Then & Now: New York Street Memorial Bridge – Aurora

In the late 19th century, a reform movement that sought to improve the nation’s cities through beautification gained wide exposure through the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The fair expressed the ideals of the “City Beautiful” reformers through the creation of a “White City” of architecture and infrastructure built in the Beaux Arts style, which was a shining example of city planning.

The fair featured both architectural cohesiveness and a state-of-the-art transportation system. Not only were the fair bridges built with the latest technology, but they were also visually appealing. Many of the architects and bridge engineers of the first half of the twentieth century embraced the fair’s Beaux Arts style.

During this time, the evolution of the preferred bridge materials from wood and iron to concrete and steel that began in the last few decades of the nineteenth century continued into the twentieth century. Bridge designs that best used those materials also evolved to advance new structural strength and durability.

The coming of the automobile resulted in the need for stronger bridges across America. During the first two decades of the twentieth century, bridge building was in an experimental stage with some bridges being over engineered.

By the 1920s, however, highway bridge design had reached high standards of design, construction, and maintenance of railroad bridges. This was due to the growth in the engineering profession and to government adoption of standardized bridge designs.

Because of the tremendous demand for roadway bridges in the 1920s and 1930s, reinforced concrete bridges, which could be quickly erected, were often the bridge of choice for highway department and local governments across the nation. By the 1930s and 1940s, concrete arch technology had advanced to allow much more delicate structures than had previously been built.

Many of these new concrete bridges that were being constructed also began to appear along the Lincoln Highway, America’s first transcendental roadway. These new structures began to reflect the cultural awakening that spread across America as society began to shed its Victorian era architectural style for one that reflected progress and independence.

The New York Street Memorial Bridge spanning the Fox River in Aurora, Illinois, is one such example. Dedicated on Armistice Day, November 11, 1931, as a memorial to World War I veterans, the bridge was designed by Chicago artist and sculptor Emory Seidel. The New York Street Memorial Bridge is located just north of the original 1913 Lincoln Highway route.

Built in the Art Moderne style, the bridge reflects many of the characteristics of this popular twentieth century style, including clean, angular lines, curved corners, a streamlined look, horizontal lines or elements, and ornaments that are integral to the structure.

Seidel integrated several ornamental sculpted figures into the concrete structure that highlighted this architectural style. These decorative figures are located in the bridge pylons and in niches at the center of the bridge deck.

The Then image shows the Memorial Bridge looking east over the Fox River. The Now photograph shows a similar view of the bridge today looking west.