Takoma Park in Montgomery County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Carroll Avenue Bridge
Three bridges have been built across Sligo Creek at Carroll Avenue. The first bridge, built about 1878, was a simple wooden structure located about 150 feet below the site of the present bridge. When the Seventh-day Adventist Church established a hospital and college nearby in 1904, it became apparent that a larger bridge capable of handling increasing traffic for the growing community was needed.
Walter Douglas, who engineered the Lion Bridge on Connecticut Avenue, designed and supervised construction of the new reinforced concrete structure. The Adventist Church made a substantial contribution toward the $10,000 costs, and the bridge opened on July 22, 1909, with a speed limit of 8 miles per hour!
The Douglas Bridge served the town until the 1930s, when population growth and ever increasing automobile traffic demanded a larger structure. Governor Albert C. Ritchie and leading state, county, and city officials opened the three-lane steel and concrete bridge on September 14, 1932, in a gala celebration attended by over 1,000 people.
Erected 1988 by Historic Takoma, Inc.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Bridges & Viaducts • Education • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical date for this entry is July 22, 1909.
Location.
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies and also the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Washington Adventist University Veterans Memorial (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); "The Presidents Tree" (approx. Ό mile away); Sligo Creek Waterworks (approx. 0.3 miles away); B.Y. Morrison Park (approx. half a mile away); Heffner Park and Community Center (approx. half a mile away); Davis-Warner House (approx. 0.6 miles away); Memorial for Pvt. Robert J. Harmon Jr. (1946 - 1969) and Pvt. Robert C. Hobstetter (1938 - 1969) (approx. 0.6 miles away); In Memory of Sgt. Christopher Thornton (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Takoma Park.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), November 18, 2017
3. Plaque on bridge
Sligo Creek Bridge
Built - 1932
State Roads Commission
G. Clinton Uh. - Chairman.
E. Brooke Lee. Robert Lacy.
H.D. Williar Jr. - Chief Engineer.
W.C. Hopkins - Bridge Engineer.
Photographed by Allen C. Browne, September 26, 2025
4. Carroll Avenue Bridge over Sligo Creek
Credits. This page was last revised on September 27, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 18, 2017, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 393 times since then and 17 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 18, 2017, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 3. submitted on November 24, 2017, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 4. submitted on September 27, 2025, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
