|
Houston -- the Draw Bridge City
|
|
Houston is well known as the "Bayou City," but it could easily have
been called "the Draw BridgeCity ."
Why the Draw Bridge City?
A municipal ordinance establishing the Port of Houston and fixing
wharfage
rates and rules was adopted on June 8, 1841. The port encompassed all
the
wharves, landings, slips and roads along Buffalo Bayou and White Oak
Bayou
within the corporate boundaries of the city. Throughout the 19th
century,
steam ships, schooners and barges made their way to the foot of Main
Street
to offload goods at the Port of Houston.
|
Bridge under 59 Click on image to enlarge.
As early as the mid-1850's, the Houston Direct Navigation Company was
a
driving force in the economic growth of the City. Commercial marine
traffic
took precedence over road traffic and even rail transport. As a
result,
bridges crossing Buffalo Bayou could not be built in a way that would
restrict the passage of ships enroute to Houston.
The first draw bridge in Houston was the Galveston, Houston and
Henderson
Railroad bridge which was built in 1865 to connect the GH&H tracks
coming
from Galveston with the Houston and Texas Central Railroad line on the
north side of Buffalo Bayou. The tracks unceremoniously divided the
subdivision of Frostown at that time, and a modern bridge sits unused
today
as the railroad right of way will become part of Houston's Bikeways
System.
|
After a threatened revolt of secession by citizens of the Fifth Ward
in the
late 1800's, an iron draw bridge was built at San Jacinto Street in
1883 to
connect the north side of Buffalo Bayou with the central business
district.
As Houston grew as a rail center, draw bridges were constructed to
connect
the main rail lines on either side of the ship channel. There was the
Houston Belt and Terminal Railway bridge in Schrimpf's Field in
Frostown,
the International and Great Northern bridge near Lottman Street, the
San
Antonio and Aransas Pass Railraod bridge near North Velasco Street,
the
Houston Belt and Terminal Railway bridge above Wayside Drive and the
Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad bridge at Hedrick
Street.
Eventually, the popularity of motor vehicle traffic caused draw
bridges to
be built at McKee street, at the modern Jensen Drive and at Lockwood
Street. Ultimately, a total of ten draw bridges were constructed over
Buffalo Bayou between Main Street and the Turning Basin.
Marine traffic to Allen's Landing and other points upstream of the
Turning
Basin declined after the opening of the deep water port in November,
1914.
All of the roadway bridges have been replaced by modern concrete
structures. Some of the railroad bridges have been replaced with
modern
bridges. Others have been removed as the need for rail connections has
diminished.
Some of the draw bridges were of the traditional vertical rise type,
while
others were swing bridges that rotated horizonatlly on a pivot. The
HB&T
Railroad bridge in Frostown has been renovated as part of the
reconstruction of the US59 highway overpass in 2003. This Strauss
Bascule
draw bridge, designed by the engineer who also built the Golden Gate
Bridge
in San Francisco, has been converted for use in the Houston Bikeways
System. Although access is somewhat limited while the hike and bike
paths
along the bayou are under construction, it is possible to get to the
bridge
from the north side of the bayou near Nance Street. If you have not
had a
chance to see a showcase example of one of Houston's historic draw
bridges,
this is your opportunity
|
|
|