Bridges of Buffalo Bayou
by Linda C. Gorski and Louis F. Aulbach
If you're a Houstonian (and a canoeist, too), here's a trivia question you must know to amaze your friends and acquaintances. How many bridges span Buffalo Bayou? Take a guess...ten, twenty? Here's a hint...between Katy Flewellen Road near the Bayou's headwaters and the Sidney Sherman Bridge (610 East) there are over 40 bridges. And that's not counting the railroad bridges! That's a lot of bridges since the initial span over the bayou was built in 1843.
In the early days of Houston there were no bridges across Buffalo Bayou. Ferries were the only means of crossing from one side to the other. Passengers and commercial goods were ferried across at the foot of Main Street at Allen's Landing. Wagons crossed to the north and west of town where they forded the bayou near Washington Road.
Preston Avenue Bridge
The first bridge across Buffalo Bayou, known, then, as "the Long Bridge," was built at Preston Avenue in 1843 by Richard Allen, a slave owned by J. J. Cain. The bridge was 100 feet long and supported by 26 posts. As highlighted in one of our earlier articles, that first bridge across Buffalo Bayou at Preston Avenue was extremely important to the commerce of early Houston. Although most of the city's trade took place around Main Street and the shipment of goods was through Allen's Landing, the new bridge assured that high water in the bayou would not prevent products such as cotton and agricultural goods from the farms to the west arriving by wagon at Market Square.
After that first bridge over the bayou, others followed as Houston's population grew. However, by 1873 the famous Koch map still showed only three bridges over the bayou. Those bridges were located at Preston Avenue, Commerce Avenue, and Louisiana Street. By 1891, records show that the Franklin Avenue bridge had been built to connect the growing city with the north bank...and from then on the building of bridges continued at a record pace.
Angry Houstonians were responsible for the construction of at least one bridge over the bayou. It was only when the residents of the Fifth Ward twice threatened to secede from Houston was the order signed for construction of an iron drawbridge at the foot of San Jacinto Street.
Bridges were landmarks for businesses located nearby and those businesses freely used their proximity to the bridges in their advertising such as "Stanley Brickworks - located at the north end of the Long Bridge."
And speaking of businesses locating near bridges, the Magnolia Brewery at Franklin and Milam actually extended over the bayou and onto the bridge structure at one point. The old brickwork of the brewery is still visible under the bridge.
One of the more bizarre tales about bridges over the Bayou in Houston is that of the Donnellan family grave vault -- a large brick vault with a small door boarded up with timbers located in the bank of Buffalo Bayou under the Franklin Avenue bridge at Louisiana Street. According to historical records, Tim Donnellan was buried in the vault in 1849; a brother of Thuse Donnellan who was killed by an accidental explosion of a bomb was buried in 1866, and Mrs. Emily Donnellan who died in 1867. But don't be afraid of disturbing the dead when you paddle under that bridge. All the remains of the Donnellan Grave Vault were removed in 1901 to Glenwood Cemetery.
McKee Street Bridge
By far the most artistic bridge over the Bayou is The McKee Street Bridge near James Bute Park in the Warehouse District. Built by Houston City Engineer James Gordon McKenzie in 1932, the bridge is an unusual design of a reinforced concrete girder bridge. The peculiar feature of this bridge is the girders, which rise above the roadway to form two swooping curves.
Until the 1980's, the bridge was abused through vandalism and graffiti. That was when artist Kirk Farris made it his pet project. He cleaned off the rust and urban decay, and applied the first coats of pastel paint. The flair of the bridge design has been described as representing either the waves of Buffalo Bayou below or perhaps a relative of the Loch Ness Monster, the globes on its light standards looking like multiple eyes.
The bridges of Houston owe a lot to artist Farris and photographer Paul Judice. During the time that Farris was an investigator for the Harris County Pollution Department in the 1970s he realized that the bridges over Buffalo Bayou were monuments to the culture that built them and also told the story of the bayou and of Houston. In 1980, he received a grant from the Cultural Arts Council of Houston to prepare an exhibition about the bridges over Buffalo Bayou. In 1982, Farris and Judice created the exhibition called "Bridges over Buffalo Bayou" that was displayed at the Houston Public Library's downtown branch. That was when he decided to paint the McKee Street Bridge. With approval from the City, paint donated by the Bute Paint Company (originally located in the warehouse district at one end of the bridge - the buildings of which are now trendy lofts) and lighting supplied by the local Wholesale Electric Supply Company, Farris completed revitalization of the McKee Street Bridge which remains as we see it today in all its pastel glory!
All of the bridges over Buffalo Bayou and their fascinating stories will be found in our forthcoming book. Watch for it soon!