The design firm was Robinson & Steinman.
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| Photo from HAER ORE,26-PORT,13--32 (CT) from or0307 |
The 1928 Ambassador Bridge in Detroit was the longer bridge.
The bridge represents regional and general bridge-building milestones. At the time of completion it was the highest long span in the world. It was the longest single span west of Detroit and the first large suspension bridge built on the west coast. The St. Johns Bridge remains Portland's tallest bridge and Oregon's only major suspension bridge. It is considered one of the world's most beautiful bridges.2...The east pier rests on 1058 Douglas fir wood piles, the west is on a rock foundation....Accounts of the construction of the roadway point out that the concrete used was "transitmixed." In 1990 the sight of dumptrucks travelling down the road with their mixers rolling is nothing to take notice of. But in 1931 it was brand new. In fact the construction of the St. Johns Bridge was the first time transit-mixed concrete was used for a major bridge project. [HAER-data]
David Steinman was known for suggesting the paint color that would look best on the bridges he designed. He did this for his Mackinac Bridge and also for the St. Johns Bridge. When the paint color of the bridge was being chosen, safety advocates wanted the tall bridge to be painted in stripes of bright yellow and black for airplanes. It is not known why anyone would suggest this given that lights on the towers is the traditional way of warning aircraft of tall structures. There is no record of any bridge in the United States being painted a particular color to warn airplanes. Fortunately, this idea was not selected for the St. Johns Bridge either, and David Steinman's suggestion of verde green to blend in with the trees was chosen. Steinman had a very sensible view on bridge paint color. He disliked the black and grey paint that was typical for bridges. He was quoted as saying he wanted "to get away from these sad, somber, cold colors and into something warm and bright to harmonize with and be apart of the landscape." [Historic Bridges]And fortunately David's color choice has been retained.
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| Nicholas Steven Photography posted A fall day in Cathedral Park. Portland, Oregon. Bridges Now and Then shared Dennis DeBruler: Portland has an interesting collection of bridges. I had forgotten that it had a suspension bridge. https://loc.gov/pictures/item/or0307/ |
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| Catherine Patterson posted This is the St. Johns Bridge, the northernmost of the 12 bridges that cross the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, and my personal favorite. It opened in 1931 and has a span of 1,207 feet. |
I like the aesthetic of the towers that have multiple columns. Just a couple of days before I saw Catherine's post, I wrote about the Newell Bridge.
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| Keller C via Dennis DeBruler |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted "In the St. Johns Bridge, the desire to secure a beautiful public structure was a governing consideration." ~ David Steinman, Engineering News-Record, February 13, 1930. (City of Portland, Oregon, Archives) Bridges Now and Then posted again Portland, Oregon's St. Johns Bridge, seen during construction, c. 1930. (8x10 photo found on eBay) |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted |
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| Nathaniel Edwards posted St Johns Bridge, 1931. [Opening ceremonies] Bridges Now and Then shared |
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| Phil Block posted St John’s Bridge |
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| Neil Ferguson commented on Phil's post As featured on the cover of the SNBI |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted A floating Fire Station next to the St. Johns Bridge, Portland, Oregon, April 6, 1938. From Vintage Portland, "Here we have an excellent view of the floating Fireboat 3 Station when it was located at the St. Johns Bridge. In this view, we are looking northeast, towards St. Johns. In the background you can see the building that is now the Portland Police Bureau: Training Division building. Three identical fireboats, built in the late 1920s, were located near the Hawthorne Bridge (Fireboat 1, Mike Laudenklos), in lower Albina (Fireboat 2, David Campbell) and in various locations in St. Johns area (Fireboat 3, Karl Gunster). The David Campbell is still active today as a reserve fireboat and is located at Station 6 in Northwest Portland near Front Ave. Bridges Now and Then shared BNaT Classic |
I learned of this bridge from these postings.
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| Advanced American Construction, Inc. posted Ben Stalvey Sweet 4100 ringer and barge and other Manitowoc Ben Stalvey shared What is better then 1 4100 ringer..... Another sweet looking Manitowoc 4100 crawler on barge... Matt Matthiesen Under Saint Johns Bridge in Portland OR 20 minutes from my house awesome |
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| Rick Wilson commented on Ben's share Ben Stalvey  Sweet Lampson 4100 ringer |
At first, I thought ACC was moving cranes into the area to work on this bridge. But it turns out that they have a dock next to that bridge.
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| 3D Satellite |
ACC provided a lot of support for the BNSF bridge replacement at Home Valley, WA.
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