Bridges for a New Era

Bridges for a New Era. . Between 1903 and 1931, twelve concrete arch bridges were constructed in Dayton. The construction of bridges itself was not new to Dayton, a city located at the confluence of the Great Miami River, Mad River, Stillwater River, and Wolf Creek. Dayton's story, from the laying out of its first plat in 1802 onward, would be incomplete without that of its bridges. From the early wooden covered structures to the iron and steel truss structures, and from aqueducts that carried the Miami Erie Canal over the river to railroad bridges that connected this to other distant cities, Dayton's bridges are markers of the city and its history.

Industry, Technology, and Art

The first decades of the 20th century were an especially important for Dayton. Dayton had grown into a modern industrial city, a center for automobile manufacture and innovation. Its population increased at an unprecedented rate, from 85,000 in 1900 to over 200,000 in 1930. Never before had its population been more diverse. Dayton, being the first city in the country to institute a professional City Manager form of government, set about professionally planning a progressive future. The visioning and planning for this future engaged many influential citizens who understood, and believed in, the City Beautiful movement, which was sweeping the country at this time. These comprehensive plans were strongly influenced by the City Beautiful Movement, an urban reform movement that espoused the classical Beaux-Arts principles of design for the monumental buildings and structures to bring order to the chaotic, industrializing cities.

City Beautiful

The City Beautiful Movement coincided with technological advances in construction, with the use of reinforced concrete at the forefront. This was particularly significant for the choice and design of new bridges that would replace old, failing ones. Until the 1890s, bridges in the United States were primarily iron and steel with stone piers and abutments carrying the load to the ground. Concrete bridge builders and designers promoted the use of reinforced concrete arguing that these bridges were strong, rust proof, required little maintenance, and could be built by local workers. The filled concrete arch bridge patented by Austrian engineer Josef Melan in 1893 related well with the classical aesthetic of the City Beautiful Movement. Their arched forms had roots in antiquity, reflecting classical beauty. The material -- concrete -- had an appearance of strength and stability.

Urban Monuments of the 20th Century

The Olmstead Brothers in their City Beautiful inspired Dayton Park System plan of 1911 wrote, "It would be advisable in time to replace the present narrow Webster Street Bridge by a wide concrete bridge with concrete arches." It was just this type of concrete arch bridge that would be built on Webster Street in 1916, one of the first to be constructed in Dayton after the 1913 flood. The construction, based upon a modern technique, was expected to withstand unprecedented load, and the bridges outlast and reign victorious overnatural forces such as those presented by the Great Flood of 1913. The bridges were meant to be urban artifacts, serving Dayton for generations to come.

Renewal for a New Millenium

Over time, though, Dayton outgrew these bridges, even as age and wear took their toll on the structures. All the concrete arch bridges were replaced with new ones between 1950 and 2017. Dayton's new bridges mark both, a continuity with the city's history and its renewal for a new century. Different as they may be in their design and aesthetic, the new bridges showcase civic pride that animates Daytonians today as it did over a hundred years ago.

(Captions):

View of Main Street Bridge (Courtesy, Dayton Metro Library)

Construction of Fifth Street Bridge (Courtesy, Dayton Metro Library)

Postcard showing an early twentieth century view of Dayton View Bridge (Courtesy, Dayton Metro Library)

View of Webster Street Bridge, 2014 (COurtesy, Dayton Metro Library)