Skew Arch Bridge (Reading, Pennsylvania)

United States historic place

Significant dates

Askew Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Pennsylvania state historical marker

South face in 1999
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Location	N. 6th Street near Woodward Street, Reading, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	40°20′34″N 75°55′33″W / 40.34278°N 75.92583°W / 40.34278; -75.92583
Area	less than one acre
Architect	Osborne, Richard
NRHP reference No.	73001590
Added to NRHP	March 1, 1973
Designated PHMC	March 1, 1951

The Skew Arch Bridge in Reading, Pennsylvania, also known as the Askew Bridge and nicknamed the Soap and Whiskey Bridge, is an historic skew arch bridge that was completed in 1857. Its design enabled it to carry two tracks of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad (P&R) at an angle over Sixth Street in Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania.

This bridge was acquired by Conrail after the P&R's demise in 1976 and was transferred to Norfolk Southern Railway in 1999.

History

The bridge was designed in 1856 by Richard Osborne, who submitted a pre-construction model to the company. Workers were partially paid with whiskey and pieces of soap, rather than entirely in cash, leading to the structure's unusual nickname.

The main arch of the bridge spans 40 feet (12 m), with two smaller arches spanning the sidewalks on either side. The courses of the arch were constructed from local brownstone in elliptical curves that follow the angle at which the railroad tracks cross the street. As a result, there is no keystone in the arch.

In 1951, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission placed a historical marker on the site; in 1973 the bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Gallery

View of the courses of the arch, 1999
From the southeast, 2011

References

"National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
"PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
^ Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1972, NRHP Nomination Form for Askew Bridge Enter "public" for ID and "public" for password to access the site.
Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. PA-116, "Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, Skew Arch Bridge", page 1, accessed 2012-03-27
Federal Writers' Project (1940). Pennsylvania: A Guide to the Keystone State. US History Publishers. p. 660. ISBN 9781603540377. pages 320-321
Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. PA-1025, "Skew Arch Bridge", page 2, accessed 2011-04-02
Skew Bridge, ExplorePAhistory.com, accessed April 2, 2011.

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