Bridges Can Be Beautiful
Apr 26, 2022 12:38:50 #
RichKenn
Loc: Merritt Island, FL
I took this picture in 2014 of a bridge on the old Highway 101 west of Santa Barbara. There is a parallel railroad bridge from which I took this picture.
Apr 26, 2022 12:45:58 #
Apr 26, 2022 13:03:00 #
Apr 26, 2022 22:39:53 #
bikinkawboy
Loc: north central Missouri
What’s cool about engineering is that you can design something purely for function, or strictly for aesthetics. Real coolness comes when you can design something that is both functional as well as pleasing to the eye.
Examples of purely functional is the Soviet era or present day North Korean apartment buildings. Just big, plain concrete boxes people live in. Conversely, Frank Lloyd Wright designed some unique and beautiful houses, but most have not stood the test of time due to structural deficiencies.
Examples of purely functional is the Soviet era or present day North Korean apartment buildings. Just big, plain concrete boxes people live in. Conversely, Frank Lloyd Wright designed some unique and beautiful houses, but most have not stood the test of time due to structural deficiencies.
Apr 27, 2022 03:40:38 #
Apr 27, 2022 05:30:15 #
RichKenn wrote:
I took this picture in 2014 of a bridge on the old Highway 101 west of Santa Barbara. There is a parallel railroad bridge from which I took this picture.
Apr 27, 2022 07:59:55 #
Apr 27, 2022 08:08:30 #
Apr 27, 2022 08:30:30 #
A very nice photograph. And I concur with bikinkawboy; I've always said it's almost impossible to make an ugly looking bridge...or a good looking telephone pole.
Apr 27, 2022 10:34:02 #
Apr 27, 2022 12:12:02 #
Great photograph. I have been on that bridge several times, the most recent was about a month ago. I never stopped to take photos but now I might.
Dennis
Dennis
Apr 27, 2022 12:18:17 #
Great shot, Rich, are you sure it is not Highway 1, either way I have gone over many times while living in So. Cal.
Apr 27, 2022 15:36:13 #
RichKenn
Loc: Merritt Island, FL
Thanks for all your comments. I agree it is possible to make something both functional and attractive but it takes skill. I am pretty sure this bridge is the OLD US Highway 101 and not used any more. The new 101 is four-laned a little up the hill, I think. It has been a long time since I was there.
Again, thanks for your comments. It was a good subject.
Again, thanks for your comments. It was a good subject.
Apr 27, 2022 15:50:33 #
RichKenn is correct. That is the classic California Division of Highways (now CalTrans) bridge structure. I cross the current US101 bridge (not shown) every time I drive (several times a year) from the Central Coast to Orange County and return. I worked as an Engineering Aide at The Division of Highways every summer while I was attending Engineering (EE) school at USC in the late 1950's. The bridge guys were on the 6th floor, I was on the 5th floor of the Tishman Building on Wilshire Blvd (3440). in LA in those days. Great experience. But highway electrical engineering was too tame for me, I hired into Hughes Aircraft at graduation and designed CRT displays for the USN and later NATO, fun job!
Apr 27, 2022 19:01:48 #
Bridgehunter.com describes this bridge as the Old US 101 Arroyo Hondo Bridge in Sta Barbara county, built in 1918.
https://bridgehunter.com/ca/santa-barbara/bh44185/
https://bridgehunter.com/ca/santa-barbara/bh44185/
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