{"nrhp_refnum":"07001023","name":"Sabine Street Bridge over Buffalo Bayou","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Sabine St. at Buffalo Bayou","address_restricted":false,"city":"Houston","county":"Harris County","state":"TX","lat":29.762790765000034,"lon":-95.37555963699998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-09-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A six-span reinforced concrete girder road bridge, 240 feet long, carrying Sabine Street over Buffalo Bayou in Sabine Park west of downtown Houston, Harris County, Texas. It was built in 1924 and designed by city engineer W.W. Washburn.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the bridge is the last surviving concrete bridge built under a 1920s Houston bond issue and one of very few remaining designs by W.W. Washburn. It represents the City Beautiful movement through its curved fascia walls, urn balustrade and square bent capitals. It is significant under Criterion C for engineering at the state level and retains a high degree of integrity despite minor 1987 changes.","narrative":"Carrying Sabine Street across Buffalo Bayou in Sabine Park, this 240-foot bridge was built in 1924 for $224,460 to replace an earlier timber structure. Designed by city engineer W.W. Washburn, it has six spans of continuous reinforced concrete girders resting on concrete bents with square capitals. Curved concrete fascia walls between the bents make it look like an arch bridge. Cantilevered sidewalks run along both sides, flanked by urn balustrades, and the roadway is 40 feet wide with two lanes. The bridge was one of several concrete bridges funded by a 1920s bond issue as part of Houston's City Beautiful efforts, and it is the only one of them still standing. It is also among the last surviving works by Washburn. Alterations in 1987 included painting, resurfacing, joint repair and likely new sidewalk paving and reproduction light standards, but the structure keeps its original character. It is listed for engineering significance at the state level.","period_of_significance":"1924","architect_builder":"Bridge designer: W.W. Washburn","architectural_style":"OTHER: continuous span concrete girder bridge","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a vehicular bridge; minor changes were made in 1987 (painting, resurfacing, joint repair, probable sidewalk widening and reproduction light standards).","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:24.147432-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/71/9694/40969471/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/07001023.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07001023/dca80c3340-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07001023/dca80c3340-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Ed Uthman, Houston, Texas, USA","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sabine_Street_Bridge_(HDR).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:Sabine_Street_Bridge_(HDR).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40969471","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110002765"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/harris-county/sabine-street-bridge-over-buffalo-bayou-07001023/"}