Howard Street Bridge

I took this photo as made a hasty exit from work one afternoon. Like on so many days I realized that I had not taken a photo so I looked at something I saw every day and tried to figure out an interesting way to photograph it. Close-ups are always good. In this they cropped out the street people and the dirty roadway. Plus, I love to photograph objects against the blue sky, particularly if there are a few clouds around to give things variety.

The Howard Street Bridge is a metal arch bridge, a type which were mostly manufactured in the years after the Civil War. During this time there were many advances in steel and iron work, which made these bridges more common. There was a bit of a surge in these bridges in Baltimore City during the late 1800s as the city was expanding over the Jones Falls River. The Howard Street bridge was built between 1937-1939 so motorists could easily be transported over the rail yards below. The bridge linked Howard Street with Oak Street, thus renaming the northern street as North Howard Street. The bridge opened in 1939 and was refurbished in 1981. A couple of years ago it was repainted.

Resources:

Metal Arch bridges in Maryland

Bridges Around Baltimore

Street Name Changes in Baltimore