Sometimes it's called the Buffalo Bridge, because it has four big old buffaloes, two at each end, that welcome people to Georgetown. And sometimes it's called the Dumbarton Bridge, because when it was built, they had to move Dumbarton House, a huge Federal style mansion, a couple fo blocks west of its original site. Whatever you want to call it, this bridge that links Georgetown and Dupont Circle is one of my favorites in Washington.
It was built between 1914 and 1915 by Glenn and Bedford Brown, a father and son architect team. The design was tricky, because the streets it connected didn't quite line up. This meant the bridge, with five large arches, had to curve a little bit.
The bridge originally had, in addition to the four buffaloes, 56 carvings that were modeled on a Sioux Indian Chief, known as Kicking Bear. But I didn't see them - I hope whoever removed them took them to a safe place, like the Smithsonian!
Alexander Phimister Proctor is credited with sculpting the four buffaloes. While he did several US presidents and Joan of Ark, the Denver artist was famous for his work with animals.
It's hard for me to imagine what it was like before this bridge connected these two popular neighborhoods. I love to walk across it, and I always stop to look down at Rock Creek and the Parkway that takes me around town.
In another couple of weeks, the leaves will put on an amazing show. I'll save that for a Wordless Wednesday.
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