1836 - On
James Doty's first plat of Madison he had planned
a Railroad to run down what is now East Washington Avenue to the capital square. by the time he
reworked his plat that idea had changed and he changed it to be part of Washington Avenue.
In 1847
Leonard J. Farwell purchased most of the east
side, and he began improving it in 1849. Among his projects were laying out East Washington
Avenue which required draining and filling in the marsh between the Capitol and the Yahara River,
and planting hundreds of trees.
On ???? Chicago landscape artist O. C. Simonds plan called for a boulevard from Butler to Baldwin
streets, with a 24-foot wide road on each side of the boulevard. The boulevard was to be
discontinued at the
Yahara River bridge and railroad tracks, but
would reappear on the other side of the tracks and run to the city limits.
In 1904
Halle Steensland offered to donated money for a
new bridge over the Yahara River in honor of his 50 years as a resident of Madison. The 60 ft
wide steel concrete arch bridge faced with stone was designed by George B. Ferry of Ferry and
Clas. On October 7, 1905 Steensland was the first person to cross the new bridge, driving across
in his buggy.
John Olin was the second, on horseback.
In 1950 the road was widened to a total width of just over 127 feet. To maintain the bridges
appearance it was meticulously disassembled with each brick being numbered, photos taken of each
section, so it could be reassembled exactly as it had been. The bridge again had to be
disassembled in 2006 as part of a complete renovation of the road. No such care was taken this
time around although the original bricks were kept for…
