Property Record
RR over Underwood Creek, N of W. Watertown Plank Rd.
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | C&NW Railway Bridge over Underwood Creek |
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| Other Name: | Chicago & Northwestern Railway Bridge |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 78055 |
| Location (Address): | RR over Underwood Creek, N of W. Watertown Plank Rd. |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Wauwatosa |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1910 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1995200520162023 |
| Historic Use: | overhead truss bridge |
| Architectural Style: | NA (unknown or not a building) |
| Structural System: | Parker Truss |
| Wall Material: | Metal |
| Architect: | Pennsylvania Steel Co. |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| 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' titled "Underwood Creek Parkway" 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, State Historic Preservation Office. 2023: Appearance unchanged. See http://johnmarvigbridges.org/UP%20Watertown%20Plank%20Road%20Bridge.html for photos of bridge ID plate mounted to truss chord showing construction date and builder. "1910" date stamp also visible on concrete pier. 2011-Pratt thru-truss bridge with a polygonal top chord and two plate girder deck-truss approach spans. The bridge carries the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad over the Underwood Creek Parkway, the Canadian Pacific Railroad line, and Bridges B-40-470-72 and B-40-471. The bridge is located within the Underwood Creek Parkway. Date of construction located on concrete piers. Railroad bridge. In 1910, the Milwaukee, Sparta, and North Western Railway developed the large Butler railroad yard in what is now the northwest corner of the City of Wauwatosa. The yard and its approach, consisting of twenty-one tracks able to hold over fifteen hundred railroad cars, was intended to relieve congestion from downtown Milwaukee railyards as a spur to the west of the city. The approach to the yard from the south crossed Underwood Creek and an adjacent lower railway line. The Milwaukee, Sparta, and North Western Railway was purchased by the Chicago and North Western Railroad in 1921, which proceeded to operate the rail line and yard in Wauwatosa for most of the twentieth century. |
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| Bibliographic References: | ‘Butler’s proud train town history takes the prize,’ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. June 22, 2012. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |