Market Street Bridge
Also known as: See Also:River Street Historic District
Why it's listed
Built between 1926 and 1929, the Market Street Bridge is a twelve-arch crossing of the Susquehanna River at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Its reinforced concrete structure is faced with granite and includes two approach pylons, each topped by a large carved limestone eagle. The six longer river spans use open spandrel arches of three wide ribs each, while the end spans over the floodplain are shorter barrel arches with solid walls. Carrere & Hastings, a New York City architectural firm, designed the bridge, and Walter S. Rae of Pittsburgh served as builder. Construction used adjustable steel trusses for centering, and a cableway about 1,500 feet long carried concrete to the middle spans. The bridge replaced an earlier metal truss. Its length, ornamentation and engineering are the basis for its significance. A water gauging station and ornamental light standards were part of the original construction, although most of the light standards have since been replaced.
Significance in brief: The nomination describes it as one of the most important bridges crossing the Susquehanna River and an excellent example of a long-span 1920s urban bridge. It is noted as one of the longest and most highly ornamented concrete bridges in the nominated group. Its monumental design includes pylons topped with carved limestone eagles and open spandrel arches over the river spans.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 88000873, listed June 22, 1988. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Market St./LR 11 over Susquehanna River, Wilkes-Barre |
|---|---|
| County | Luzerne County |
| Listed | June 22, 1988 |
| Reference number | 88000873 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Period of significance | 1926-1929 |
| Architect / builder | Carrere & Hastings (designer/engineer); Walter S. Rae, Pittsburgh, Pa. (builder/contractor) |
| Areas of significance | Engineering |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | In use as a vehicular bridge; original light standards have been partly replaced. |
| Acreage | 3 |
| Within district | River Street Historic District |
| Coordinates | 41.24868, -75.88498 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 88000873.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6770754
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.