Page added 3-21-15.
Figure 1 LaSalle Avenue Bridge. Photo taken 8/31/13.
With its addition to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 and its current excellent structural state, it seems that the city of South Bend and the state of Indiana have taken superb measures at preserving this historical bridge. Tied to an increasingly rare concrete arch type and the magnificent “City Beautiful” movement, the bridge’s historic significance alone, excluding its beauty and state, require continued preservation in the coming decades.
Figure 7 View of river from deck. Photo taken 8/31/13.
Preservation:
The bridge was rehabilitated in 2005/2006, and the original railings were replaced with newer, albeit agreeable and appropriate ones at some previous point.[7] According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, there are no longer many Melan reinforced arches in the state, adding to the local and state significance of the bridge.[8] Additionally, this may be the only remaining example of the Concrete Steel Engineering Company’s construction patent. The bridge’s current state is great, with a recent 2008 inspection rating the conditions of the superstructure, substructure, and deck “Very Good.”[9]
Figure 5 Replaced railing. Photo taken 8/31/13.
Design:
The three-span bridge is a closed spandrel concrete arch bridge, with an earth fill. It is a notable example of the Melan arch bridge design, which places ribs of solid steel in the concrete for reinforcement instead of the commonly used rebar. Each of the rings, sprouting from concrete piers, spans seventy-nine feet and are elliptical in nature.[4] It is 279 feet in length and fifty-one feet wide, with the height of the bridge from the deck to river bottom about fifty-four feet.[5]
Figure 4 Side-view of arches, facing west.
Photo taken 8/31/13.
Figure 3 Side-view of arches, facing east.
Photo taken 8/31/13.
The bridge is linked to development of the East Bank area during the early twentieth century, which also contains many buildings on the National Register of Historic Places list (such as the LaSalle Annex). In fact, the area in which the bridge occupies was one of the first places the St. Joseph River was crossed in the area. In 1831, Nehemiah B. Griffith received the first ferry license at the same spot. Later on a wooden covered bridge was raised at the modern day crossing. In 1865, however, the bridge was partly destroyed by a tornado, and rebuilt (but without a roof). The wooden bridge was replaced by a suspension or chain bridge which eventually collapsed when a worker accidently drove a pin out of the east end of the bridge, causing the entire bridge to fall into the river. Next an iron truss bridge was built, but was replaced by the current concrete arch bridge.[3] The bridge fits well with the two other early concrete bridges located in South Bend, the Jefferson Boulevard Bridge (1905) and the Michigan Street Bridge (1914).
Figure 2 Bridge with LaSalle Annex in the background. Photo taken 8/31/13.
[1] "LaSalle Street Bridge." State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database. Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Web. 18 June 2014. <http://www.in.gov/dnr/historic/4505.htm>.
[2] Ibid.
[3] National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. LaSalle Street Bridge Nomination. Obtained through Indiana's State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD) database. Web. 18 June 2014. Page 6.
[4] "LaSalle Street Bridge." State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database. Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Web. 18 June 2014. <http://www.in.gov/dnr/historic/4505.htm>.
[5] National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. LaSalle Street Bridge Nomination. Obtained through Indiana's State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD) database. Web. 18 June 2014. Page 5.
[6] Ibid., page 5.
[7] HistoricBridges.org. National Bridge Inventory Data Sheet - LaSalle Avenue Bridge. 2011. Raw data. South Bend.
[8] "LaSalle Street Bridge." State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database. Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Web. 18 June 2014. <http://www.in.gov/dnr/historic/4505.htm>.
[9] HistoricBridges.org. National Bridge Inventory Data Sheet - LaSalle Avenue Bridge. 2011. Raw data. South Bend.
Location:
South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana. LaSalle Avenue over St. Joseph River.
History:
The LaSalle Avenue Bridge was built in 1907. It was designed by the Marsh Engineering Company of Des Moines, Iowa and built by the Concrete-Steel Engineering Company. The Marsh Engineering Company won the contract to construct the bridge for $84,750, which subcontracted it to the Concrete-Steel Engineering Company.[1] When it was built, cheerful city officials declared “Permanent bridges of this character should hereafter be erected.”[2] In 1999, the bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
LaSalle Avenue Bridge, South Bend, Indiana
Primary Documents:
- Rehabilitation plaque:
LaSalle Street Over St. Joseph River Original Construction 1907
Designer: A. J. Hammond Builder: Marsh Bridge Co.
Reconstruction 2005 St. Joseph County, Indiana
County Commissioners Michael J. Hamann District 1 Mark A. Dobson [District 1] Beverly D. Crone District 2 David Niezgodski [District 2]
Steve Ross [District 2]bCynthia A. Bodle District 3
Michael C. Eby Auditor Susan D. Al-Abbas Engineer
County Council Randall W. Przybysz District A Andrew T. Kostielney District B Kevin K. Kubsch [District B] Dale R. DeVon District C
Rafael Morton District D Michael J. Kruk District E Dennis R. Schafer District F Mark A. Catanzarite District G Joseph A. Baldoni District H
Heath O. Weaver [District H] James A. Reinholtz District I
Designer: DLZ INC. Builder: Laporte Construction Company
Figure 6 Deck condition. Photo taken 8/31/13.
Concrete sidewalks complement each side of the deck, which once housed ornate balustrades (a row of identical posts that support a railing) and eight lamp posts. The initial request form for its NRHP status states that the bridge “is graceful, and harmonizes with the natural setting of the river and its banks. The simplicity of its décor is set off by lush vegetation on either side of the naturalized banks and yet forms a tie to the residential, commercial and industrial activity which bustles along at the street level.”[6]
The bridge’s design, in fact, was influenced by the “City Beautiful” movement, which is usually associated with larger cities like Cleveland, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. The movement, which was popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, focused on building monuments and modes of beatification that would inspire civic virtue, pride, and morality. Alonzo J. Hammond, the engineer who designed the bridge, used concrete to imitate the stone that was frequently used in places like Indianapolis, the state capital. Hammond also designed the Jefferson Avenue Bridge.
Primary Document 1 Rehabilitation plaque. Photo taken 8/31/13.