Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Item
Title
C123298-1
Date(s)
- 1900 (Creation)
Extent
Name of creator
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
ca. 1900. The Rustic Bridge in Point Defiance Park, circa 1900. (A copy by Richards Studio of a customer's print, negative is not available.) The Rustic Bridge was built over Sorex Gulch, located midway between the present boathouse and Owen Beach. It was built in 1892 and was dismantled in 1920. It was a stacked log bridge with notches for crosslogs which tied the two sides of the bridge together. It was constructed of 3500 logs and was 250 feet long and approximately 80 feet high. Limbs were used to build the rustic handrail and benches along the pedestrian walkway. The stream at the mouth of the Sorex Gulch was dammed, creating a pond. A picnic site was created beside the pond and this became one of the most popular attractions for park visitors. A smaller pedestrian bridge can be seen in the foreground of the photograph; its handrail matches that of the Rustic Bridge. (Pierce County Cultural Resource Survey, prepared by Office of Historic Preservation, Community Development Department)
Point Defiance Park (Tacoma); Parks--Tacoma; Bridges--Tacoma;