Hanover Street Bridge

Hanover Street Bridge

View of the bridge facing northeast, from Middle Branch Park
Carries five lanes (2 north, 2 south, 1 reversible) of MD 2, pedestrians
Crosses Patapsco River
Locale Baltimore, Maryland
Official name Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge
ID number #BC5210 [1]
Characteristics
Design Beaux Arts-style reinforced cantilever bridge
Bascule bridge
Total length 2,290 feet (698 m)
History
Opened 1916

The Hanover Street Bridge — officially, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge — is a bascule bridge crossing the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River along Hanover Street (Maryland Route 2) in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

The bridge was built to replace the mile-long "Long Bridge" built by Richard Cromwell in 1856 to move products from his orchard in Anne Arundel County to downtown Baltimore.[2]

The Hanover Street Bridge connects the southern base of the industrialized South Baltimore to the neighborhood of Cherry Hill and Brooklyn. The bridge carries five lanes of traffic: two northbound, two southbound, and one reversible. It employs a lane control system and carries two sidewalks on either side.

Designed by John E. Greiner, the bridge was constructed in 1916 and is characterized as a Beaux Arts-style reinforced cantilever bridge.[3] It is known for its beautiful arches as it spans the water. In the center of the bridge is a drawbridge span surrounded on four corners by classic style towers which lend it a distinctive appearance. The bridge is 2,290 feet long.

On May 30, 1993, Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke officially renamed the bridge the "Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge".

Notes

  1. ↑ "Highway Location Reference: Baltimore City" (PDF). Maryland State Highway Administration. 2005. Retrieved 2011-12-11.
  2. ↑ Laura Rice. Maryland history in Prints 1743-1900. p. 187.
  3. ↑ Legler, Dixie; Highsmith, Carol (2002), Historic Bridges of Maryland, Crownsville, Md.: Maryland Historic Trust, p. 59, ISBN 1-878399-80-2


Coordinates: 39°15′28.0″N 76°36′58.6″W / 39.257778°N 76.616278°W