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Walnut Street Bridge

Hamilton County, Tennessee
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Photos 

View from southeast

Photo taken by James Baughn

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Map 

Street View 

Facts 

Overview
Six-span through truss bridge over the Tennessee River on Walnut Street in Chattanooga
Location
Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee
Status
Open to pedestrians only
History
Built 1889-91
Builders
- Edwin Thatcher of New York City, New York
- Neely Smith & Co. of Chattanooga, Tennessee
- Smith Bridge Co. of Toledo, Ohio
Design
From south to north:
Two pin-connected, 10-panel Pennsylvania through trusses, each 210 feet long
Three pin-connected, 16-panel Pennsylvania through trusses, each 320 feet long
One pin-connected, 10-panel Pennsylvania through truss, 210 feet long
Wrought-iron curved viaduct, 780 feet long
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 320.0 ft.
Total length: 2,370.0 ft. (0.4 mi.)
Recognition
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on February 23, 1990
Approximate latitude, longitude
+35.05817, -85.30729   (decimal degrees)
35°03'29" N, 85°18'26" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
16/654360/3880803 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Chattanooga
Inventory numbers
NRHP 90000300 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
BH 32555 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

16-panel truss (11)
19th Century (6,090)
Arch Lattice Railing (19)
Built 1891 (182)
Built during 1890s (2,435)
Chattanooga, Tennessee (43)
Edwin Thatcher (4)
HAER documented (1,096)
Hamilton County, Tennessee (69)
Have street view (21,628)
NR-listed (2,839)
Neely Smith & Co. (1)
 Open to pedestrians (3,481)
Pennsylvania truss (402)
Pin-connected (2,994)
Smith Bridge Co. (58)
Span length 250-500 feet (1,072)
Tennessee (1,018)
Tennessee River (35)
Through truss (12,781)
Total length 1000-2500 feet (1,631)
Truss (29,248)
Wrought Iron (361)

Update Log 

  • May 4, 2017: New photos from Chris Simmons
  • May 3, 2017: New photos from Chris Simmons
  • November 30, 2016: New photo from Andrew Penik
  • November 27, 2016: Updated by Christopher Finigan: Added category "Wrought Iron"
  • April 8, 2015: Photo imported by Dave King
  • March 2, 2014: New photo from Jack Schmidt
  • March 10, 2010: Updated by Eddie Douthitt: Added Google Street View
  • August 21, 2006: Posted all new photos

Sources 

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Comments 

Walnut Street Bridge
Posted December 18, 2014, by Alan Walker (awalker1829 [at] yahoo [dot] com)

This bridge was found unsafe for vehicular traffic and stood abandoned and unused for more than twenty years, despite repeated petitions by the Coast Guard to either repair it or remove it. Community interest in preserving this bridge led the City of Chattanooga to include the restoration of the bridge as a key part of the Tennessee Riverpark. Most folks today do not realize how close we came to losing this bridge.

Walnut Street Bridge
Posted April 5, 2007, by Anonymous

This bridge is a popular spot for college students from UTC as well as Lee University who are looking for a romantic setting for a walk with a date.