The Shanaska Creek Bridge, also called Washington Park Bridge and officially Bridge 4846, is an iron 8 panel pin-connected Pratt through truss bridge[2] which was erected in 1875 over the Blue Earth River in the U.S. State of Minnesota and moved twice since.[3] It was built near Vernon Center, Minnesota by Soulerin, James, and Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[4]

Bridge No. 4846
The bridge in Lake Washington County Park
Shanaska Creek Bridge is located in Minnesota
Shanaska Creek Bridge
Shanaska Creek Bridge is located in the United States
Shanaska Creek Bridge
Location47102 Washington Park Road, Kasota Township, Minnesota
Nearest cityKasota, Minnesota
Coordinates44°15′59″N 93°53′54″W / 44.26639°N 93.89833°W / 44.26639; -93.89833 (Shanaska Creek Bridge)
Built1875
NRHP reference No.81000681[1]
Designated February 17, 1981
Silhouette of ironwork detail

In 1929, it was placed over Minnesota State Highway 22 to carry Le Sueur County Road 102.[3] It was the oldest bridge of its type left in the state[5] when it was listed at that location on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.[6]

It was moved again in 1984[3] to its present location where it carries a hiking and bicycle path over Shanaska Creek in Lake Washington Park near Kasota, Minnesota.[7]

In 2011, Randy Walker covered the bridge in colorful fabric[8] to create a temporary art installation called Passage.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ Holth, Nathan (June 2, 2013). "Washington Park Bridge (CR-102 MN-22 Bridge)". HistoricBridges.org. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
  3. ^ a b c Gardner, Denis (2008). Wood, Concrete, Stone, and Steel: Minnesota's Historic Bridges. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. p. 185. ISBN 9780816646661.
  4. ^ Hess, Jeffrey A. (1988). Final Report of the Minnesota Historic Bridge Survey. St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society. State Historic Preservation Office. p. 209. The 1875 bridge erected by Soulerin, James, and Company over the Blue Earth River at Vernon Center now stands in a park in LeSueur County.
  5. ^ Bloomberg, Britta (August 1980). "MINNESOTA HISTORIC PROPERTIES INVENTORY FORM: Bridge #4846" (PDF). Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  6. ^ Nord, Mary Ann (2003). National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press. p. 110. ISBN 0873517458.
  7. ^ "Bridge 4846". Historic Bridges. Minnesota Department of Transportation. 2017. Retrieved 2017-02-13. Bridge 4846 is a Pratt through truss located in Lake Washington Park in Kasota Township in Le Sueur County.
  8. ^ Ojanpa, Brian (November 6, 2011). "Artist wraps park bridge with colored fibers". Free Press. Mankato, Minnesota. Retrieved 2017-02-13. The 1875 Shanaska Creek bridge in Lake Washington County Park has been cocooned in a cacophony of color — about 48,000 ribbon feet of it.
  9. ^ "Passage". Museum without Walls. cultureNOW. Retrieved 2017-02-13. In this project, an historic 1875 wrought iron bridge was used as a framework for an artistic intervention.