{"nrhp_refnum":"01000869","name":"Sixth, Seventh, and Tenth Street Stone Arch Bridges","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"700 blks of Sixth, Seventh and Tenth Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Charleston","county":"Coles County","state":"IL","lat":39.492937705500054,"lon":-88.17298658674721,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2001-08-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Three single-arch limestone bridges carrying Sixth, Seventh and Tenth Streets over the Town Branch of Cassell Creek, just south of Charleston's Courthouse Square in Coles County, Illinois. They were built around 1895 by local stonemason Alexander Briggs.","why_significant":"The bridges are locally significant under Criterion C for engineering. They are similar single-span stone arch bridges built with local limestone by a local European-trained stonemason. They were built during a period of rapid growth in Charleston and retain most of their historic integrity.","narrative":"Three single-arch limestone bridges carry Sixth, Seventh and Tenth Streets over the Town Branch of Cassell Creek, just south of Charleston's Courthouse Square. Built around 1895, they were the work of Alexander Briggs, a local stonemason trained in Europe, who used squared local limestone from quarries along the Embarras River, a little over three miles east. The arches have spans of roughly 19 to 20 feet, with barrel tunnels about 44 to 60 feet long, stepped wing walls and capstoned parapets. Streets above were later paved in brick and then asphalt, and sidewalks were added over time. The bridges were built while Charleston was expanding, with new subdivisions, brick paving and a new teacher training school. They are valued for their engineering and for the use of local materials and labor. They remain in good to fair condition and still carry one-way traffic, though they are partly hidden from passing motorists and pedestrians.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Alexander Briggs (stonemason)","architectural_style":"Other: Stone Arch Bridge","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Bridges are in good to fair condition and still carry traffic on through streets; Sixth is good, Seventh fair, Tenth good-to-fair.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.572316-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/12/8919/28891912/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/01000869.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01000869/469d19b5de-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01000869/469d19b5de-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sixth_Street_Stone_Arch_Bridge.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sixth_Street_Stone_Arch_Bridge.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891912","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth,_Seventh,_and_Tenth_Street_Stone_Arch_Bridges","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16900257"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/coles-county/sixth-seventh-and-tenth-street-stone-arch-bridges-01000869/"}