Photographs of the Bridges
High Street Bridge, Washington, DC
The oldest bridge in the District of Columbia is almost 200 years old, and is crossed by thousands every day, yet is relatively unknown to most Washingtonians. The bridge was constructed in 1831 to carry the Georgetown High Street across the newly constructed C&O Canal. Even though it carries busy vehicle and pedestrian traffic on what is now Wisconsin Avenue just a block from M Street, one of the busiest thoroughfares and shopping districts in the city, its historic importance is known to few DC residents, and even fewer tourists and visitors. There is little car traffic in this area, because the streets are not through streets, and there is very little public parking available in the narrow sliver of land south of the canal. Even cars and pedestrians crossing the bridge are unlikely to notice that it is historic, because it is a sub-structure arch bridge with no superstructure above the deck.
The Wisconsin Avenue Bridge is a simple, single-arch stone bridge, about fifty feet long and twenty feet high over the towpath. All that is visible when crossing the bridge is a decorative, green iron railing, and a short obelisk that can easily be overlooked.
The only way to view the bridge is to walk along the C&O Canal towpath beneath the arch, and the early date and historic importance of the bridge will become immediately apparent to even casual observers. The sandstone blocks range in color from tan to orange, with many of them blackened by decades of weathering and burning of coal. The blocks are of various sizes, and are shaped to stand out, especially those defining the arch-ring, making it visually interesting.
On the western side of the bridge, the block above the keystone identifies John Cox as the Mayor of Georgetown, and James Dunlop as Recorder. The keystone below this block is inscribed with the construction date of 1831. None of these inscriptions are easy to read from the towpath, but they can be read with binoculars or a telephoto camera lens.
The obelisk on the northwest corner of the High Street Bridge also deserves a visit. This monument was erected in 1850, to commemorate the completion of the C&O Canal to its western terminus at Cumberland. The obelisk itself is only about five feet high, but sits on a square, white marble base that is also about five feet high. The base is engraved, on all four sides, with the names of the engineers, directors, and other officials associated with the construction of the canal.
My book, Bridges of Washington, DC: A History and Guide, has a section focusing on the High Street Bridge, and its importance to Georgetown as the hub of transportation and industry in early Washington, DC.
