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Monroe Street Bridge (Spokane, Washington)

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563: 370: 474:. According to the Spokane County Medical Examiners Office, from 2006 to 2018 there was an average of 2.4 deaths per year on the bridge and nine out of 13 witnessed or videotaped incidents of bridge jumper suicides on the Spokane River were on the Monroe Street Bridge. With a bridge height from the deck floor to water of 135 feet and accounting for the air resistance drag on the human body in the 1.5 second free fall, the impact velocity at the waters surface is approximately 57.2 miles per hour which almost always causes traumatic injuries and jumpers either die of their injuries, drowning, 1524: 575: 479:
bridge. The city created a Suicide Prevention Task Force in 2018 and has discussed installing safety barriers, a telephone that connects to a suicide prevention hotline on the bridge, and patrolling the bridge. Although they are often removed, members of the community sometimes place suicide prevention signage and messages of hope on the deck fence railings to make people think again about their actions and dissuade potential jumpers. Concerned citizens have petitioned local officials for permanent signage.
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The current bridge of 1911 is the third in this location. The first, a rather rickety wooden structure, was built in 1889. It was closed for a time due to arguments in the city over rights of passage and ownership, and burned down on July 22, 1890. The second was a steel bridge that opened June 27,
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or a combination of these. The Spokane Police Department receives an average of 20 calls about suicidal individuals a year on the Monroe Street Bridge and despite this, there is currently (as of August 2020) no formal measures in place to try to discourage or prevent people from jumping off the
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By the 1990s, the bridge had deteriorated to the point where rebuilding it was necessary. On January 6, 2003, the bridge was closed for restoration, dismantled down to the central arch, and rebuilt faithfully to its original appearance. The bridge was reopened in 2005 on September 17, with new
326:. It was built 113 years ago in 1911 by the city of Spokane, and was designed by city engineer John Chester Ralston, assisted in construction supervision by Morton Macartney (and by assistant engineers J. F. Greene and P.F. Kennedy) with ornamentation provided by the firm of 1413: 1579: 341:
At completion, it was the largest concrete arch bridge in the U.S. and the third longest in the world. After more than ninety years of service, it was closed in January 2003 for restoration and reopened in September 2005.
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The Monroe Street bridge was designed with ornamental features such as bison skulls, covered pavilions, and a chain-link railing motif. The bison skull was an inspiration of
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History of the city of Spokane and Spokane County, Washington: from its earliest settlement to the present time by Durham, Nelson Wayne, 1859-1938
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in 1925, and the electric car railways were removed from the bridge in 1934. Approaching 65 years of service in 1976, the bridge was listed on the
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The bridge underwent changes in 1925 and in 1934, and submitted to the modernization of Spokane. The pavilion lamps were converted to
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United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form
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1892. It vibrated badly and had a noticeable dip in the center. On August 28, 1905, consultant from the
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Moyano, David C., P.E., S.E., M.ASCE; Shrope, Stephen J., P.E., S.E., M.ASCE (2006).
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University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places
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Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state)
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Transportation buildings and structures in Spokane County, Washington
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List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places
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https://npgallery.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/NRHP/Text/76001920.pdf
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railings and concrete separating the walkways from the road.
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National Register of Historic Places in Spokane, Washington
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The Monroe Street Bridge has a local reputation as being a
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The design of the third bridge was largely copied from the
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Monroe Street Bridge in 1911 shortly after completion
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Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in the United States
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Historic Bridges/Tunnels in Washington State TR (AD)
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History of the National Register of Historic Places
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Archived from 654: 652: 568:Monroe Street Bridge on September 14, 1909 1595:1911 establishments in Washington (state) 1077:U.S. National Register of Historic Places 1016: 810:"First day of closure yields no problems" 611: 609: 607: 605: 603: 601: 599: 597: 595: 433:in the early 1900s. Located just west of 227:U.S. National Register of Historic Places 801: 707: 910: 908: 882: 880: 857: 826: 788: 675: 673: 649: 633: 631: 615: 151:  9 ft (2.7 m) sidewalks 1552: 1023:. 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November 22, 1911. p. 6. 1445:Federated States of Micronesia 1091:Architectural style categories 808:Lynn, Adam (January 7, 2003). 763: 745: 733: 410:, which was modeled after the 387:considered the bridge unsafe. 265: 1: 585: 556:Monroe Street Bridge in 1890s 544:Monroe Street Bridge in 1889 7: 482: 465: 37:View from southwest in 2007 10: 1621: 1497:Historic Preservation Fund 1476:American Legation, Morocco 977:Civil Engineering Magazine 530: 441:20th century modernization 345: 18:Bridge in Washington, U.S. 1590:Bridges completed in 1911 1575:Kirtland Cutter buildings 1517: 1484: 1463: 1438:Lists by associated state 1437: 1396: 1129: 1083: 293: 288: 284: 276: 264:NRHP reference  263: 253: 245: 237: 233: 224: 217: 213: 209: 204: 196: 188: 176: 171: 167:281 ft (85.6 m) 163: 159:136 ft (41.5 m) 155: 145: 137: 127: 117: 112: 102: 91: 81: 42: 30: 23: 1419:Northern Mariana Islands 1017:Creighton, Jeff (2013). 860:"The People Left Behind" 520:United States portal 457:21st century restoration 141:896 ft (273 m) 664:Spokane Daily Chronicle 184:(2003–2005 restoration) 1414:Minor Outlying Islands 1397:Lists by insular areas 1111:Keeper of the Register 714:Arksey, Laura (2006). 618:"Bridging generations" 508:Engineering portal 425:, who had found it in 328:Kirtland Kelsey Cutter 1116:National Park Service 1096:Contributing property 827:Cannata, Amy (2005). 336:Cutter & Malmgren 249:Cutter & Malmgren 1471:District of Columbia 983:on September 9, 2006 965:Monroe Street Bridge 496:Transport portal 301:Monroe Street Bridge 219:Monroe Street Bridge 66:47.6605°N 117.4267°W 25:Monroe Street Bridge 839:on October 10, 2006 757:Historic Structures 385:Good Roads Movement 324:Spokane, Washington 132:Reinforced concrete 96:Spokane, Washington 62: /  1020:Bridges of Spokane 776:PhillyHistory Blog 404:Walnut Lane Bridge 122:Decked-arch bridge 71:47.6605; -117.4267 1547: 1546: 1101:Historic district 1030:978-0-7385-9635-8 447:electric lighting 297: 296: 192:November 23, 1911 177:Construction cost 1612: 1537: 1536: 1527: 1526: 1525: 1450:Marshall Islands 1070: 1063: 1056: 1047: 1046: 1042: 1006: 1000: 992: 990: 988: 952: 951: 949: 947: 935: 929: 928: 926: 924: 912: 903: 902: 900: 898: 892: 884: 875: 874: 872: 870: 855: 849: 848: 846: 844: 824: 818: 817: 814:Spokesman-Review 805: 799: 798: 795:Spokesman-Review 786: 780: 779: 767: 761: 760: 749: 743: 737: 731: 730: 728: 726: 711: 705: 699: 690: 689: 686:Spokesman-Review 677: 668: 667: 656: 647: 646: 643:Spokesman-Review 635: 626: 625: 622:Spokesman-Review 613: 577: 565: 553: 541: 518: 517: 516: 506: 505: 494: 493: 372: 358: 332:Karl G. Malmgren 305:deck arch bridge 267: 180:$ 500,000 (1911) 77: 76: 74: 73: 72: 67: 63: 60: 59: 58: 55: 35: 21: 20: 1620: 1619: 1615: 1614: 1613: 1611: 1610: 1609: 1550: 1549: 1548: 1543: 1523: 1521: 1513: 1480: 1459: 1433: 1392: 1125: 1079: 1074: 1031: 1013: 1011:Further reading 994: 993: 986: 984: 961: 956: 955: 945: 943: 936: 932: 922: 920: 913: 906: 896: 894: 890: 886: 885: 878: 868: 866: 856: 852: 842: 840: 825: 821: 806: 802: 787: 783: 768: 764: 751: 750: 746: 738: 734: 724: 722: 712: 708: 700: 693: 678: 671: 658: 657: 650: 637: 636: 629: 614: 593: 588: 581: 578: 569: 566: 557: 554: 545: 542: 533: 514: 512: 500: 488: 485: 468: 459: 443: 380: 379: 378: 377: 376: 373: 364: 363: 362: 359: 348: 229: 220: 183: 181: 150: 113:Characteristics 70: 68: 64: 61: 56: 53: 51: 49: 48: 38: 26: 19: 12: 11: 5: 1618: 1608: 1607: 1602: 1597: 1592: 1587: 1582: 1577: 1572: 1567: 1562: 1545: 1544: 1542: 1541: 1531: 1518: 1515: 1514: 1512: 1511: 1506: 1501: 1500: 1499: 1488: 1486: 1482: 1481: 1479: 1478: 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Index


Coordinates
47°39′38″N 117°25′36″W / 47.6605°N 117.4267°W / 47.6605; -117.4267
Spokane River
Spokane, Washington
Named for
Decked-arch bridge
Reinforced concrete
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
MPS
76001920
deck arch bridge
northwestern
United States
spans
Spokane River
Spokane, Washington
Kirtland Kelsey Cutter
Karl G. Malmgren
Cutter & Malmgren


Good Roads Movement
Rocky River
Cleveland
Ohio
Walnut Lane Bridge
Philadelphia
Adolphe Bridge
Luxembourg

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