Shoal Creek Bridges
1976 West 10th Street Bridge
1976 West 10th Street Bridge, Shoal Creek, Austin, Texas, by Ted Lee Eubanks.
The West 9th and West 10th Street bridges were constructed in 1976, and therefore were not included in the TXDOT survey of Depression-Era bridges.
Notice the Texas Military Institute "Castle" on West 11th on the horizon.
1938 West 12th Street Bridge
West 12th Street Bridge, Shoal Creek, Austin, Texas, by Ted Lee Eubanks.
The 12th Street bridge originated in the New Deal. This bridge was constructed in 1938 with funding provided by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The bridge is eligible for the NRHP.
1938 West 12th Street Bridge
The West 12th Street Bridge is among the more nontraditional bridges along the creek. The parabola underneath stretches to ground level on the eastern span. The bridge has been widened, by the shape has been retained by the curved fascia.
1938 West 12th Street Bridge over Shoal Creek, Austin, Texas, by Ted Lee Eubanks
1938 West 12th Street Bridge
Notice how the parabola of the original bridges extends to the ground, while the girders of the extension only extend to a flat wall.
1938 West 12th Street Bridge, Shoal Creek, Austin, Texas, by Ted Lee Eubanks. The bridge was constructed in 1938, funding by the WPA.
1941 Lamar Street (House Park) Bridge Over Shoal Creek
1941 Lamar Street (House Park) Bridge, Shoal Creek, Austin, Texas, by Ted Lee Eubanks. Lamar crosses Shoal Creek only once between Lady Bird Lake and US 183 (effectively the headwaters of the creek). Constructed in 1941, the bridge is likely eligible for the NRHP.
1937 House Park
House Park, Austin, Texas, by Ted Lee Eubanks.
House Park opened in 1939 along Shoal Creek, just down the hill from the old campus of Austin High School near downtown. The stadium was built on land donated by Edward M. House, a former diplomat and adviser to Woodrow Wilson. House Park was later dedicated to the memory of the Austin High students that lost their lives serving in World War I and World War II.
Colonel E. M. House was a national political leader who got his start in Austin. At one time, House was a principal advisor to President Woodrow Wilson - working in a role somewhat like the modern job of the White House Chief of Staff. In Austin, Colonel House had a home at 18th Street and West Avenue. It was an ornate red building with a back property line extending down into the Shoal Creek watershed from his home.
In 1903, Colonel House owned all of the property east of Shoal Creek from what is now Martin Luther King, Jr., Boulevard south to 12th Street and west of the West Avenue property lines. As his political career began to develop, he donated, that land to the City of Austin for the “benefit of Austin’s youth.” What had been his “horse pasture” now became an area for public use.
Part of the land was used by the City of Austin for the “old Austin Athletic Center” at Shoal Creek Boulevard and 12th Street. For a number of years, Austin High had been allowed to play high school football games at the old University football field, Clark Field, just north of what is now Memorial Stadium. The University built “War Memorial Stadium” in 1924. Memorial Stadium has become known as “Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium” today. The University told the public schools that they wouldn’t be able play high school games in the old Clark Field. The old Clark Field would become the University baseball field.
Although Austin High got to play some games at Memorial Stadium after Clark Field was converted, the leaders of the School District decided to begin an athletic facility on the land Colonel House had donated years before. West 15th Street had not yet been extended west and Lamar Boulevard would be built in the 1930s. The east stands at House Park were built in 1937, the official birthday of House Park, and the west stands and the scoreboard were built in 1947. Notice the bottom of the new scoreboard at House Park, still dedicated to the veterans of World War II.
Pease Park Pedestrian Bridge
Pease Park Pedestrian Bridge, Shoal Creek, Austin, Texas, by Ted Lee Eubanks.
Neills-Cochran House (Texas Blind Asylum)
Neills-Cochran House (Texas Blind Asylum), University of Texas campus, Austin, Texas, by Ted Lee Eubanks. This house served as the headquarters for George Armstrong Custer for a year after the Civil War. The house has been restored and is currently operated as a museum. The house is located at 2310 San Gabriel in Austin.
Custer's Meadow
At the end of the war Custer was assigned to duty in Texas (November 3, 1865 – February 4, 1866) as part of Gen. Philip H. Sheridan's effort to prevent Confederate retrenchment in Mexico under the emperor Maximilian. Accompanying General George Custer were his brother Tom, his wife Libbie, his staff and their families. General Custer’s father, Emanuel Henry Custer, was on the payroll as a forager.
The Provisional Governor of Texas, Andrew Jackson Hamilton, provided the Texas Blind Asylum to Custer and his wife as a temporary home. The Asylum also served as the Union Army’s headquarters for the duration of the Custers’ three-month stay.
Custer's troops camped here along Shoal Creek, in an area of Pease Park now known as Custer's Meadow. While in Texas Libbie contracted malaria (she survived), and many of Custer's troops contracted cholera (at least 16 did not).
Cholera swept through the camp, killing fifteen or sixteen of the troopers. During the epidemic the Neil house on West Avenue was used as a hospital. The dead were buried along Shoal Creek.
The flood of 1900 (caused by the 1900 Storm that killed between 4000 and 6000 in Galveston) washed up bodies of seven of George Custer’s troops who had been killed by cholera and buried along the creek.
Custer's Oak
Custer's Oak, Pease Park, Shoal Creek, Austin, Texas, by Ted Lee Eubanks. Although there is no evidence that specifically links this oak to Custer, the age of this tree certainly suggests that Custer and his troops would have known it well. Pease Park, Shoal Creek, Austin, Texas, by Ted Lee Eubanks.
1928 West 24th Street Bridge
1928 West 24th Street Bridge, Shoal Creek, Austin, Texas, by Ted Lee Eubanks.
The following text is excerpted from the Texas Historic Bridge Inventory.
"The current bridge was erected in 1939 under a Public Works Administration (PWA) project that widened an existing concrete bridge built by the Austin Development Company in 1928 [the company developed Pemberton Heights]. By the mid 1930s, the original bridge's narrow roadway limited its capacity to carry the ever-increasing number of cars traveling between the central city and the new suburbs developing west of Shoal Creek."
"City bridge engineer Carl Levander, and WPA engineer Hermann Bohn, were in charge of designing the bridge widening project. In order to widen the original structure, the abutments and intermediate piers were extended to support three new spans of reinforced concrete girders. Curved fascia walls were placed on the outside of the new bridge to retain the appearance of an arch. The design of the bridge was further enhanced by decorative treatment given to the railing and the spandrel walls. "
The Texas Historic Bridge Inventory states that "the West 24th Street Bridge meets National Register eligibility under Criterion C, Engineering, at the state level of significance."
According to an article in the Austin American -Statesman (29 July 1928), "the [original] bridge will be 138 feet long with three arches, the center arch spanning the creek and each end arch being designed so that a boulevard can pass beneath."
1934 Lower Shoal Creek Bridge
1934 Lower Shoal Creek Bridge, Shoal Creek, Austin, Texas, by Ted Lee Eubanks.
The following text is excerpted from TXDOT's Texas Historic Bridge Inventory.
"The Lower Shoal Creek Bridge is a five-span bridge composed of concrete slab units erected over piers and abutments. The bridge rail consists of a concrete post and steel pipe design anchored by large anchored approach walls."
"This bridge is one of two structures constructed by the Park Division of the Texas Civil Works Administration (CWA) as part of a project to develop a parkway boulevard along the Shoal Creek valley. Under Austin's 1928 City Plan, Shoal Creek valley was set aside for the purpose of a park and boulevard system to service new residential areas developing between the historic western limits of the city and the Colorado River. The valley presented a favorable location for a park, as its lowlands were not suited for residential development."
"A simple concrete slab design was selected for this crossing, as it could be constructed inexpensively and without scaring the east embankment of the creek. L.A. Schmidt designed the bridge with the assistance of Paul M. Enright. Charles A. Millhouse was responsible for the architectural treatment and design of the railing. In designing the bridge, equal weight was given to both the appearance and the utility of the structure. To this end, the simple slab design was improved with a sleek rail design and a deep chamfered edge along the slab. Both Texas CWA and Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) labor assisted with the construction of the bridge."
According to the Texas Historic Bridge Inventory, "the Lower Shoal Creek Bridge meets National Register eligibility under Criterion C, Engineering, at the state level of significance.
1934 Upper Shoal Creek Bridge
1934 Upper Shoal Creek Bridge, Austin, Texas, by Ted Lee Eubanks.
The following text is excerpted from the Texas Historic Bridge Inventory.
"The Upper Shoal Creek Bridge is a one-span bridge consisting of a reinforced rigid-frame arch with hinged footings. The bridge rail consists of a concrete post and chrome-plated steel rail design divided into sections by ornamental concrete posts and anchored by large curved approach walls."
"This bridge is one of two structures constructed by the Park Division of the Texas Civil Works Administration (CWA) as part of a project to develop a parkway boulevard along the Shoal Creek valley. Under Austin's 1928 City Plan, Shoal Creek valley was set aside for the purpose of a park and boulevard system to service new residential areas developing between the historic western limits of the city and the Colorado River. The valley presented a favorable location for a park, as its lowlands were not suited for residential development."
"The natural conditions of the valley necessitated crossing the creek at two locations. Because the proposed bridge was going to be visible for several blocks before its approach, the city called for the design to be aesthetically pleasing. Using a common high-type bridge was not recommended because of the amount of fill that would be needed on the east back of the stream. Adapting to the limitations of the site, a rigid-frame bridge was selected, as it could be erected with minimum excavation and was suited for architectural treatment."
"L.A. Schmidt designed the bridge with the assistance of Paul M. Enright. Charles A. Millhouse was responsible for the architectural treatment and design of the railing. The bridge was designed with a flat parabolic curve , running between two large ornamental piers. Aside from the basic structural form, architectural treatment was given to the rail posts, ornamental piers, and approach walls. These were designed with stepped edges and offset lines to accentuate the slender profile of the bridge."
According to the Texas Historic Bridge Inventory, "the Lower Shoal Creek Bridge meets National Register eligibility under Criterion C, Engineering, at the state level of significance."
1939 West 29th Street Bridge
1939 West 29th Street Bridge, Shoal Creek, Austin, Texas, by Ted Lee Eubanks.
The following text is excerpted from the Texas Historic Bridge Inventory.
"Perched high above Shoal Creek in Austin, this bridge is composed of five reinforced concrete girder spans accented with curved fascia walls. The 215' long superstructure is supported on concrete abutments and open-frame bents. The bridge's handrail is composed of concrete oval window panels divided into sections by concrete posts and terminated with curved end pedestals . The posts and end pedestals have recessed panels surfaced with a pebbled finish."
"The bridge was constructed in 1939 under PWA project 2072-F. The concrete girder bridge replaced a 240 foot I-beam bridge built by two land developers associated with the Edgemont addition, west of Shoal Creek. In 1932, the developers tried to swap the title of the bridge in exchange for delinquent city taxes. The city council rejected this petition, and, in 1939, was given deed to the bridge without encumbrances. The city condemned the earlier bridge and built the new structure to improve traffic between the central city and the suburbs west of Shoal Creek. City bridge engineer, Carl G. Levander, designed the bridge, which was built by the Yarbrough Construction Company."
This bridge is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
