{"nrhp_refnum":"84001641","name":"Houston Street Viaduct","other_names":["Dallas-Oak Cliff Viaduct"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Houston St. roughly between Arlington St. and Lancaster Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Dallas","county":"Dallas County","state":"TX","lat":32.76821509150005,"lon":-96.81024969890262,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-08-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 6,562-foot reinforced-concrete arch viaduct carrying Houston Street across the Trinity River in Dallas, Texas, linking downtown with the Oak Cliff suburb. It was built between 1910 and 1911 and is owned by the City of Dallas.","why_significant":"It was the first of five concrete and steel viaducts built to connect the north and south sections of Dallas, and is one of the longest reinforced-concrete arch viaducts ever built. It was built with county funds at a low cost of $2.10 per square foot, after the 1908 flood cut off Oak Cliff. Its steel girder span with special \"shoes\" was designed to allow for future ocean-going vessels.","narrative":"Extending 6,562 feet across the Trinity River, the Houston Street Viaduct links downtown Dallas with the Oak Cliff suburb. Built in 1910 and 1911, it consists of fifty-one concrete arches, a 100-foot steel girder over the river channel, and concrete bents and girders near the approaches. The May 1908 flood, the worst in Dallas history, washed away most bridges and isolated Oak Cliff for a week, prompting the county to approve a $600,000 bond issue. Ira G. Hedrick's design was chosen from fifteen bids, and Corrigan, Lee and Halpin of Kansas City built it for about $570,000, or $2.10 per square foot. The central span has special \"shoes\" that carry arch thrust through the piers, allowing 90 feet of clearance for a proposed canal to the Gulf of Mexico that never materialized. It was the first of five viaducts joining north and south Dallas, and it remains largely intact and in use as a major traffic route.","period_of_significance":"1900- (built 1910-1911)","architect_builder":"Corrigan, Lee, and Halpin, Contractors, Kansas City, Missouri; Hedrick and Cochrane, Consulting Engineers, Kansas City, Missouri; J.F. Witt, Dallas Co. Engineer","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in excellent condition, unaltered and still in use as a major traffic artery; a concrete handrail was added in the early 1930s and stairs to Reunion Arena parking areas more recently.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.415328-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/53/9717/40971753/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/84001641.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001641/b331a12db0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001641/b331a12db0-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Joseph E. B. Elliott, Photographer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dallas-Oak_Cliff_Viaduct,_Spanning_Trinity_River_at_Houston_Street,_Dallas_(Dallas_County,_Texas).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Joseph E. B. Elliott, Photographer</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dallas-Oak_Cliff_Viaduct,_Spanning_Trinity_River_at_Houston_Street,_Dallas_(Dallas_County,_Texas).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971753","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Street_Viaduct","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q65794805"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/dallas-county/houston-street-viaduct-84001641/"}