Duke Ellington Bridge

{{Infobox bridge

| bridge_name = Duke Ellington Bridge

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| image = Washington DC Duke Ellington Bridge.jpg

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| caption = The Duke Ellington Bridge as seen from the Taft Bridge

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| carries = Calvert Street NW

| crosses = Rock Creek

| locale = Washington, D.C.

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The Duke Ellington Bridge, named after American jazz pianist Duke Ellington, carries Calvert Street NW over Rock Creek in Washington, D.C., United States. It connects 18th Street NW in Adams Morgan with Connecticut Avenue NW in Woodley Park, just north of the Taft Bridge.

History

Image:Duke Ellington Bridge - facing east.JPG

Originally called the "Calvert Street Bridge", it was designed by Paul Philippe Cret in a neoclassical style and built in 1935.

It was rededicated as the Duke Ellington Bridge following the death of the Washington native and famous band leader in 1974.[http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/hih/rock_creek_potomac/rock_creek_potomac11.htm Rock Creek' Bridges from the National Park Service] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105104257/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/hih/rock_creek_potomac/rock_creek_potomac11.htm |date=November 5, 2012 }} It is a limestone structure with three graceful {{convert|146|ft|m|adj=on}} arches. There are four sculptural reliefs on the abutments measuring three feet high by four feet wide. The classical reliefs by Leon Hermant represent the four modes of travel: automobile, train, ship, and plane.

File:Auto wreck Calvert St. Bridge.jpg

The bridge replaced one built in 1891 by the Rock Creek Railway to carry streetcars. The bridge was a steel trestle bridge with wooden decking, {{convert|750|ft|m}} long and {{convert|130|ft|m}} high.{{Cite web |last=Ross |first=Amy |date=Summer 1992 |title=Calvert Street Bridge / Historic American Engineering Record |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/dc/dc0700/dc0760/data/dc0760data.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423021306/https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/dc/dc0700/dc0760/data/dc0760data.pdf |archive-date=2023-04-23 |access-date=2023-09-24 |website=Library of Congress}} To avoid streetcar service disruption, the old bridge was moved {{convert|80|ft|m}} south during the construction of the new replacement Calvert Street Bridge; however, streetcar service was discontinued before the new bridge opened.

File:Clifford Berryman cartoon 19 February 1922.jpg depicting the old Calvert Street Bridge]]

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20060313180246/http://www.culturaltourismdc.org/dch_tourism2608/dch_tourism_show.htm?doc_id=42019 Duke Ellington Bridge, from Cultural Tourism DC]
{{HAER |survey=DC-23 |id=dc0760 |title=Calvert Street Bridge}}
{{Structurae |id=20030904 |title=Calvert Street Bridge |accessdate=2012-12-24}}
[https://ddotlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/30 Calvert Street Bridge (Duke Ellington Bridge).] DDOT Library Collection: DC Bridges and Tunnels, District Department of Transportation (DDOT).

{{Crossings navbox

|structure = Crossings

|place = Rock Creek Valley

|bridge = Duke Ellington Memorial Bridge

|bridge signs =

|upstream = South Portal Bridge

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|downstream = Taft Bridge

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}}

Category:Bridges completed in 1935

Category:Neoclassical architecture in Washington, D.C.