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Zenas King and the Bridges of New York City

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Zenas King and the Bridges of New York City Volume 1, Number 2 November 2014 From the Director’s Desk In This Issue: From the Director’s Desk Dear Friends of Historic Bridges, Zenas King and the Bridges of New Welcome to the second issue of the Historic Bridge York City (Part II) Bulletin, the official newsletter of the Historic Bridge Hays Street Bridge Foundation. Case Study: East Delhi Road Bridge As many of you know, the Historic Bridge Foundation advocates nationally for the preservation Sewall’s Bridge of historic bridges. Since its establishment, the Historic Bridge Collector’s Historic Bridge Foundation has become an important Ornaments clearinghouse for the preservation of endangered bridges. We support local efforts to preserve Set in Stone significant bridges by every means possible and we Upcoming Conferences proactively consult with public officials to devise reasonable alternatives to the demolition of historic bridges throughout the United States. We need your help in this endeavor. Along with Zenas King and the Bridges our desire to share information with you about historic bridges in the U.S. through our newsletter, of New York City (Part II) we need support of our mission with your donations to the Historic Bridge Foundation. Your generous King Bridge Company Projects in contributions will help us to publish the Historic New York City Bridge Bulletin, to continue to maintain our website By Allan King Sloan at www.historicbridgefoundation.com, and, most importantly, to continue our mission to actively promote the preservation of bridges. Without your When Zenas King passed away in the fall of 1892, help, the loss of these cultural and engineering his grand plan to build two bridges across the East landmarks threatens to change the face of our nation. River (see Part I, Historic Bridge Bulletin, Vol 1, No 1, Donations to the Historic Bridge Foundation are tax Spring 2014) apparently died with him. Management deductible. You may visit our website to pay through of the then thriving company fell to his two sons: PayPal or send a check to PO Box 66245, Austin, Texas James, who was President of the company well into 78766. the 1900s, and Harry, the younger brother who took And don’t forget to like us on Facebook! over after James fell ill from a failed operation to remove his appendix. Despite legal troubles with anti-trust litigation in Ohio, the company continued Kitty Henderson to produce bridges at a goodly rate. Both James and Executive Director Harry were well ensconced in the upper reaches of Cleveland’s industrial society, both married with 1 The University Heights Bridge as it exists today. Photo by Robert, flickr.com/photos/rbs10025/ CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. children and happy with their lives in Cleveland. Moving to New York City was not appealing. While Zenas King’s sons made little effort to become major players in New York City bridge building industry, the company did succeed in obtaining a number of contracts to build some of the over 2,000 highway and railroad bridges now in use in the city. Some were constructed after Zenas’s death in 1892 and two still stand today. There were three of note, all swing bridges and all crossing the Harlem River and its connection to the Hudson. The Broadway Bridge later became the University Heights Bridge. Historical Photo. The Swing Bridges Across the Harlem River and Ship Canal instead of demolishing the bridge, the powers that be decided to float the superstructure about a mile The King Bridge Company catalogues of the 1890s down the Harlem River to replace the old footbridge displayed prominently two swing bridges built a 207th Street and Fordham Road. It became the across the Harlem River and Ship Canal connecting University Heights Bridge. to the Hudson. The first was a highway bridge to The University Heights Bridge was extensively carry Broadway in Manhattan over the Ship Canal rebuilt between 1989 and 1992. Little, if any, of the to Knightsbridge Road in the Bronx. The second was King original structure remains, except perhaps the a railroad bridge built for the New York Central and decorative railings. But it is now one of the series of Harlem River Railroad north of 125th Street. Both beautiful bridges featured on the tourist visits around were built in 1895. Manhattan conducted by the Circle Line and others. The (Broadway) University Heights Bridge The Park Avenue Railroad Swing Bridge The Broadway Bridge, as it was called, was This swing bridge was an important link on the designed by Engineer Albert P. Boller. Boller, who railroad system that was being developed to connect was a consultant to the newly created New York City Department of Bridges, was responsible for the designs of many of the bridges still standing across the Harlem River, including the famous Macombs Dam Bridge. The King Bridge Company must have had good relations with Boller since both of the King bridges were built to his unique designs. When plans were made to extend the Broadway subway line into the Bronx, the Broadway Bridge had to be replaced to accommodate both rail and street traffic. But Park Avenue Railroad Bridge. Historical Photo. 2 York City’s northern suburbs. Movable bridges and other structures for the railroad companies were becoming a key component of their business. Over the course of the last century, the Spuyten Duyvil Bridge has been in and out of service as a result of the fate of the then current railroad owners. It is now owned by Amtrak which, even after a spectacular fire in 2010, found it still operable. Double-drum turntable, Park Avenue Railroad Bridge. Historical Photo. the growing business center of Mid-Manhattan with the fast developing suburban areas in Westchester and Fairfield Counties and beyond. Built in 1896, it was in heavy use by the New York Central and New Haven Railroads until replaced in 1954. It too was designed by Albert Boller. The bridge was known as the Park Avenue Bridge 1899 advertisement for the King Bridge Company and consisted of a swing span of 389 feet and four featuring the Spuyten Duyvil Bridge. fixed trusses of lengths varying from 131 to 185 feet. The cost of the bridge was shared by New York City To accommodate boat traffic moving from the and the Vanderbilt interests, and was used for close creek into the Hudson River, the swing span has to be to 60 years by the New York Central and New Haven opened often, particularly during the warm weather Railroads as a key link to Grand Central Station. months when the tour boats of the Circle Line and others make their dramatic entrance onto the Hudson The Multi-Span Railroad Bridge at Spuyten through this portal. Duyvil The bridge has now become one of the most The Spuyten Duyvil Bridge was the last of the visible sights to visitors to New York City as a result King movable bridges to be built between northern of its location and “gateway” function. Judging by Manhattan and the Bronx after the death of Zenas the number of times it is photographed, the bridge King. This bridge is still in operation, offering a direct has also become part of the “psyche” of New York link to Penn Station for commuter service and New City residents. As long as it is used to transport trains Spuyten Duyvil Bridge in open position. Photo by WorldIslandInfo.com. 3 across the inlet, it is probably safe from destruction. movable bridges which have been restored as part However, if the rail service is abandoned, there is a of historic sites. These include the following: risk that this 100+ year old bridge will face demolition. • LIRR Manhasset Viaduct – The Long Island Hopefully, the bridge, one of the last of its kind in Railroad is the largest passenger railroad in the the country, will receive consideration as a potential country carrying millions of passengers daily to and “historical landmark.” from the outlying areas of Long Island to the center Two Movable Bridges in Brooklyn of Manhattan and back. There is still one structure used by the LIRR in which the King Bridge Company The King Bridge Company also received contracts to apparently played a role in its construction. It is the build other smaller bridges in New York. In a company Manhasset Viaduct on the Port Washington branch catalogue from the 1880s, there is a lithograph of the LIRR that was constructed in 1897 and is still drawing of a swing bridge closely following the lines in operation today. of Zenas King’s patented design on Manhattan Avenue • The Rosendale Trestle – The Wallkill Valley in Brooklyn which was probably removed some years Railroad was once an important facility carrying ago. cement and other construction materials from the Hudson Valley to New York City in its early building boom. The trestle on this railroad crossing Rondout Creek at Rosendale in Ulster County, built by the King Bridge Company in 1896, is still standing and has been restored and converted as part of an important hiking-biking trail system. Manhattan Avenue Bridge in Brooklyn. Historical Lithograph. The King Bridge Company did receive credit as the builder of a 123 foot retractile bridge constructed in 1893 to carry pedestrians, wagons and trolleys across the Wallabout Canal at Washington Street in Historical view of the Washington Street Bridge at Brooklyn. While this bridge was not featured in the Wallabout Canal, Brooklyn. Courtesy New York City Company catalogues, the L (Summer) Street Bridge in Archives. South Boston over the Reserved Channel, a retractile bridge of similar design, was pictured. It was in service • “Old Nan” – This was a Scherzer lift bridge on for over 100 years.
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