Stone Bridge - Hartford, CT
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 41° 45.732 W 072° 40.473
18T E 693309 N 4625987
The Stone Bridge, a.k.a. Main Street Bridge, was built to allow Main Street to cross the Park River and now crosses the Whitehead Highway. It is located at 500 Main Street in Hartford, CT.
Waymark Code: WM1523K
Location: Connecticut, United States
Date Posted: 09/30/2021
Views: 0
The Stone Bridge was the largest stone bridge in the United States when it was completed in 1833. It originally carried Main Street over the Park River and replaces a wooden bridge at this site. Later, the river was directed through a conduit and the Whitehead Highway, a three lane highway connecting I-91 to Pulaski Circle in downtown Hartford, was built over the river. Currently the clearance under the bridge 10'-11" in the right west bound lane, 13'-3" in the left west bound land and 12" in the eastbound land.
A sign on top of the bridge on the west side of Main Street is inscribed:
MAIN STREET BRIDGE
OPENED IN THE FALL OF 1833 FOR THE COST OF
$31,526.20. IT HAS A SPAN OF 104 FEET, AND IS 30'-9"
FROM THE RIVER TO THE TOP OF THE ARCH.
THE BRIDGE SURVIVES
AND YOU ARE STANDING ON IT.
The bridge is constructed of brownstone blocks with a keystone in the center of the arch that was placed by Elias Rathbun, contractor, on November 21, 1833. It is 100' wide. The Hartford Public Library is built over the east side of the bridge and obscures the view of the bridge from the east. The only view of the bridge is from the west by looking east from Pulaski Circle.
The Main Street Stone Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. Link