East Bank in Nashville in Davidson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
Shelby Street Bridge
Constructed 1909
| | 2003 Rehabilitated | |
Photographed by Shane Oliver, December 4, 2021
1. Shelby Street Bridge Marker
A duplicate of this marker stands on the other side of the bridge.
Erected 2003.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Bridges & Viaducts. A significant historical year for this entry is 1909.
Location. 36° 9.764′ N, 86° 46.284′ W. Marker is in Nashville, Tennessee, in Davidson County. It is in East Bank. It can be reached from Victory Avenue 0.1 miles west of S. 1st Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Nashville TN 37203, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Middle Tennessee. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Nashville Bridge Company (within shouting distance of this marker); Surrender of Nashville East Bank of the Cumberland (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Demonbreum's Cave (about 700 feet away); Gateway Bridge (approx. 0.2 miles away); Cumberland River Floods (approx. 0.2 miles away); Sampson W. Keeble (approx. 0.2 miles away); 100 Second Avenue (approx. 0.2 miles away); The First Peoples (approx. Ό mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Nashville.
this page online
Photographed by Shane Oliver, December 4, 2021
2. John Siegenthaler (Formerly Shelby Street) Pedestrian Bridge Entrancd
View is looking eastward across the Cumberland River towards Downtown Nashville. The John Siegenthaler Pedestrian Bridge marker is on the far-left side of the photo.
Photographed by S. C. McCullough, April 14, 2019
3. Shelby Street Bridge Marker
Photographed by S. C. McCullough, April 14, 2019
4. Shelby Street Bridge
Now known as the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge.
Photo from the Charles W. Cook, Jr. Digital Images Collection(courtesy of the Nashville Public Lib.), 1909
5. Construction of the Shelby Street Bridge, circa 1909
"A view of the construction of the Sparkman Street Bridge, later renamed Shelby Street Bridge, built along the Cumberland River in downtown Nashville. The original official name of the bridge was the Broadway Bridge. The bridge was completed in 1909, spanning the Cumberland River to link East Nashville to the downtown area. The construction of this bridge was considered very innovative, with concrete trusses making a new underneath support system. The Nashville Bridge Company was on the east side of the river. The Foster & Creighton Company were the contractors for the bridge (specifically Foster-Creighton-Gould Company), a family-owned construction company founded in Nashville circa 1885 by Wilbur Fisk Foster and Robert T. Creighton. In 1986, the bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 2003, the bridge reopened as a pedestrian walkway. The bridge was the first one in North America to have concrete arched trusses. Howard M. Jones, a railroad engineer, was employed by the county as its designer...."
Photographed by Shane Oliver, December 4, 2021
6. John Siegenthaler Pedestrian Bridge Marker
A duplicate of this marker stands at the other end of the bridge.
Credits. This page was last revised on May 6, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 30, 2019, by S. C. McCullough of Charlotte, North Carolina. This page has been viewed 1,025 times since then and 64 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 26, 2021, by Shane Oliver of Richmond, Virginia. 3, 4. submitted on May 30, 2019, by S. C. McCullough of Charlotte, North Carolina. 5. submitted on June 1, 2019. 6. submitted on December 26, 2021, by Shane Oliver of Richmond, Virginia. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
