The Grandin Bridge Traditional Cache

The Grandin Bridge, also known as the Grandin Road Viaduct or Delta Avenue Viaduct, was torn down in 1975.  Many Hyde Park residents are unaware that the bridge ever existed, which connected lower Grandin Road in Hyde Park with upper Grandin Road in Mount Lookout, almost directly atop the Grandin Bridge apartments off of Delta Avenue in Mount Lookout.

The bridge was completed in 1905 in just ten months at a cost of $202,000.  It was 1,100 feet long and crossed 150 feet above Delta Avenue.  Construction of such a bridge today would be a mean feat of engineering, and the engineering and construction of The Grandin Bridge was an issue throughout its lifetime.  The first call for its demolition came in 1943 when it was closed for a period because city engineers were concerned that a strong wind could cause it to collapse.  A November 3, 1943 article from the Cincinnati Post describes the reaction of some residents:

There was tragedy in the 38-year life of the Grandin road viaduct over Delta Avenue, ordered closed by City Manager Sherrill for reasons of safety.  But the suicide leaps, auto construction deaths weren’t foremost in the minds of persons living in the shadow of the span as they expressed mild elation Wednesday over its probably passing.  Instead there came memories of eggs splattering on pedestrian’s heads, Halloween dummies suspended from cross girders and family washings ruined by dust from the structure.  “It was a regular nuisance,” said Mrs. Rose Honey, 575 Delta Avenue.  “Look at the holes in my slate roof!” exclaimed a neighbor, “Kids made ‘em by tossing stones from the top of the bridge.”  “But the viaduct surely could tell some tales if it could talk.” Added George Noerr, 588 Delta Avenue.  He referred to use of spaces under the structure for impromptu “lover’s lanes.”

Instead of demolition, city council voted in November of 1943 to spend almost $95,000, which was promised to extend the life of the bridge for thirty to forty years; the bridge reopened the following year.  In 1958, a clamor began anew for raze the bridge sparked by the hazard of objects being thrown from the viaduct onto the cars on Delta Avenue below.

            The Times-Star editorialized against its destruction:

              The clamor the viaduct razing follows the old familiar pattern. Something is in the way, is a possible hazard or requires attention, So tear it down! Get rid of it! Pay no heed to the fact that it is part of Cincinnati, a contributor to its unique characteristics and can be made to service a purpose.  Away with the old, on with the new! It’s a pattern that leads to bankruptcy of the finer things in a community. 

But the bridge was not torn down then.

Discovery of a break in a steel member in March 1962 caused the immediate closing of the viaduct.  The city again wanted to tear it down, by Hyde Park and Mount Lookout neighbors rebelled.  City council appropriated $110,000 to repair the bridge, and it reopened on June 13, 1963.

The Bridge remained open for another eleven years when it became apparent that the bridge required signification structural repairs or replacement – at a minimum cost of $1.1 million.  After much community debate, city council voted in November of 1974 to demolish the bridge.  The bridge was closed to traffic effective January 1, 1975, and torn down later that year. 

Rogers, Gregory Parker. “Cincinnati’s Hyde Park: A Queen City Gem. Brief History Series.” The History Press, 2010.