About this property
The West Sixth Street Bridge is a historic stone arch bridge in downtown Austin, Texas. Built in 1887, the bridge is one of the state's oldest masonry arch bridges. It is located at the site of the first bridge in Austin, carrying Sixth Street across Shoal Creek to link the western and central parts of the old city. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. The first bridge within the Austin city limits was built across Shoal Creek at West Sixth Street (then known as "Pecan Street") in 1865. This first bridge, built by the United States Army, was a narrow iron footbridge and could not carry wagon traffic. As the capital city expanded, development west of Shoal Creek increased, and demand for a reliable vehicular crossing grew. At the Austin City Council meeting of January 3, 1887, council instructed the city engineer to estimate the cost of a new, larger bridge at Pecan Street that would match the full 80-foot (24 m) width of the street and permit wagons to cross. On March 21, 1887, city council allocated $6,126.20 (equivalent to $220,000 in 2025) for the construction of a permanent double-arch stone bridge to span the creek; in fact, the bridge was ultimately built with three arches. Construction was completed and the bridge opened to traffic in July 1887, giving wagons, automobiles and streetcars access to the western suburbs that would become the city's West Line Historic District. Since its completion, the bridge has required repairs on numerous occasions (usually due to damage from flooding on Shoal Creek), but the overall design is not believed to have been significantly altered. Today, the bridge still carries West Sixth Street across Shoal Creek and supports substantial pedestrian and vehicular traffic daily. On August 18, 2014, the structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of its significance as a durable work of civil engineering using local materials and a manifestation of nineteenth-century urban planning in Texas's growing capital city. The bridge is also notable for having replaced an iron truss bridge at a time when short-span masonry bridges were commonly being replaced by manufactured trusses. The West Sixth Street Bridge is a closed-spandrel deck arch bridge built of local limestone. It is 90 feet (27 m) long and 80 feet (24 m) wide, its unusual width reflecting that of Pecan Street as established by Edwin Waller's original 1839 Austin city plan. Today the structure carries a concrete roadway surfaced in asphalt concrete, bearing four roadway lanes, along with parallel parking spaces and sidewalks on both sides.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about West Sixth Street Bridge at Shoal Creek
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Questions about this property
When was West Sixth Street Bridge at Shoal Creek listed on the National Register?
West Sixth Street Bridge at Shoal Creek was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 17, 2014.
What type of historic resource is West Sixth Street Bridge at Shoal Creek?
West Sixth Street Bridge at Shoal Creek is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for West Sixth Street Bridge at Shoal Creek?
The period of significance for West Sixth Street Bridge at Shoal Creek is recorded as the industrial era, specifically around 1887.
Can I research the history near West Sixth Street Bridge at Shoal Creek?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near West Sixth Street Bridge at Shoal Creek will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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