27 September 2021

Sur La Mer (our 31st Anniversary) Part 24: The Yaquina Bay Bridge

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Bayside cities are defined by their bridges. Newport hit the lottery jackpot here.

Carrying US 101 over the mouth of Yaquina Bay, the bridge could be iconic of the general design of almost all notable coastal bridges: the arches, the combination of Art Deco and Art Moderne design motifs, the simple efficiency and the understated yet remarkable beauty. All these were the design gifts of the vision of Conde McCulloch, who came to Oregon in the early part of the 20th Century.

This bridge was built across the mouth of Yaquina Bay in 1936, and I am stupid in love with it.


Connecting the bluff of the town area of Newport with the flats of South Beach, it has only two lanes, which undoubtedly gets kind of awkward during rush hours in Newport; the highway north of the bridge is four lanes of arterial boulevard. 

I imagine they'll eventually, sooner rather than later, have to replace this bridge. That'll be kind of a sad thing, because it's beautiful in its geometric perfection. 

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