Lafayette Street Bridge

Lafayette Street Bridge Viewed From City Park. 1911? Burgert Brothers. Courtesy, University of South Florida Digital Collections

The original Lafayette Street Bridge, the first to span the Hillsborough River, was completed in 1888. It created direct access to the Tampa Bay Hotel from downtown. Notice the Casino” sign on the left, advertising the betting establishment at the hotel. The bridge was a wooden drawbridge built 7 feet above the low water line, making it difficult for boats to pass. Since commerce took up much of the riverfront in the early 1900s, the bridge had to remain open most of the time. In 1912 plans were being made for a new 320-foot-long structure comprised of four cement piers, with three “great arches,” all 16 feet above the water, with a Scherzer bascule design. The bascule design meant the drawbridge mechanism would lift equally from both sides, 35 feet high, and rise straight up at a 90° angle to the ground. That design rendered the bridge impassable for any drivers not paying attention. It opened to pedestrian, streetcar, and automobile traffic in 1913 and was still in operation until 1994 when the Department of Transportation completed a one-year, $7.8 million restoration. The renovation maintained the Scherzer design.

The Kennedy Boulevard Bridge by Plant Park. 2020. © Chip Weiner

From Burgert Brothers: Look Again Vol. 1