Harrington and Cortelyou Inc., Mississippi River Bridge Papers
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of photographs, daily engineer journals, original hand-drawn plans for the bridge and toll house, alternate rejected designs, progress charts, Gantt charts, correspondence, financial and legal papers.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1926-1930
Rights Statement
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).
Biographical / Historical
The Cape Girardeau, Missouri traffic bridge was dedicated in September of 1928. The chief engineer was Percival V. Pennybacker of Harrington, Howard & Ash, Kansas City. The construction of the bridge began in 1926 and was constructed for $1,600,000. The main span is 1342 feet long, and the eight lengths of steel extend 4,744 feet. $400,000 was raised locally to fund the bridge. The elaborate dedication ceremony in 1928 designated the bridge as the "Gateway to the Ozarks" and included a parade and beauty queens. In 1928, it was the only traffic bridge over the Mississippi River between St. Louis and Memphis. The Cape Girardeau Bridge Company owned the bridge until the Great Depression when it went into receivership and was sold to private owners. The long-range plan for the bridge after 1949 was for it to become "toll free" and the bridge became a part of the Missouri and Illinois highway departments during 1957. The Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge opened in December of 2003, and the original Cape Girardeau traffic bridge was scheduled for demolition in the spring of 2004.
Extent
18.0 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Correspondence, engineering journals, reports, plans, financial and legal documents, charts, and photographs relating to the construction of the traffic bridge spanning the Mississippi River between Cape Girardeau, [Mo], and East Cape Girardeau, [Il], constructed by the engineering firm of Harrington, Howard and Ash (now Harrington and Cortelyou, Inc.,) of Kansas City, [Mo].
Provenance
Gift of David J. Glastetter, Design Engineer, Harrington & Cortelyou, Inc., Kansas City, Missouri, May 2002.
- Title
- Guide to the Harrington & Cortelyou, Inc. Mississippi River Bridge Papers circa 1926-1930
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- William Baehr
- Date
- 2003
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
- Box: 1499 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 1500 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 1501 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 1665 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 1666 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 1667 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 1668 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 1669 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 1670 (Mixed Materials)
- Case: MMC2.2, Folder: 012 (Mixed Materials)
- Case: MMC2.2, Folder: 013 (Mixed Materials)
- Case: MMC2.2, Folder: 014 (Mixed Materials)
- Case: MMC2.2, Folder: 015 (Mixed Materials)
- Case: MMC2.2, Folder: 016 (Mixed Materials)
- Case: MMC2.3, Folder: 001 (Mixed Materials)
- Case: MMC2.3, Folder: 002 (Mixed Materials)
- Case: MMC2.3, Folder: 003 (Mixed Materials)
- Case: MMC2.3, Folder: 004 (Mixed Materials)
- Case: MMC2.3, Folder: 005 (Mixed Materials)
- Folder: Above Shelf F41, Folder: 001 (Mixed Materials)
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections and Archives Repository
One University Plaza, MS 4600
Cape Girardeau Missouri 63701 United States
5736512245
semoarchives@semo.edu