M Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.)

Bridge in Washington, D.C. For the bridge in California, see M Street Bridge (Sacramento).

The M Street Bridge, also known as the M Street Overpass, carries M Street across Rock Creek and the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway. It lies between the neighborhoods of Georgetown and Foggy Bottom in Northwest Washington, D.C. The non-arched design of the bridge contrasts with that of all the other bridges rising over the parkway.

History

The original wooden bridge at the site was the first in the current District of Columbia, constructed in 1788 by the City of Georgetown two years before it was incorporated into the District. The bridge reportedly collapsed during a severe storm, leading to a legend that the ghosts of a stagecoach driver and his horses that drowned in the collapse could be seen thereafter, still attempting to cross the bridge.

It was replaced by a heavy wooden drawbridge in 1800, as Rock Creek was wide and deep enough that sailing ships needed to transit the bridge at that time. However, the creek became unnavigable by the 1830s due to silt from upstream construction and agricultural uses, as well as the construction of a quay obstructing the mouth of the creek. A covered wooden bridge replaced the drawbridge in 1839, followed by a steel-truss bridge in 1871, which was closed in 1925 because it had become structurally unsound. Remnants of the western abutment of the 1871 bridge still exist adjacent to that of the current bridge.

Design

The current bridge was initially contemplated as a steel-girder bridge for cost reasons and the belief that an arch bridge could not be built large enough to accommodate the parkway, then planned to run underneath it. The bridge was one of the few to be designed solely by the office of the District of Columbia Engineer of Bridges without input from an outside private firm. The United States Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), the agency tasked with reviewing architectural projects in the capital, under Charles Moore opposed the design because it did not conform with the other park bridges, which were designed to harmonize with their surroundings. The designers attempted to compromise by encasing the bridge in concrete and adding ornamentation. Still, Moore was not appeased, calling the new design "a brutal bridge, entirely inconsistent with any other parkway treatment" and stating that "the design is fundamentally bad. A bridge constructed along such lines would be a perpetual eyesore." Moore also objected that adding ornamentation would not satisfy the bridge's fundamental design principles perceived as lacking.

The D.C. Board of Commissioners decided to proceed with the design despite the formal disapproval of the CFA since the legislation authorizing the bridge specified a steel-girder design and only mandated consultation with the CFA but did not require that their recommendations be followed. This situation led to the passage of the Shipstead-Luce Act in 1930, which gave the commission legal authority to enforce their decisions. The bridge was constructed in 1929 and 1930.

References

^ Davis, Timothy (1992). Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. DC-697, "Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway" History and Description, pp. 12, 89, 91
^ Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. DC-37, "M Street Bridge"

Crossings of the Rock Creek Valley

Upstream
P Street Bridge

M Street Bridge

Downstream
Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge

v t e Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
History	Organic Act of 1801 Organic Act of 1871 Street renaming The Exorcist Washington County, D.C. Washington and Georgetown Railroad
Historic sites	1222 28th Street NW Car Barn Chesapeake and Ohio Canal City Tavern Club The Corcoran School Customhouse and Post Office Dumbarton House Dumbarton Oaks Evermay Exorcist steps Farmers and Mechanics Bank Forrest-Marbury House Georgetown Market Georgetown Neighborhood Library Georgetown University Astronomical Observatory Halcyon House John Stoddert Haw House Healy Hall Laird-Dunlop House Lauinger Library McDonough Gymnasium Old North Old Stone House Isaac Owens House Newton D. Baker House Prospect House Quality Hill Smith Row Statue of John Carroll Three Sisters Tidewater Lock Tudor Place Van Ness Mausoleum Vigilant Firehouse Volta Laboratory and Bureau
Houses of worship	Christ Church Dahlgren Chapel Georgetown Visitation Monastery Grace Episcopal Church Holy Trinity Catholic Church Kesher Israel Mount Zion United Methodist Church Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel St. John's Episcopal Church
Streets and bridges	Aqueduct Bridge Dumbarton Bridge K Street Bridge Key Bridge L Street Bridge M Street M Street Bridge P Street P Street Bridge Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge Whitehurst Freeway Wisconsin Avenue
Education	British International School of Washington Duke Ellington School of the Arts Georgetown Female Seminary Georgetown University Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School Holy Trinity School
Parks and cemeteries	Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park Dumbarton Oaks Park Georgetown Waterfront Park Francis Scott Key Memorial Glover-Archbold Park Georgetown University Jesuit Community Cemetery Montrose Park Mount Zion Cemetery Oak Hill Cemetery Presbyterian Burying Ground
Establishments	Baked & Wired Embassy of France Embassy of Mongolia Embassy of Thailand Embassy of Ukraine Embassy of Venezuela Filomena Ristorante Four Seasons Hotel Georgetown Cupcake Georgetown Park Georgetown Visitation Monastery House of Sweden Martin's Tavern MedStar Georgetown University Hospital Potomac Boat Club Ritz-Carlton Suter's Tavern The Tombs Washington Canoe Club Washington Harbour
Northwest, Washington, D.C. Category

38°54′19″N 77°03′20″W / 38.90528°N 77.05556°W / 38.90528; -77.05556 (M Street Bridge)

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