"St. Johns Bridge, Oregon" Waymark

The Gothic-tower St. Johns Bridge, completed in 1931, is the most spectacular bridge in the city of Portland. The bridge was designed by Holton Robinson and internationally renowned bridge architect David Steinman. It was the longest rope-strand suspension bridge in the world at the time of its construction.

The bridge is a two-tower cable steel suspension, steel deck half-through truss. It spans the Willamette River, connecting the St. Johns area of North Portland with the industrial area of Northwest Portland—US 30 bypass.

The bridge is 2,067 feet long. The bridge has two 408-feet-high Gothic towers with a 1,207 foot main (center) span, a total length of 2,067 feet, and a navigational clearance of 205-feet at low water. It was painted a pale green color to blend into the landscape. The bridge was renovated from 2003 to 2005 including repainting it.

The bridge is named for the community at its east end, which was originally named in honor of settler James John. James John, the founder of St. Johns, Oregon, was born in 1809 in Ohio. In 1846 he built himself a brick building at the edge of the river on what was once an Indian camping ground. He filed for a Donation Land Grant of 320 acres in 1850. In 1852, he operated a general merchandise store as well as started a ferry across the river near this place with just one rowboat.

The bridge has been designated a historical landmark. It has four benchmarks: RD3632, RD3634, RD3654 and RD3627. The coordinates are the location of the northwest tower. There is a pull off on the Oregon side (US-30) where it is possible to get a great photo of the entire bridge.

Instructions for logging waymark: A photograph is required of you (or your GPS receiver, if you are waymarking solo) and the bridge.