Thursday, May 03, 2007

My Google Map of Hillsborough River Bridges

Here is my first attempt at using Google's My Maps. I've marked each bridge over the Hillsborough River, with a little information about most of them. I intend to add more information and images as I figure out how, but for now, I'd like to know what you think and what you would like to see added.

Bridges of the Hillsborough River

7 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:25 PM

    Very nice map. It has been added to the catalog:
    http://gmapia.com/catalog/Travel/?start=1

    It would be nice to see pictures for those bridges.

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  2. Anonymous8:38 AM

    Great job, Lucy! It always surprises me that most of the bridges across the Hillsborough are the originals. It would be great to see info on the original garcia st. bridge and note if there were any older bridges along that river that are no longer standing.

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  3. Thanks! I've added one photograph, but I still have a few things to figure out with My Maps and Picasa.

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  4. The Garcia Strett Bridge and the Jackson Street Bridge have been added. These are the only two Hillsborough River bridges I know of that are no longer standing (if you accept the 1979 Fort Foster Bridge as a replacement for the early 19th century Fort King Road Bridge). There was a historic bridge on the river at Sulphur Springs, but that was more over where the spring empties into the river than over the river itself, so I left it off the map. For now at least. I also didn't trace all the bridges on Hillsborough River tributaries or the bypass canal.

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  5. Anonymous5:14 PM

    not sure your nebraska bridge story is complete - look at this picture:

    www.us-highways.com/vandyke.htm

    the one on left was just to the west of the current nebraska ave and at the end was used as streetcar bridge for the street car line running from downtown down central ave, then east to the bridge. The one on the right was at van dyke road, I think it was the first one over the river leading to the springs.

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  6. You're right, thanks for the link to the photo. I went back to the old Sanborn maps (anyone can see some of the old Sanborn maps in color at http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/digital/collections/sanborn and more in black & white through the Tampa public library's website - with a library card - at www.hcplc.org, in the Information Gateway section.) On the 1922 Sanborn there are two bridges over the river at Sulphur Springs, in addition to the bridge over the spring run near the river. The more westerly bridge over the river was a steel bridge, leading to the streetcar barn at Sulphur Springs. The more easterly bridge was a wooden bridge taking Nebraska Avenue over the river. Originally, Nebraska Avenue veered around Sulphur Springs, instead of the straight north-south alignment we are familiar with today. The north-south alignment was in place by the 1931 Sanborn map (pages 439 and 444), however, with a new concrete bridge for the new segment of Nebraska Avenue. The old wooden bridge remained, and the old Nebraska alignment became Van Dyke Place.

    While I was looking at these, I picked up on two other former bridge locations, to the east between Sulphur Springs and Rowlett Park: at 22nd and 30th.

    So all in all a good day -- four more Hillsborough River bridge locations!

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