Waddell & Harrington

Waddell & Harrington was an American engineering company that designed bridges from 1907 to 1915.[1] It was formed in 1907 as a partnership of John Alexander Low Waddell (1854–1938) and John Lyle Harrington (1868–1942) and was based in Kansas City, Missouri, but had offices in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, British Columbia.[1] The company designed more than 30 vertical-lift bridges for highways and railroads.[2][3]

City Waterway Bridge

The Interstate Bridge, connecting Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington (and now used by Interstate 5)

The firm also designed one or more non-lift bridges, including the Colorado Street Bridge of Pasadena, California.

A number of its works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).[4]

Notable projects

Bridges designed by the firm include the following, among others:

• Hawthorne Bridge, spanning the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon,[5] NRHP-listed[6]
• Interstate Bridge, spanning the Columbia River between Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington;[5] NRHP-listed (as the Portland–Vancouver Highway Bridge)[7]
• Steel Bridge, spanning the Willamette River in Portland[5]
• Iowa Central Railway Bridge over the Mississippi River at Keithsburg, Illinois, built in 1909, since demolished[3]
• Caddo Lake Bridge, LA 538, over the Caddo Lake Mooringsport, LA, NRHP-listed[4]
• City Waterway Bridge, 20th Ave., Spans Ravenna Park Ravine Tacoma, WA, NRHP-listed[4]
• Colorado Street Bridge, Colorado Blvd. Pasadena, CA, NRHP-listed[4]
• North 21st Street Bridge, spans Buckley Gulch, N. Fife and Oakes Tacoma, WA, NRHP-listed[4]
• North 23rd Street Bridge, spans Buckley Gulch, N. Fife and Oakes Tacoma, WA, NRHP-listed[4]
• Union Street Railroad Bridge and Trestle, Jct of Union St. NE and Water St. NE Salem, OR), NRHP-listed[4]
• ASB Bridge over the Missouri River at Kansas City

References

1. Sheldrake, Arlen; et al. (2012). Steel Over the Willamette. Portland, Oregon: Pacific Northwest Chapter, National Railway Historical Society. pp. 7, 52. ISBN 978-0-9851207-0-2.
2. Engineers
3. See list of Waddell & Harrington bridges in Appendix A of Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. IL-156, "Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railway, Calumet River Bridge", pp. 50-52.
4. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
5. Wood Wortman, Sharon; Wortman, Ed (2006). The Portland Bridge Book (3rd Edition). Urban Adventure Press. pp. 5, 180. ISBN 978-0-9787365-1-4.
6. "Weekly list of actions taken on properties: 11/13/12 through 11/16/12". National Park Service. November 23, 2012. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
7. "Oregon National Register List" (PDF). Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. June 6, 2011. p. 39. Retrieved August 15, 2012.