Vista Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Vista Bridge is an arch bridge
for vehicles and pedestrians located in Portland, Oregon
, United States
. It connects the areas of King's Hill and Vista Ridge (the entire southern hillside is also referred to as Portland Heights
) which are both in the Goose Hollow
neighborhood. The MAX Light Rail line and Jefferson Street/Canyon Road travel under the bridge, and Vista Avenue crosses the bridge.
The bridge has four pedestrian balconies (extensions outward from the sidewalk) holding concrete benches, two on each side. The 248 feet (75.6 m) structure was designed by architect Fred T. Fowler. It is of a rib-reinforced concrete deck arch design. Completed in 1926, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
, as the Vista Avenue Viaduct, on April 26, 1984.
The Ford Street Bridge, a previous bridge on this site, was built in 1903 as part of a streetcar route to Council Crest, the highest point in Portland at 1,070 feet. Council Crest was the site of the "Big Tree Observatory" (built for the 1905 Lewis & Clark Exposition) and a popular amusement park and dance hall that operated from 1907 to 1929. Streetcars crossed the current bridge until 1950, when service on the Council Crest line (and the only other two then-remaining urban streetcar lines) was abandoned, but the disused tracks remained in place on the bridge for another four decades, until a renovation of the bridge deck.
In 1991, several bungee jumps were filmed here for an Oregon Lottery
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Arch bridge
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side...
for vehicles and pedestrians located in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It connects the areas of King's Hill and Vista Ridge (the entire southern hillside is also referred to as Portland Heights
Southwest Hills, Portland, Oregon
Southwest Hills is a neighborhood in the West Hills in the southwest section of Portland, Oregon, United States. The northeastern part of the neighborhood, above Goose Hollow and Downtown Portland, is known as Portland Heights...
) which are both in the Goose Hollow
Goose Hollow, Portland, Oregon
Goose Hollow is a neighborhood in southwest Portland, Oregon. It acquired its distinctive name through early residents’ practice of letting their geese run free near the wooded ravine in the Tualatin Mountains now known as the Tanner Creek Canyon and in the now infilled Tanner Creek Gulch...
neighborhood. The MAX Light Rail line and Jefferson Street/Canyon Road travel under the bridge, and Vista Avenue crosses the bridge.
The bridge has four pedestrian balconies (extensions outward from the sidewalk) holding concrete benches, two on each side. The 248 feet (75.6 m) structure was designed by architect Fred T. Fowler. It is of a rib-reinforced concrete deck arch design. Completed in 1926, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, as the Vista Avenue Viaduct, on April 26, 1984.
The Ford Street Bridge, a previous bridge on this site, was built in 1903 as part of a streetcar route to Council Crest, the highest point in Portland at 1,070 feet. Council Crest was the site of the "Big Tree Observatory" (built for the 1905 Lewis & Clark Exposition) and a popular amusement park and dance hall that operated from 1907 to 1929. Streetcars crossed the current bridge until 1950, when service on the Council Crest line (and the only other two then-remaining urban streetcar lines) was abandoned, but the disused tracks remained in place on the bridge for another four decades, until a renovation of the bridge deck.
In 1991, several bungee jumps were filmed here for an Oregon Lottery
Oregon Lottery
The Oregon Lottery is run by the government of Oregon. It is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association .- History :The Oregon Lottery was enabled by an amendment to the Oregon Constitution, approved by voters in the 1984 general election. The Lottery began the next year, eventually offering...
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