Photographs of the Bridges
Klingle Valley Bridge, Washington, DC
The original Klingle Valley Bridge was constructed in 1891 specifically to carry streetcars to open up the Northwest DC and Maryland suburbs to residential development. The Rock Creek Railway approached Rock Creek from the east, crossed on the Calvert Street Bridge, and then turned right to proceed northwest along what is now the route of Connecticut Avenue, crossing the Klingle Valley north of the Zoo. In 1907, the completion of the Connecticut Avenue Bridge (now Taft Bridge) further south on Connecticut Avenue allowed for an increase in vehicular traffic, making the narrow streetcar bridge at Klingle Valley obsolete. The bridge was replaced with the current bridge, which carried both streetcars and vehicles, in 1932, completing a continuous roadway that was straight, wide, and at a constant elevation across Klingle Valley. Streetcars stopped using the bridge in the 1935, as they were phased out in favor of buses, but the tracks were not removed from the bridge until 1977.
In the entire District of Columbia, there are only a handful of bridges that are elaborately decorated with statues, prominent sculptural lampposts, and geometrically patterned railings or parapets – and Klingle Valley is one of them. The bridge does not have statues, but its railings are probably the most elaborate in the city. They are constructed of wrought iron grids inset with cast iron panels that have an Art-Deco chevron pattern. The bridge is famous for its gorgeous, large, decorative bronze lanterns, in the shape of urns, on the four corners, as well as tall, ornate lampposts that once served as the supports for the cables that brought power to the streetcars. By the time that the bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004, the lanterns and lampposts had severely degraded. However, they were restored during rehabilitation of the bridge in 2005, and are a major landmark of the Cleveland Park neighborhood.
The Klingle Valley, and the Klingle Stream that flows through it, derive their name from the Klingle famiiy that was associated with the operations at Peirce Mill beginning in 1869. Klingle Road was a historic street that was continuous from the Washington National Cathedral on the west, through the Klingle Valley, and ending near Beach Drive just south of the Peirce-Klingle estate.
In 1991, the roadway within the Klingle Valley was destroyed by flooding, and remained closed for more than twenty-five years. In 2017, the section of the road within the valley was converted to a paved, landscaped multi-use trail that passes directly beneath the enormously high and historic bridge. Because there is no view of the bridge from adjacent roads or bridges, this trail is the only place to view the bridge in profile. However, there is no vehicle access to the trail and there is no convenient way to walk from the deck of the bridge to the trail below. Because it is so steep and has no parking spaces on either end, bicyclists mostly do not use it, and only dedicated hikers climbing the steep trail from the Rock Creek Trail will find it.
My new book, Bridges of Washington, DC: A History and Guide, has a more detailed description of this special bridge. There are also photos of the bridge and its decorations on www.bridgespotting.com.
