Monday, July 28, 2014

Two New Bridges on the Way for Lorain – July 1939

The Bascule Bridge under construction, with the old
Swing Bridge in the background
Back on Wednesday, July 26, 1939, the Lorain Journal was celebrating its 60th anniversary. The front page of the second section (shown above) provided a photographic progress report of the two new bridges being constructed (after county voters had finally approved the bonds).

I still think it's incredible that both the Bascule Bridge and the High Level bridges were built at the same time and were dedicated the same day – September 25, 1940. I never knew that while I was growing up; I had always assumed the High Level Bridge was built much later.

Another upcoming improvement mentioned in an article was the plan to extend W. 21st Street so that it connected up with W. Lake Road. The article also mentions that Broadway had just been entirely repaved from the Loop to W. 28th Street with reinforced white concrete.

Judging from the tone of the newspaper articles, it was an exciting time to live in Lorain.
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2 comments:

  1. mattJuly 28, 2014 at 8:53 AM

    Dan,

    Nice article on the bridges. I was also unaware they were both built at the same time. The picture of the building of the bascule shows the swing bridge just north of it. I always thought it followed the same path. There was an earlier swing bridge that was at bank level and did not have a viaduct. For most of the 1800's a ferry and some crude bridges served as the only crossings of the river.

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  2. Exploring Almost Forgotten Gravesites in the Great State of OhioJuly 28, 2014 at 2:10 PM

    Thank you for this wonderful post about the twin bridges; more twins in time than in type as we know.

    The Lorain Historical Society (Formerly Black River Historical Society) in 2004 published a 28-page booklet dedicated to the bridges of Lorain's past and present entitled "Spanning the River Lorain, Ohio" that makes a nice little read on a Summer's day as you leisurely delve into more of Lorain's history.

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