Duke Ellington Bridge

Duke Ellington Bridge
The Duke Ellington Bridge as seen from the Taft Bridge
Coordinates38°55′24″N 77°2′54″W / 38.92333°N 77.04833°W / 38.92333; -77.04833
CarriesCalvert Street NW
CrossesRock Creek
LocaleWashington, D.C.
Location

The Duke Ellington Bridge, named after American jazz pianist Duke Ellington, carries Calvert Street NW over Rock Creek in Washington, D.C., United States. It connects 18th Street NW in Adams Morgan with Connecticut Avenue NW in Woodley Park, just north of the Taft Bridge.

History

Facing east over the Duke Ellington Bridge

Originally called the "Calvert Street Bridge", it was designed by Paul Philippe Cret in a neoclassical style and built in 1935. It was rededicated as the Duke Ellington Bridge following the death of the Washington native and famous band leader in 1974.[1] It is a limestone structure with three graceful 146-foot (45 m) arches. There are four sculptural reliefs on the abutments measuring three feet high by four feet wide. The classical reliefs by Leon Hermant represent the four modes of travel: automobile, train, ship, and plane.

Calvert Street Bridge, 1926

The bridge replaced one built in 1891 by the Rock Creek Railway to carry streetcars. The bridge was a steel trestle bridge with wooden decking, 750 feet (230 m) long and 130 feet (40 m) high.[2] To avoid streetcar service disruption, the old bridge was moved 80 feet (24 m) south during the construction of the new replacement Calvert Street Bridge; however, streetcar service was discontinued before the new bridge opened.

1922 cartoon by Clifford Berryman depicting the old Calvert Street Bridge

See also

  • List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Washington, D.C.

References

  1. ^ Rock Creek' Bridges from the National Park Service Archived November 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Ross, Amy (Summer 1992). "Calvert Street Bridge / Historic American Engineering Record" (PDF). Library of Congress. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 23, 2023. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
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