Falls Bridge, Spanning Schuylkill River, connecting East & West River Drives, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA

Significance: The Falls Bridge is a unique and well-preserved example of the Petit through truss design, capable of carrying a roadway on both its upper and lower chords. The upper deck remains incomplete, but is nonetheless an example of the Philadelphia Department of Public Works and Bureau of Surveys' far-sighted transportation planning under Chief Engineer George S. Webster. The bridge crosses the Schuylkill River in Fairmount Park, a National Register-listed historic district.

Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N626

Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N626

Survey number: HAER PA-35

Building/structure dates: 1894-1895 Initial Construction

National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 72001151

steel truss bridges unfinished structures civil engineering bridge construction transportation city planning pedestrian bridges vehicular bridges petit trusses through trusses metal plaques steel portals rocker bearings fish bellied beams eyebars riveted joints pinned joints granite abutments granite piers wrought iron hand railings polychromy time capsules stone coping sidewalks roller bearings street railroads falls bridge falls bridge schuylkill schuylkill river drives west river drives philadelphia philadelphia county pennsylvania perry e borchers jack h boucher eric n delony edge moor iron company fairmount park commission porter and company filbert historic american engineering record jet lowe mcclenahan brothers pennsylvania department of transportation pennsylvania historical and museum commission philadelphia department of public works and bureau of surveys helen p ross justin m spivey george s webster james h windrim photo ultra high resolution high resolution library of congress national register of historic places

1969 - 1980

Library of Congress

http://www.loc.gov/

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