Skip to main content

Pope Street Bridge (Napa County)


The Pope Street Bridge is stone arch span across the Napa River located at the northern outskirts of the city of St. Helena.  The Pope Street Bridge is one of the oldest active road bridges in California and was traffic during 1894.  The blog cover photo was sourced from the application to place Pope Street Bridge in the National Register of Historic Places taken during 1970 by Donald F. Groom.




The history of the Pope Street Bridge

The Pope Street Bridge was commissioned by the Napa County Supervisors and constructed during 1894 by contractor R.H. Pithie.  The Pope Street Bridge is a 175-foot-long stone triple arch design which cost $14,500 to construct.  The dedication plaque can be seen affixed to the Pope Street Bridge in 1970 photo by Donald F. Groom.  


The Pope Street Bridge can be seen under construction during 1894 in a photo from the Napa County Engineer's Office.  


The Pope Street Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 5, 1972.  The Pope Street Bridge can be seen in a series of 1970 photos by George F. Groom taken for the application for the structure to be added to the National Register of Historic Places.  




The Pope Street Bridge can be seen crossing the Napa River facing south from Silverado Trail in a modern view.  Despite it's age the Pope Street Bridge carries an 18-foot-wide road deck which can accommodate two standard sized vehicles passing each other.  


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

Massena Center Suspension Bridge

The Massena Center Bridge, also known as the Holton D. Robinson Bridge, has had quite the tumultuous history. Situated on the Grasse River just east of Massena, New York in the hamlet of Massena Center, the Massena Center Bridge is a reminder of the efforts the community has made in order to connect over the river. The first and only other known bridge to be built at Massena Center was built in 1832, but that bridge was never long for this world. During the spring of 1833, the Grasse River dammed itself due to an ice dam, flooded and lifted the bridge off its foundation, destroying the bridge in the process.  The floods were frequent in the river during the spring, often backing up the river from Hogansburg and past Massena Center, but not to nearby Massena. After the first bridge disappeared, local residents had to resort to traveling seven miles west to Massena to cross the next closest bridge, and that was no easy task for a horse and buggy. However, it was many decades befo...

The Dead Man's Curve of Interstate 90 and Innerbelt Freeway in Cleveland

"Dead Man's Curve" refers to the transition ramp Interstate 90 takes between Cleveland Memorial Shoreway onto the Innerbelt Freeway in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.  Said curve includes a sharp transition between the two freeways which is known for a high rate of accidents.  Currently the curve (not officially named) has a 35 MPH advisory speed and numerous safety features intended to mitigate crashes.  When the Interstate System was first conceived during 1956, Interstate 90 was intended to use the entirety Cleveland Memorial Shoreway and connect to the Northwest Freeway through Lakewood.  The Innerbelt Freeway was initially planned as the northernmost segment of Interstate 71.  The extension of Cleveland Memorial Shoreway west of Edgewater Park was never constructed which led to Interstate 90 being routed through the Innerbelt Freeway.   Part 1; the history of Cleveland's Innerbelt Freeway and Deadman's Curve The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 was signe...