The Duke Ellington Bridge, named after American jazz pianist

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...

, carries Calvert Street NW over Rock Creek in Washington, D.C.,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. It connects 18th Street NW in

Adams Morgan Adams Morgan is a neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., centered at the intersection of 18th Street NW and Columbia Road, about 1.5 miles (2.54 km) north of the White House. Notable establishments in the neighborhood include th ...

with

Connecticut Avenue Connecticut Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., and suburban Montgomery County, Maryland. It is one of the diagonal avenues radiating from the White House, and the segment south of Florida Avenue was on ...

NW in Woodley Park, just north of the

Taft Bridge The Taft Bridge (also known as the Connecticut Avenue Bridge or William Howard Taft Bridge) is a historic bridge located in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. It carries Connecticut Avenue over the Rock Creek gorge, including Rock Cree ...

History

Originally called the "Calvert Street Bridge", it was designed by

Paul Philippe Cret Paul Philippe Cret (October 23, 1876 – September 8, 1945) was a French-born Philadelphia architect and industrial designer. For more than thirty years, he taught at a design studio in the Department of Architecture at the University of Pennsylv ...

in a neoclassical style and built in 1935. It was rededicated as the Duke Ellington Bridge following the death of the Washington native and famous band leader in 1974.Rock Creek' Bridges from the National Park Service
It is a limestone structure with three graceful arches. There are four sculptural reliefs on the abutments measuring three feet high by four feet wide. The classical reliefs by

Leon Hermant Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

represent the four modes of travel: automobile, train, ship, and plane. Auto wreck Calvert St

The bridge replaced one built in 1891 by the

Rock Creek Railway The Rock Creek Railway was one of the first electric streetcar companies in Washington, D.C., and the first to extend into Maryland. It was incorporated in 1888, started operations in 1890, and by 1892 ran some five miles from the Cardoza/Shaw nei ...

to carry streetcars. The bridge was a steel trestle bridge with wooden decking, long and high. To avoid streetcar service disruption, the old bridge was moved south during the construction of the new replacement Calvert Street Bridge; however, streetcar service was discontinued before the new bridge opened. Clifford Berryman cartoon 19 February 1922

Clifford Berryman cartoon 19 February 1922

References

External links

Duke Ellington Bridge, from Cultural Tourism DC
* *
''Calvert Street Bridge (Duke Ellington Bridge).''
DDOT Library Collection: DC Bridges and Tunnels, District Department of Transportation (DDOT). Bridges completed in 1935 Neoclassical architecture in Washington, D.C. Bridges over Rock Creek (Potomac River tributary) Duke Ellington Historic American Engineering Record in Washington, D.C. Paul Philippe Cret buildings Road bridges in Washington, D.C. Adams Morgan Stone arch bridges in the United States {{WashingtonDC-bridge-struct-stub

History

See also

References

External links