Last updated: April 5, 2024
Place
Boulder Bridge
NPS / Claire Hassler
Quick Facts
As roads in Rock Creek Park were constructed, they often forded the creek rather than being carried over the creek via bridge. In 1902 the Board of Control (in charge of the park before the National Park Service was created) constructed two attractive bridges. One of these was Boulder Bridge.
Boulder Bridge carried the road across Rock Creek upstream from the Blagden Mill site where the mill dam had been. Designed by W. J. Douglas and built for $17,636, the reinforced concrete arch was faced with large fieldstones gathered from outside the park. The bridge blended admirably with its surroundings and survives as an outstanding specimen of naturalistic "parkitecture."