Rating:
2 votes

Allen Street Bridge (Old)

Cowlitz County, Washington

Photos 

Allen Street Bridge

(1906, collapsed 1923), Kelso, ca. 1910 Courtesy Cowlitz County Historical Museum

Courtesy Cowlitz County Historical Museum and Historylink.org

View this photo at historylink.org

BH Photo #130528

Map 

Collapse 

Courtesy of Historyink.org

On Wednesday evening, January 3, 1923, the Allen Street Bridge in Kelso, Washington, collapses into the Cowlitz River as workers are returning home from work. The bridge, built in 1906 entirely of wood, has been weakened by recent flooding and overuse. When a large traffic jam puts excessive stress and strain on the old bridge, a suspension cable breaks, toppling the supporting towers and dropping the entire structure into the river.

(http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=7406)

Facts 

Overview
Lost Wire suspension bridge over Cowlitz River on Allen Street in Kelso
Location
Kelso, Cowlitz County, Washington
Status
Collapsed
History
Built 1906, Collapsed 1923
Design
Wire suspension bridge with a double leaf bascule lift span. The main superstructure of the bridge was constructed of wooden members.
Replaced by 1923 Allen Street Bridge
Dimensions
Total length: 600.0 ft.
Also called
Kelso-Catlin Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+46.14512, -122.91520   (decimal degrees)
46°08'42" N, 122°54'55" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
10/506549/5110174 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Kelso
Inventory number
BH 38390 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

Bascule (1,109)
Built 1906 (692)
Built during 1900s (7,989)
Collapsed (511)
Cowlitz County, Washington (41)
Cowlitz River (18)
Disaster (23)
Kelso, Washington (6)
Lost (32,302)
 Lost 1923 (72)
Lost during 1920s (942)
Movable (3,195)
Navigable waterway (2,256)
Suspension (838)
Total length 500-1000 feet (3,220)
Washington (1,411)
Wire/cable Suspension (142)

Update Log 

  • November 11, 2020: New photo from Geoff Hubbs
  • May 23, 2016: New photo from Douglas Butler
  • October 12, 2013: New Street View added by Douglas Butler
  • December 17, 2008: Essay added by Michael Goff

Related Bridges 

Sources 

  • Mike Goff - michael [dot] goff [at] hotmail [dot] com
  • Allen Street Bridge Collapse - www.historylink.org article on Allen Street Bridge collapse
  • Douglas Butler
  • Geoff Hubbs
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Comments 

Allen Street Bridge (Old)
Posted September 24, 2020, by Mike Kerkau (mjkerkau [at] gmail [dot] com)

Done. And for that matter, this had no business having a StreetView.

Allen Street Bridge (Old)
Posted September 24, 2020, by Michael Taylor

Shouldn't the disaster tag be added considering that 20 were killed in its collapse?