{"nrhp_refnum":"02000729","name":"McKee Street Bridge","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"McKee St. and Buffalo Bayou","address_restricted":false,"city":"Houston","county":"Harris County","state":"TX","lat":29.766178253000078,"lon":-95.35208569399998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-09-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-span reinforced concrete girder bridge, 290 feet long, carrying McKee Street over Buffalo Bayou in Houston, Harris County, Texas. It was built in 1932 to a design by city bridge engineer J.G. McKenzie, with Don Hall Constructors as builder.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the bridge was a unique and innovative engineering solution to a difficult site, where the street crosses the bayou at about 77 degrees and navigation clearances were required. Its girders are shaped to match the calculated bending moment curve, allowing a 120-foot main span, and it is described as the only one of its kind in the state. It is listed under Criterion C in engineering at the state level.","narrative":"McKee Street crosses Buffalo Bayou in Houston on a 290-foot reinforced concrete bridge completed in 1932. Its three spans connect the Fifth Ward and Second Ward areas northeast of downtown. The most distinctive feature is the pair of continuous girders, which rise in wave-like curves over the piers. City bridge engineer J.G. McKenzie shaped them to follow the calculated bending moment curve of the structure. The design solved a difficult site: the street meets the bayou at roughly 77 degrees, and the War Department required 100 feet of horizontal and 42 feet of vertical clearance for small craft. The result was a 120-foot central span. The contract with Don Hall, at $122,000, came in $35,000 below comparable bids for a steel bridge. The deck has a brick wearing surface and steel handrails on cantilevered walkways. It replaced a 1908 steel swing bridge and is described as the only bridge of its kind in Texas. It is still used for traffic and keeps a high degree of integrity.","period_of_significance":"1932","architect_builder":"J.G. McKenzie, Engineer; Don Hall Constructor, Inc., Builder","architectural_style":"Modern Movement: Moderne","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a vehicular bridge at its original location; only minor changes since construction, including repainting in 1985.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.824922-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/79/9694/40969479/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/02000729.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02000729/1e17e73804-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02000729/1e17e73804-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Ed Uthman, Houston, Texas, USA","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:McKee_Street_Bridge_Houston.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Ed Uthman, Houston, Texas, USA</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:McKee_Street_Bridge_Houston.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40969479","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKee_Street_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18751479"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/harris-county/mckee-street-bridge-02000729/"}