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August 19 – Sunday
As all of the principal churches in Hartford were closed, we decided to spend our morning in perfect rest and quiet. No sooner had we made up our minds to remain at home, when the Misses Tracy (Louise and Helen) came to see us. They are cousins of Fred’s and very charming girls.
After dinner we took a car to South Manchester, Conn., passed over the Conn River, and saw the new bridge which is now being constructed, and which will cost, when completed, about three million dollars.
Editor Historical Notes and Photographs:
In 1926 one of the Bulkeley Bridge's engineers speculated, probably correctly, that it was the last monumental stone bridge that would ever be built. Within a few years of its conception, concrete and steel had entirely replaced stone in the construction of large bridges. Not only was it the last of its kind, but also in many ways the Bulkeley Bridge was one of the greatest. Five of its spans are longer than any of the other stone arches in the state; 100,000 cubic yards of pink and gray granite were consumed in its construction; the tolerances for the stone-cutting were unbelievably close (less than 3/8" over the whole face of a 10-ton block); and its total cost, some $3 million, made it for many years the most expensive bridge built in Connecticut. Four people perished during construction, and the chief engineer suffered a nervous breakdown from which he never recovered.
The Bulkeley Bridge was built to replace Hartford's 1818 covered bridge, which burned in 1895. Hartford's civic and business leaders were determined that the new bridge would be "an ornament to the city which should endure forever." To create a proper setting, the bridge commission tore down rows of tenements and constructed wide, landscaped approach boulevards on both sides of the river. In designing the bridge, the numerous ancient European bridges were studied the primary architect and engineer decided that uncomplicated geometry and restrained architectural detailing would create the proper sense of "strength, beauty and dignity."
As all of the principal churches in Hartford were closed, we decided to spend our morning in perfect rest and quiet. No sooner had we made up our minds to remain at home, when the Misses Tracy (Louise and Helen) came to see us. They are cousins of Fred’s and very charming girls.
After dinner we took a car to South Manchester, Conn., passed over the Conn River, and saw the new bridge which is now being constructed, and which will cost, when completed, about three million dollars.
Editor Historical Notes and Photographs:
In 1926 one of the Bulkeley Bridge's engineers speculated, probably correctly, that it was the last monumental stone bridge that would ever be built. Within a few years of its conception, concrete and steel had entirely replaced stone in the construction of large bridges. Not only was it the last of its kind, but also in many ways the Bulkeley Bridge was one of the greatest. Five of its spans are longer than any of the other stone arches in the state; 100,000 cubic yards of pink and gray granite were consumed in its construction; the tolerances for the stone-cutting were unbelievably close (less than 3/8" over the whole face of a 10-ton block); and its total cost, some $3 million, made it for many years the most expensive bridge built in Connecticut. Four people perished during construction, and the chief engineer suffered a nervous breakdown from which he never recovered.
The Bulkeley Bridge was built to replace Hartford's 1818 covered bridge, which burned in 1895. Hartford's civic and business leaders were determined that the new bridge would be "an ornament to the city which should endure forever." To create a proper setting, the bridge commission tore down rows of tenements and constructed wide, landscaped approach boulevards on both sides of the river. In designing the bridge, the numerous ancient European bridges were studied the primary architect and engineer decided that uncomplicated geometry and restrained architectural detailing would create the proper sense of "strength, beauty and dignity."
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