{"nrhp_refnum":"94000515","name":"University Avenue Bridge","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"1000 block S. University Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.94185494800007,"lon":-75.19743647299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1994-05-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A double-leaf bascule drawbridge carrying University Avenue across the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, linking West Philadelphia with the Grays Ferry section of South Philadelphia. It has limestone-faced concrete-on-steel piers, abutments and towers, and bridge operator's houses modeled on Greek tholoi.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the bridge is an outstanding example of modern classicism applied to bridge design by Paul Philippe Cret. It also calls it an important engineering work, as one of the city's few remaining drawbridges and one of only two surviving double-leaf bascule drawbridges on the Schuylkill River. It is further regarded as a visual landmark on the river.","narrative":"Limestone-faced double-leaf bascule bridge carrying University Avenue over the Schuylkill River, linking West Philadelphia with the Grays Ferry section of South Philadelphia. The city planned it in 1924 and the Dravo Contracting Company built it between 1925 and 1930, to a design by Paul Philippe Cret with engineer Stephen H. Noyes. Its central piers rise into square towers topped by bridge operator's houses modeled on Greek tholoi, and its pylons carry bronze lanterns with classical detailing. The design is regarded as an outstanding application of modern classicism to bridge architecture, a style that Cret used to bridge Beaux-Arts classicism and Art Deco. The bridge is also significant as a rare surviving drawbridge on the river, built to serve the coal, ice and fuel-oil industries and the University of Pennsylvania area. It remains a prominent landmark among the railroad and expressway bridges nearby.","period_of_significance":"1925-1930","architect_builder":"Paul Philippe Cret (architect); Stephen H. Noyes (engineer); Dravo Contracting Company (builder)","architectural_style":"Beaux Arts; modern classicism","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The bridge opens for barges at an average rate of about once a day and received new bascule lifting machinery most recently in 1983.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:37.482525-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/94000515.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94000515/e901e8921f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94000515/e901e8921f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"See below","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WTP_A10_youcanlookitup_2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">See below</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WTP_A10_youcanlookitup_2.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997282","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Avenue_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7894519"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/university-avenue-bridge-94000515/"}