The Waco Suspension Bridge was built in 1870 and originally served as a cattle and pedestrian toll bridge across the Brazos River. It was sold to McLennan County and opened toll-free to the public in 1889. Due to the steady increase in vehicle traffic, the bridge was reconstructed 1913-1914 to assure its stability. Older steel was replaces, trusses added, the cable system replaced, the towers rebuilt, and the roadway reinforced with steel. Today, there are other, more stable traffic bridges and the Suspension Bridge is used as a pedestrian bridge. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and has the status of state marker. Today the structure combines its modern as well as original elements.
Architect Johann August Röbling was limited by the obvious function the structure needed to fulfill. The object obviously had to be three-dimensional. Furthermore, its size and dominating horizontal direction were largely predetermined by the function of the bridge. The span of the bridge is 475 foot. The towers on each side of the river constitute contrasting vertical lines and help create a balanced appearance. While most lines in the structure are straight, the seven cables on each side across the river form a somewhat dynamic symmetric curve that opens to the top. As a variation of this curve, each tower has two prominent arches that open to the bottom. Between the two towers on each side of the river, the cables form a straight diagonal line that is echoed in the line of the slanted roofs on the outer towers. Pattern is created with this adapted repetition of clear, geometric lines. Smaller lines on the towers add detail and help create balance. All shapes are geometric, large, and very symmetrical. While the large size of the horizontal span is predetermined by the span of the Brazos River, the large vertical size of the towers was a choice of the architect and increases the appearance of stability and balance.
Most of the structure consists of empty space to which the horizontal, vertical, and curved lines and shapes build the framework. The structures take up comparatively little space, which emphasizes the width and size of the construction and bestows it with a certain light and effortless appearance.
The way the structure interacts with light and shadow differs greatly depending on the weather and time of the day. Shadows are strongly visible on the light grey color of the towers as well as on the walkway, which emphasizes the geometric angles and the depth of the structure. On sunny days, when the light falls at an angle in the morning or evening, the shadows cast by the trusses and cables create an intricate pattern of geometric lines on the walkway. In addition, a row of light bulbs is attached to the cables on both sides of the bridge that illuminate the structure at night, emphasizing its framing curves. The two towers closest to the river are also illuminated at night.
The bridge is made up of two colors: the grey of the towers, trusses, and cables, and the dark brown of the walkway and the roof on both sides of the towers further away from the river. The colors are fairly uniform throughout the different structures. The grey is very light with low intensity, further suggesting an impression of openness, lightness, and a certain coolness of the heavy and solid structure. The brown is darker and more intense and has a warmer appearance. The two colors create balance and are an example of how the historic and more modern aspects of the bridge are combined. This is further emphasized by the texture of the structure. The smooth texture of the stone towers and steel trusses contrasts with the rough texture of the wooden walkway.
The structure does not have a single focal point. The two towers closest to the river function as focal points due to their height, symmetry, and stability. The outer towers don’t have the same emphasis as they are markedly lower and on the periphery of the structure. In fact from one side of the river the second tower on the other side can easily be missed. Thus, the bridge has three main components: the walkway, the inner pair of towers, and the outer pair of towers. These elements are unified by the symmetry of the structure as well as by its rhythm and pattern that have repeatedly been addressed above.
References:
Texas State Historical Association (2008). Waco Suspension Bridge. The Handbook of
Texas Online. Retrieved March 8, 2009 at http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/WW/rtw1.html
Texas State Historical Association (2009). The Waco Suspension Bridge. Texas
Almanac. Retrieved March 8, 2009 at http://www.texasalmanac.com/history/highlights/waco/
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