a
difficult engineering problem.
Besides supporting the
concrete roadway carrying Georgia Street
across the University Avenue
Grade Separation Cut, the bridge's thick reinforced concrete ribbed arches have
the Herculean task of preventing the cut's
reinforced concrete walls from collapsing upon the roadway below. Rising some
50 feet above University Avenue, the open-spandrel
arch bridge serves a monumental and artistic [by some] gateway between the
communities east and west of the historic University Avenue
Grade Separation Cut.
During the bridge's period of
historic significance. 1914-1948, the east and
westbound tracks of the San
Diego Electric Railway's East San Diego Line traveled under the bridge along
University Avenue.
Georgia Street modernization was completed in May 2019 and now shows the open balustrades that were sealed in 1948. Also the lamp posts returned. |
With the line's
discontinuance in 1949, the City merely covered over the tracks with a layer of
concrete and asphalt. During this time the bridge also featured an open
balustrade along the upper deck railing and those of the twin retaining walls.
However, these were filled in sometime after 1947, perhaps due to safety
reasons. Other alterations include the application of a gunite-like coating
over the bridge and retaining walls' entire surfaces. This was done to cover up
areas of splayed concrete and exposed
steel reinforcing rods (a
problem that continued until a significant repair project, 2017-19). Also
missing are two pairs of Arts and Crafts-style concrete lampposts that used to
be mounted on either end of the upper deck's railing. "Ghost" marks
in the concrete reveal their former location.
Despite these alterations,
the bridge and retaining walls still retain all seven aspects of their original
historic aspects of location, setting, design, materials, workmanship, feeling,
and association.
Structurally, the Georgia
Street Bridge comprises three interrelated structures. The first is an
open-spandrel single-span reinforced concrete ribbed arch bridge. Its primary
purpose is to support the asphalt-covered reinforced concrete deck carrying Georgia
Street across the University Avenue Grade Separation Cut. The second and third
structures are a pair of flanking twin reinforced concrete retaining walls.
These keep the cut from
collapsing upon the roadway between Park Boulevard and Florida Street. The
bridge's 69-foot long by 30-foot wide deck permits two lanes of automobile
traffic to cross the cut.
Cantilevered sidewalks
extending some 5 feet laterally beyond the roadway allow pedestrians to use the
bridge to travel between two built-up residential districts along Georgia
Street. Solid reinforced concrete closed panel railings protect those walking
along the sidewalks from falling into the roadway below. Historic blueprints
and photographs indicate that the railings once featured an open arch
balustrade, with separate balusters lined up between modified-Doric-style piers
similar to those found on other contemporary monumental style bridges built
throughout the nation.
The bridge's most
distinguishing design feature is a set of three parabolic reinforced concrete
ribbed arches beneath the roadway deck. Hinged at either end and at mid-span,
the thick concrete arches support a series of columns that are joined at the
top by smaller semi-circular spandrel arches.
The ribs and arches support
the roadway's concrete deck above. Rising at a point some 8 feet above a
concrete sidewalk on either side of University Avenue, the base of the ribs
travel upward in a symmetrical parabolic curve to a point some 30 feet above
the roadway at mid-span. Viewed from a distance, the bridge's thick ribbed arches,
open-spandrel arched arcade, as well as the roadway's closed rail deck above,
combine to give it its monumental appearance.
The Georgia Street Bridge
also appears to be the only thing keeping the twin reinforced concrete
retaining walls flanking either side of the University Avenue Grade Separation
Cut from crashing down upon the roadway below. Each wall runs approximately 680
feet between Park Boulevard and Florida Street along the respective north and
south perimeters of University Avenue's 80-foot wide asphalt-covered roadway.
The truncated parabolic walls
range in height from approximately 1 foot at either end to 34 feet where it
reaches the Georgia Street Bridge. Adding stability and strength to the wall's
surface are a series of engaged pilasters running at 10-foot
intervals along the wall's surface. Except for three sections on either end,
semi-circular arches connect the pilasters' crowns, forming a blind arcade. The
pattern of the blind arcade's semi-circular arches mimics those of the bridge.
Also, like the bridge, the retaining walls feature a closed panel railing along
its upper edges. Again, like the bridge, these once featured that open
balustrade.
Three small but interesting
features also adorn the reinforced concrete wall's surface. The first are two
pairs of metal eyebolts. Once used to anchor electric trolley wires suspended
above the roadway, each eyebolt is affixed near the top of the wall approximately
8 feet west of the wall/bridge junction, and an equal distance east of the same
junction.
During the bridge's period of
historic significance, the trolley wires provided electricity to streetcars
traveling through the University Avenue Grade Separation Cut. The
streetcars were an important factor in the growth of a number of
"streetcar suburbs" that developed east of the cut along University
Avenue between 1914 and 1948. With the discontinuance of streetcar service
throughout San Diego in 1949 city crews merely covered over the tracks with a
layer of concrete and asphalt.
The second feature is a small
bronze plaque beneath the southeast corner parabolic rib/wall junction at
eye-level above the sidewalk. Dating from the time of the bridge's completion
in 1914, the plaque commemorates the work of its designing engineer, James R.
Comly and builder, Edward T. Hale. Directly below the plaque is the third and
final feature: a brass U. S. Geodetic Survey Benchmark
installed in 1927.
In addition to the filling in
of the railings, alterations include the coating of the bridge and retaining
walls with a spray coating of gunite. Despite these alterations, the bridge and
retaining walls still retain their historic integrity. They still reflect their
original location, setting, and association with the historic gateway to San
Diego's early streetcar suburbs. The bridge's design, original construction
materials, and workmanship contribute to the feeling of a particular period in
San Diego's development as it sought to provide a monumental gateway to a
burgeoning early 20th century suburban district.
Historic Places Registration Form. Click here.
New image of Georgia Street bridge. Click here.
21ST CENTURY BRIDGE MODERNIZATIONS, Click here.
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