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..............................Bridges Around Baltimore...........................................................Version 1.1.....
Baltimore City has plenty of old bridges, many of which are still standing and still being used for traffic. Below, the Mt Vernon Water Pumping station sits at the foot of the 29th Street bridge ( built in 1937 ) , a thruway that connects East and West Baltimore across the Jones Falls Valley. Photo #2, to the right, shows that same scene in 2006. The Jones Falls Expressway, built in the 1960's, has really changed the view. While the 29th Street bridge is still clearly visible, you can hardly see the Mt Vernon Water pumping station , which peeks out from under the Expressway. |
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...............The 29th Street Bridge, crossing over the Jones Falls Valley. Just to the South of it is the newer 28th Street Bridge. |
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Another bridge to cross
the Jones Falls was the St. Paul Street Bridge. This
view , below , is looking south on St. Paul Street
from Mount Royal Avenue, over the Jones Falls . The building directly
behind the bridge is the Mt Royal Hotel, on Mount Royal Avenue,
which is still standing . The ornate bridge has long since
been replaced and redecked to a much plainer bridge for Calvert Street
traffic. Below are two other postcard shots of the old bridge in
different contrasts. |
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| ..Looking northwest at
Baltimore's St. Paul Street Bridge, with the old Union
Train Station in the background. Over the years, reconstruction
projects have created a less ornate bridge, and the ladies
have been moved. The lady to the right currently resides just to
the west of the Jones Falls Expressway, on Mt Royal Terrace, and
just north of North Avenue, only a few blocks from where she
started from on St. Paul Street. |
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| One block to the West
of the St Paul Street Bridge , was the Calvert
Street Bridge ( Built in 1880 ) . The ladies
on this bridge are replaced by lions. The bridge has long since
been replaced and the lions, or atleast a few of them, currently
reside in a park in Bolton Hill. .................................................................................... 
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...............................................Baltimore's Calvert Street Bridge, looking southbound towards Mount Royal Avenue. |
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| The Cedar Avenue Bridge leading east
out of Druid Hill Park. The Jones Falls Valley has more or
less become the Jones Falls Expressway, and the old Cedar Avenue Bridge was
torn down years ago. Included here are four old postcard views of
the old bridge. |
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Edmondson Avenue
Bridge, crossing the Gwynns Falls in West Baltimore. |
| A gloomy 1913 view
of the Fallsway Viaduct. It appears to have been replaced by the
bottom end by the Jones Falls Expressway. Check out the Kilduffs
page on Monuments for more on the Fallsway Monument. When
the Fallsway was built, it replaced the need for 12 older bridges,
and spanned from Mount Royal Avenue to Baltimore Street , covering
up the Jones Falls , which had become a open sewer and very prone to
flooding. ....................................................................... 
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One of my Favorite Baltimore bridges,
the old Hanover Street bridge ( Built in 1916 ) .
The bridge looks very much like this old postcard view today.(
The water isn't quite as clean though ) Before the Hanover Street
Bridge was built, this channel of the Patapsco River was crossed
over by a span known as the " Long Bridge " which was built in 1868
. In it's early days, it was a toll bridge, described as a
" mile of driven piles and timber girders , where families would often
go to picnic on, fish, or watch the rowers from the nearby boat
clubs. In later years, the State took over the bridge and passage was
free. Sections of " Long Bridge " were visible for years after it was taken
down,and the old bridge went from the end of Light Street to Acton's Park
in Brooklyn. |
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...........................................................................A night shot of Baltimore's Hanover Street Bridge. |
| Over the years,
the old Howard Street bridge ( Built in 1938
) has carried a lot of traffic into the downtown area.
Many of the bridges over the JFX ( Jones Falls Expressway ) have
been replaced or repaired so that the old charm has been
lost. Not so with the Howard Street Bridge . For years it was
painted in some wild colors, and the Mayor of Baltimore even had
a contest to pick a new paint scheme a few years back after the bridge
completed a major overall. |
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....................................................................................Baltimore's Howard Street Bridge - postcard view. |
| Orleans Street
Viaduct Built in 1936 Upon opening - known as the Bath Street Viaduct ........ 
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.............Over the years, I have read different accounts of the the opening of the Orleans Street Viaduct. Many thought the idea was a good one, a pass over the Jones Fall Valley and the train yards that had been there. Others complained of the added expense of the project and whether or not it served any purpose.While the train tracks and stations are no longer there, the Orleans Street Viaduct is still used and remains the most popular way to get from East Baltimore to Downtown and West, avoiding much of the traffic congestion. ........................................................... 
...........................A post card view of the Orleans Street Viaduct, with the Preston Gardens seen in the foreground. |
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Long since gone, the old Belvidere Bridge, which would have been in the area of the Guilford Avenue and Biddle Street Bridges, crossing the Jones Falls. If you drive down Greenmount, just across from GreenMount Cemetery , you will find what is left of Belvidere, just off to the right. Looks much like a driveway or a road to nowhere these days. |