The

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

Memorial Bridge is a major crossing of the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

in Western

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, connecting the towns of

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

and Hadley. The bridge carries Route 9 across the river, where it connects to

Interstate 91 Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It is the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. Its southern terminus is in New Haven, Connecticut, at I-95, whi ...

History and construction of the bridge

The

Memorial Bridge is a five-span, single intersection Warren

deck truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements, typically straight, may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

with distinctive design on its granite-faced abutment pylons.

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

ornamentation on the pylons includes carved eagles and incised carved lettering. The bridge, a replacement of a previous structure destroyed in the 1936 flood, was funded under the Hayden Cartwright Act, one of the numerous federal aid programs designed to provide construction jobs during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. It was designed by W & L Engineering Co. in conjunction with Maurice A. Reidy as consultant and Desmond & Lord as architects. The bridge was built by T. Stuart & Sons. The bridge was named as a memorial to President

(1872–1933), a longtime resident and former mayor of Northampton. Coolidge was elected to the State Senate and the governorship of

before being elected

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. A bronze memorial plaque of Calvin Coolidge is mounted on the northeast and southwest pylons. The bridge features large, distinctive granite-faced pylons in the Art Deco style, measuring 15 by 27 feet at the base. On the northwest and southeast pylons are bronze doors that provide access to small rooms. 209-14 Calvin bridge eagle detail

The welded steel Art Deco bridge rail is mounted at the back of the sidewalk on the north side of the bridge and on the bridge parapet on the south side where there is no sidewalk. It is a weathered green color. Integral to the rail are light standard posts supporting cobra head luminaires. The cobra head luminaires replaced the original low-pressure sodium lamp fixtures developed by

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

. These lamps were based on a European model and introduced to the U.S. market in 1933. However, the yellow/orange, monochromatic light produced by the luminaire ultimately became unpopular with the motoring public, and use of the lamps was discontinued as color-corrected light sources became available. 209-13 south east anchor

In 2001, the Massachusetts Highway Department began a major improvement of the Coolidge Bridge, that cost a total of $32 million which included: *Widening the bridge from 3 lanes to 4 lanes, i.e., 2 travel lanes in each direction *Replacement of the deteriorated bridge deck *Refurbishing the historic Art Deco bridge railing and integrated light fixtures *Cleaning and restoration of all granite facing *Installation of a new 5-foot sidewalk on the north side of the bridge *Repairing and improving the bridge approach roadways In 2007 the Massachusetts Historical Commission determined that the Calvin Coolidge Bridge was not eligible for individual listing in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

but was eligible for listing as a contributing element in the (then) pending expansion of the Hadley Center Historic District. In 1994, the bridge was included as a contributing element to the Hadley Center Historic District. The bridge is a bottleneck in Hampshire County, with Route 9 as the sole thoroughfare between the college towns of Northampton and Amherst. Because of this, a rotary was constructed on the Northampton side in winter of 2018-19 to ease traffic. The road approaching the bridge is known as Bridge St. in Northampton (eastbound) and Russell St. in Hadley (westbound).

References

External links

Coolidge Bridge – 1939
, City of Northampton Public filing cabinet {{Connecticut River Bridges over the Connecticut River Buildings and structures in Northampton, Massachusetts Bridges completed in 1937 Art Deco architecture in Massachusetts Bridges in Hampshire County, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Hampshire County, Massachusetts Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Historic district contributing properties in Massachusetts Steel bridges in the United States Warren truss bridges in the United States

History and construction of the bridge

See also

References

External links