Property Record
JACKSON ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Jackson Street Bridge |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 224234 |
| Location (Address): | JACKSON ST |
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| County: | Rock |
| City: | Janesville |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | 2 |
| Range: | 12 |
| Direction: | E |
| Section: | 1 |
| Quarter Section: | NE |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1919 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2012 |
| Historic Use: | concrete bridge |
| Architectural Style: | Neoclassical/Beaux Arts |
| Structural System: | Concrete Arch |
| Wall Material: | Concrete |
| Architect: | C. V. Kerch |
| Other Buildings On Site: | N |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation-Public History. The Jackson Street Bridge is a six-span, filled-spandrel, reinforced-concrete, continuous-arch bridge that crosses the Rock River in the city of Janesville. The overall length of the structure is 355 feet. Its 52-foot width includes a 42-foot, four-lane roadway and 4- and 6-foot sidewalks. The bridge was designed by city engineer C.V. Kerch. Construction was undertaken by Wausau Iron Works and completed in 1919. The spandrel and pier paneling and cast-concrete balustrade railing give the bridge a modest Neoclassical appearance. The balusters have an urn shape and are aligned tightly in rows of 12 between square posts with decorative incised panels. Original plans for the bridge called for light standards on alternating piers, but it is unclear from historic photographs whether they were ever included. The bridge was built to replace an existing structure on roughly the same alignment. The previous bridge was built between 1891 and 1904, and appears to have been a timber trestle. The current structure has undergone a number of alterations since its construction. Originally built to carry the Jackson Street streetcar line, the roadway was paved with brick and had two sets of tracks resting on oak ties embedded in the concrete of the deck. City streetcar service ceased in 1929, and in 1966 the roadway was reconstructed. The original brick paving was covered with a bituminous surface and trolley poles were removed. Curb and gutter improvements have widened the roadway by narrowing the east sidewalk from 7 feet to 4 feet. A skim coat of cement was applied to the entire structure at an unknown time. A section of metal beam guard approximately 54 feet in length has been applied to a section of balustrade on the southern end of the west railing, where balusters have been badly damaged or lost entirely. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Jeffrey A. Hess and Robert M. Frame, III, Wisconsin Stone-arch and Concrete-arch Bridges, Vol. 1, prepared for Wisconsin Department of Transportation (1986); Parsons Brinckerhoff and Engineering and Industrial Heritage, A Context for Common Historic Bridge Types, prepared for the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (October 2005); Janesville Gazette. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |