Monroe Street Bridge (Spokane, Washington)

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| caption1 = The third bridge under construction in 1911

| image2 = Spokane River Lower Dam from Above and Monroe Stree Bridge Under Renovation.jpg

| caption2 = Monroe Street Bridge under renovation in 2003

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The current bridge of 1911 is the third in this location. The first, a rather rickety wooden structure, was built in 1889. It was closed for a time due to arguments in the city over rights of passage and ownership, and burned down on July 22, 1890. The second was a steel bridge that opened June 27, 1892. It vibrated badly and had a noticeable dip in the center. On August 28, 1905, consultant from the Good Roads Movement considered the bridge unsafe.History of the city of Spokane and Spokane County, Washington: from its earliest settlement to the present time by Durham, Nelson Wayne, 1859-1938 https://archive.org/details/historyofcityofs01durh

The design of the third bridge was largely copied from the Rocky River Bridge{{cite news|url=http://www.historic-structures.com/oh/rocky_river/rocky_river_bridge.php|title=Rocky River Bridge, Rocky River Ohio|website=Historic Structures}} in Cleveland, Ohio, but was built one foot (0.3 m) longer to make it the largest concrete arch in the U.S. at the time. In turn, the Rocky River Bridge was modeled after the Walnut Lane Bridge in Philadelphia, which was modeled after the Adolphe Bridge in Luxembourg.{{cite web|url=https://www.phillyhistory.org/blog/index.php/2016/10/the-walnut-lane-bridge-poetry-in-poured-concrete/|title=The Walnut Lane Bridge: Poetry in Poured Concrete|first=Ken|last=Finkel|date=October 3, 2016|website=PhillyHistory Blog}}

The Monroe Street bridge was designed with ornamental features such as bison skulls, covered pavilions, and a chain-link railing motif. The bison skull was an inspiration of P. C. Shine, who had found it in Alberta at Drumheller in the early 1900s. Located just west of the Falls, the bridge runs due north–south and opened on November 23, 1911.

The bridge underwent changes in 1925 and in 1934, and submitted to the modernization of Spokane. The pavilion lamps were converted to electric lighting in 1925, and the electric car railways were removed from the bridge in 1934. Approaching 65 years of service in 1976, the bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

By the 1990s, the bridge had deteriorated to the point where rebuilding it was necessary. On January 6, 2003, the bridge was closed for restoration,{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=v2VWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ofIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2761%2C5389565 |work=Spokesman-Review |location= |last=Cannata |first=Amy |title=Monroe Street Bridge goes out of service today |date=January 6, 2003 |page=A1}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wGVWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ofIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3296%2C5592525 |work=Spokesman-Review |location= |last=Lynn |first=Adam |title=First day of closure yields no problems |date=January 7, 2003 |page=B1}} dismantled down to the central arch, and rebuilt faithfully to its original appearance. The bridge was reopened in 2005 on September 17, with new railings and concrete separating the walkways from the road.{{cite web| last = Cannata| first = Amy| authorlink =| year = 2005| url = http://www.spokane.net/channels/monroebridge-body.asp| title = Nearly a Century Old, the Monroe Street Bridge Reopens This Weekend, Sturdy Enough to Carry Us for the Next 75 Years| format =| work = Spokane.net| publisher = Spokane Spokesman-Review|archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20061010082947/http://www.spokane.net/channels/monroebridge-body.asp|archivedate=October 10, 2006|accessdate = February 15, 2015}}

The Monroe Street Bridge has a local reputation as being a suicide bridge.{{cite web| last = Sottile| first = Leah| title = The People Left Behind| newspaper = Inlander| date = March 7, 2012| url = https://www.inlander.com/spokane/the-people-left-behind/Content?oid=2137570| accessdate = September 27, 2020}} According to the Spokane County Medical Examiners Office, from 2006 to 2018 there was an average of 2.4 deaths per year on the bridge and nine out of 13 witnessed or videotaped incidents of bridge jumper suicides on the Spokane River were on the Monroe Street Bridge.{{cite web| title = The Facts About Individuals Who Jump From Bridges In Spokane County| publisher = Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office| url = https://www.spokanecounty.org/DocumentCenter/View/20888/Facts-about-Bridge-Jumpers| format = PDF| accessdate = September 19, 2020}} With a bridge height from the deck floor to water of 135 feet and accounting for the air resistance drag on the human body in the 1.5 second free fall, the impact velocity at the waters surface is approximately 57.2 miles per hour which almost always causes traumatic injuries and jumpers either die of their injuries, drowning, hypothermia or a combination of these. The Spokane Police Department receives an average of 20 calls about suicidal individuals a year on the Monroe Street Bridge and despite this, there is currently (as of August 2020) no formal measures in place to try to discourage or prevent people from jumping off the bridge.{{cite news| last = Roley| first = Amanda| title = SPD gets 20 suicide calls a year to Monroe Street Bridge| publisher = KREM-TV| date = January 24, 2018| url = https://www.krem.com/mobile/article/news/local/spokane-county/spd-gets-20-suicide-calls-a-year-to-monroe-street-bridge/293-511306874| accessdate = September 19, 2020}} The city created a Suicide Prevention Task Force in 2018 and has discussed installing safety barriers, a telephone that connects to a suicide prevention hotline on the bridge, and patrolling the bridge. Although they are often removed, members of the community sometimes place suicide prevention signage and messages of hope on the deck fence railings to make people think again about their actions and dissuade potential jumpers.{{cite news| last = Rourke| first = Caroline| title = Suicide prevention signs hung on Monroe Street Bridge| publisher = KXLY| date = August 16, 2018| url = https://www.kxly.com/suicide-prevention-signs-hung-on-monroe-street-bridge/| accessdate = September 27, 2020}} Concerned citizens have petitioned local officials for permanent signage.

{{Commons category|Monroe Street Bridge}}

• {{Portal-inline|Transport}}
• {{Portal-inline|Engineering}}
• {{Portal-inline|United States}}
• List of crossings of the Spokane River

File:MonroeStreetBridge1889.PNG| Monroe Street Bridge in 1889

File:MonroeStreetBridge1890s.PNG| Monroe Street Bridge in 1890s

File:Construction of the Monroe Street Bridge, Spokane, Washington, September 14, 1909 (WASTATE 261).jpeg|Monroe Street Bridge on September 14, 1909

File:MonroeStreetBridgeNew.PNG| Monroe Street Bridge in 1911 shortly after completion

{{reflist}}

• [http://properties.historicspokane.org/property/?PropertyID=1883 Monroe Street Bridge] - City-County of Spokane Historic Preservation Office
• {{cite web

| last1 = Moyano

| first1 = David C., P.E., S.E., M.ASCE

| authorlink =

| last2=Shrope|first2= Stephen J., P.E., S.E., M.ASCE

| year = 2006

| url = http://www.pubs.asce.org/ceonline/ceonline06/0106feat.html

| title = Past Perfect

| work = Civil Engineering Magazine

| publisher = American Society of Civil Engineers

| accessdate = September 12, 2006

|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20060909215456/http://pubs.asce.org/ceonline/ceonline06/0106feat.html |archivedate = September 9, 2006}}

• {{cite book |last=Creighton |first=Jeff |title=Bridges of Spokane |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CqjzFuenhTQC&pg=PA64 |year=2013 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing| location=Charleston, SC |isbn=978-0-7385-9635-8|oclc=820434643}}

{{Registered Historic Places}}

Category:Buildings and structures in Spokane, Washington

Category:Transportation in Spokane, Washington

Category:Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in the United States

Category:Kirtland Cutter buildings

Category:Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state)

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Spokane, Washington

Category:Bridges completed in 1911

Category:1911 establishments in Washington (state)

Category:Concrete bridges in the United States

Category:Transportation buildings and structures in Spokane County, Washington