Noble Avenue Viaduct, Spanning Cottonwood Creek and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) tracks on Oklahoma State Highway 33 (Noble Avenue), Guthrie

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER OK-7. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

State Highway 33 (Noble Avenue) spanning Cottonwood Creek and the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway track in Guthrie, Logan County, Oklahoma. The location of the Noble Avenue Viaduct is shown in Figure 1. The ODOT Structure/Location number for the bridge is X, and the National Bridge Inventory (NBI) number is The Noble Avenue Viaduct is located at latitude: latitude: longitude: The coordinate was taken at the center of longitude: the main span on April 16, using submitter aerial Google Earth photography in a Geographic Information System. The February coordinate's datum is NAD The Noble Avenue Viaduct's location has no restriction on its release to the public.

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER OK-7. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Noble Avenue Viaduct is significant as the only known double-deck bridge in Oklahoma. It has been assessed as individually eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C, for Engineering, at the state level of significance. Historians/Preparers: CP& Y, Inc.: Kathryn S1. Clair, Project Manager and Architectural Historian; Beth A. Reed, Architectural Historian; Victoria Raines, Architectural Historian; AmaTerra Environmental, Inc.: Thomas P. Eisenhour., Historical Architect and Photographer.

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER OK-7. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

This historical documentation was prepared in September under the terms of a Memorandum of Agreement among the NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 2) Federal Highway Administration, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, the Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the National Park Service, the City of Guthrie, Preservation Oklahoma, Inc., and the Logan County Historical Society as mitigation for adverse effects resulting from the proposed replacement of the Noble Avenue Viaduct. NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 3) Part I. Historical Information A. Physical History: 1. Date of Construction: 2. Architect/Engineer: Homer X. White, Bridge Engineer, Oklahoma State Highway Commission 3. Builder: Guy H.

James, Oklahoma City, OK 4. Original Plans and construction: The Noble Avenue Viaduct Bridge has an overall length of and an overall width of The viaduct consists of roadways spanning Cottonwood Creek on two levels. The upper roadway provides two travel lanes with sidewalks on both sides. The lower roadway is at grade level and has one sidewalk on the north side only. The superstructure of the bridge consists of the upper roadway deck, which is constructed of reinforced concrete. Each span of the upper-deck structure consists of eight wide-flanged steel beams. The lower deck is constructed of reinforced concrete and consists of five steel I-beams that vary in depth and length.

The substructure of the bridge consists of concrete abutments and multiple-column concrete bents resting on concrete footings. The footings of the western abutment and four westernmost bents are further supported by multiple reinforced concrete pilings varying in length and driven into bedrock. The bridge displays an overall Modernistic Style influence with decorative detailing kept to a minimum. The stylistic influences are most evident in the railing design which displays elements of both sub-styles of the Modernistic Style: Art Moderne and Art Deco. The rail is composed of rectangular, vertically positioned interior posts and end posts with a smooth concrete surface, on all four sides.

Each post and end post is incised with vertical grooves on the front and back and connected by two horizontally placed rectangular concrete bars.1 1, Engineering Plans for the State Highway 33 (Noble Avenue) Bridge spanning Cottonwood Creek (ODOT Structure/Location number: X and National Bridge Inventory (NBI) number Held by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Environmental Programs Division. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 4) B. Historical Context: In the U.S. Congress designated land that would one-day become the state of Oklahoma as Indian Territory. White settlers were required to leave, and a number of tribes from the East and South were forcibly moved into the area from their ancestral lands.

These included the Five Civilized Tribes: the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole. These tribes had allied themselves with the South during the Civil War. Following the war, the U.S. government looked upon these tribes as defeated enemies. The Unassigned Lands, also known popularly as the Oklahoma Lands, were considered some of the best unoccupied public land in the United States. The lands had been left vacant during the post-Civil War period in order to create reservations for Plains Indians and other tribes. When the Indian Appropriations Bill of was passed and signed into law, it authorized President Benjamin Harrison to open the two million acres of Unassigned Lands for settlement.

Immediately after the signing of the bill there was great interest across the nation in settling these lands. Tradesmen, professional men, common laborers, capitalists, and politicians all considered the potential of settlement in the area as a great opportunity. On March 23, President Benjamin Harrison signed a proclamation that would open the Unassigned Lands in Indian Territory to non-Indian settlers on April 22, The impact of the subsequent land rush was immediate and transformed the land almost overnight. The Oklahoma Land Run of opened for settlement an area that included all or part of the present-day Oklahoma counties of Canadian, Cleveland, Kingfisher, Logan, Oklahoma, and Payne. The Land Run started at noon on April 22, with starting signals given at many points of entry.

An estimated people lined up for their piece of the available two million acres. Under the provisions of the Homestead Act of a legal settler could claim 160 acres of public land, and those who lived on and improved the claim for five years could receive title. By the end of the day, both Oklahoma City and Guthrie had established cities of around people. Some who made the run sought to beat others to choice parcels by entering early and hiding out until the legal time of entry. These people came to be known as "sooners." The NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 5) hundreds of future legal contests that arose from this practice would be decided first at local land offices, and then by the Department of the Interior.

2 Prior to the Land Run of the community of Guthrie existed as a train stop along the Southern Kansas Railway (later the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway [AT&SFD line. The rail line, completed in ran from Topeka, Kansas, south to Purcell in the Indian Territory. The rail line placed a station known as Deer Creek at the site of present-day Guthrie in The fact that Guthrie was the location of a rail station gave it high potential as a future Land Run town site. Guthrie also possessed a U.S. Land Office, which opened in conjunction with the Land Run on April 22, and a U.S. Post Office which also made it a choice location for settlers and town site companies.

The train arrived in Guthrie at on April 22 to find the boom town already brimming with people; the town of Guthrie was established that day3. The Land Run process involved a participant hurrying to choose his 160 acres, determine its range and township from the surveyors' cornerstone markers and plant a stake bearing notice of his name and location. Some would immediately begin making token improvements such as digging a well or arranging logs for a potential home. Others would hurry to the land office to register their claim. The proclamation specified that town sites could encompass up to 320 acres. Three towns also near Guthrie included East Guthrie, West Guthrie, and Capitol Hill. Each town elected a mayor and established ordinances. From to U.S.

Army troops stationed at nearby Camp Guthrie kept peace and order. Guthrie leaders promptly opened public schools in fall and established separate schools for African American students at the same time. 4 By setting the stage for non-Indian settlement of other sections of Indian Territory, the Oklahoma Land Run of quickly led to the creation of the Oklahoma Territory under the Organic Act of President Harrison signed the Act and appointed the first territorial 2 "Guthrie," Accessed January 1, and United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form for Guthrie Historic District. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 6) governor.

During the summer of Guthrie consolidated the four towns into the single town of Guthrie. As part of the Organic Act, Guthrie was designated the territorial capital (until when the capital was moved to Oklahoma City by a vote of the people), as well as the Logan County seat. As the territorial and county seat, the population of Guthrie grew rapidly; the town had 5, 333 residents when the first census was taken in That year eight newspapers, nine churches, and eleven schools were established. Ten years later in the population had almost doubled to Between and the Eastern Oklahoma Railway (later the AT&SF) constructed a line between Guthrie and Cushing to the east. In the Denver, Enid and Gulf Railroad (later the AT built a line connecting Guthrie and Enid to the northwest.

By the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Western Railroad (later the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway [CRI&PD joined Guthrie with the town of Chandler. The Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad (later the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway) and the st. Louis, El Reno and Western Railway both furnished service to Guthrie beginning in In the U.S. Congress passed the Enabling Act, which provided for the formation of the forty-sixth state of the Union, Oklahoma. On November 20, 112 delegates met in City Hall at Guthrie to draft a constitution.

In the year that Oklahoma achieved statehood, Guthrie's population stood at It peaked at in During the Great Depression the population declined to in the however, it rebounded to in A competition developed between Oklahoma City and Guthrie for the location of the capital. On June 11, the people voted to move the state capital to Oklahoma City. Although no longer the state capital, Guthrie was still the Logan County seat and its central location in the county enabled Guthrie to become a successful center for trade and a hub for rail service. By Guthrie had 39 factories, including a cotton mill, a cotton oil mill, a creamery, and a flour mill. It had 8 wholesalers, 286 retailers, and 5 banks.

By the cotton mill employed and a carpet factory employed As an agricultural and industrial center, Guthrie exported approximately car loads of livestock, fruit, grain, and textiles that year. NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAERNo.OK-7 (Page 7) Both Cottonwood Creek and the railroad played important roles in the settlement of the Guthrie town site. Prior to the Land Run, the Southern Kansas Railway (later the AT had laid tracks through the area in The railroad tracks were laid out adjacent to Cottonwood Creek, and a small, frame depot was located east of the creek and just south of what became Noble Avenue, and eventually State Highway 33. The advantage of available water had first attracted the railroad to this area.

Many of the homestead settlers who descended into Guthrie for the Land Run came by way of train. The availability of both water and a rail line encouraged the settlers to stake claims nearby. However, as the town expanded, it was a common occurrence for train cars arriving at the Guthrie depot to back up along the line and block access between East Guthrie and West Guthrie, frustrating residents who could not get from one side of town to the other. 5 Although Cottonwood Creek provided advantages to the city, it also created problems. The flood pattern of the river had a major impact on the town. Because the creek historically flooded the central and southwestern portions of the town, residential and commercial development in these areas was limited.

The creek was never harnessed to provide a source of power and in spite of repeated attempts to control it through channeling, it frequently flooded. 6 During the early twentieth century, newspapers often described the havoc of flooding, which was not only an inconvenience, but often led to the loss of property and occasionally to loss of life. 7 At the time of the Land Run there was no bridge across Cottonwood Creek and, as the town quickly developed, the creek divided the new town site from east to west. In fall the City of Guthrie built a timber bridge, which provided its first creek crossing. See Appendix A for photos of this bridge, which appears to be a wooden Pratt through truss bridge.

Research could not determine how long this bridge remained in service; however, given that it was constructed of wood it is likely that the frequent flooding washed it away. It is also likely that several 5 Guthrie ," Accessed January 1, 6 National Register of Historic Places, Guthrie Historic District, Guthrie, Logan County, 7 "First Flood In Four Years Here." and "Floodwaters of Cottonwood Bring Up Body." Guthrie Daily Star, April 30, Accessed September "Railroads Recovering From Flood Effects." The Guthrie Daily Leader, June 6, Page 1. Accessed January NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 8) subsequent wooden bridges were constructed at the location although no photographic evidence has been found.

8 Logan County and the City of Guthrie eventually constructed a steel truss bridge to replace the previous timber bridge across the creek at Noble Avenue. Although research has not been able to determine an exact date of construction for this bridge, the Sanborn Map indicates that an "iron" bridge was in place in this location at that time. A Sanborn Map indicates a bridge over Cottonwood Creek, but does not give any detail as to its construction material. It is likely that the steel truss bridge was constructed between and This period was one of great prosperity for the town of Guthrie as a result of its role as territorial capital and as the Logan County seat.

The town experienced tremendous population growth and infrastructure improvements during this time, and it is reasonable to assume that the investment in a sturdier bridge, in the form of a steel truss, would have been undertaken. 9 As early as the citizens of Guthrie realized the need for a viaduct that could withstand the flooding of Cottonwood Creek and also span the railroad tracks. In that same year, the mayor of Guthrie, A.O. Farquharson, began negotiations with officials at the AT&SF Railroad to discuss construction of a viaduct. However, negotiations apparently proceeded slowly and by the time Oklahoma became a state in Guthrie still did not have a viaduct. Because Noble Avenue had been paved in public officials focused the discussions for the viaduct location along this roadway.

However, the funding for the viaduct became an on-going entanglement between the City of Guthrie and the Santa Fe Railroad company, and, in the late the Oklahoma State Highway Commission condemned the truss bridge and barricaded the Noble Avenue crossing over Cottonwood Creek.lO Newspaper accounts from this period express the frustration of the business owners and residents who could not cross Cottonwood Creek. Plans for a viaduct 8 Photographs ofa timber truss bridge spanning Cottonwood Creek at Noble Avenue. Oklahoma Historical Society. 9 "Guthrie." Accessed January 1, 10 Logan County Historical Society Vertical Files. Pamphlet for bridge dedication, "A Dream Come True," NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAERNo.OK-7 (Page 9) continued to stall and did not become a reality until the U.S.

Government became involved with its construction as part of one of the government programs of the Great Depression. 11 In June the U.S. Congress created the Public Works Administration (PWA) under Title II of The function of the PWA was to establish numerous federal relief programs as measures to provide employment, catalyze economic recovery, improve infrastructure across the country, and to administer funding through these programs. Funds were derived from Sections 202 and 203 of Title II of the National Recovery Act, in the amount of 30 percent of the total cost and from the Relief Administration in the amount of 70 percent. The 30 percent fund was transferred from the PWA to the Bureau of Public Roads in the amount of for Oklahoma.

This fund was provided to cover supervision, equipment and materials. The 70 percent funds were designated for labor and were paid directly by the State Relief Administrator. The Oklahoma State Highway Commission designated suitable projects under this program, subject to approval by the Bureau of Public Roads. The State Relief Administration designated the counties and estimated the number of man hours available. Actual work on these projects began in the early part of November and was completed December 12 Recognizing the safety issues and efficiency concerns of at-grade railroad crossings, the PWA implemented the Grade Crossing Program.

An allotment of was made to the Oklahoma Highway Commission for the funding of grade separations and protective devices on the Oklahoma highway system under the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of Under the million allocated in PWA funds to the Bureau of Public Roads for highways, 492 grade separations over railroad tracks were constructed across the country. 14 Under this program, the state was to bear the expense of all preliminary engineering and investigation, including plans. Prior to the the Oklahoma Highway Commission had ll"Advertisement for F.E. Houghton," Guthrie Daily Leader, September 19, Accessed September 3, Public Works Administration. America Builds: The Record of PWA. Washington, Government Printing Office, l3Oklahoma Department of Transportation.

"Oklahoma Depression-era Road-related Resources and Bridges Historic Context Survey, June Accessed: August 20, Public Works Administration. America Builds: The Record of PWA, 63. NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAERNo.OK-7 (Page 10) begun efforts to replace dangerous at-grade highway/railroad crossings with grade-separation structures and continued up until World War II. The Oklahoma Highway Commission prioritized locations across the state based on a record of accidents. In addition, locations were given priority based on the work-relief needs in the region and where men could be put to work quickly. In a total of 38 grade crossing structures were contracted for construction across the state, including the Noble Avenue Viaduct.

15 The City of Guthrie and Logan County worked with the Oklahoma Highway Commission, Federal Engineers and the railway engineers to secure funding through the PWA's Grade Crossing relief program to construct a viaduct carrying Noble Avenue over Cottonwood Creek and the Santa Fe Railroad tracks. Oklahoma State Highway Commission engineers designed the viaduct specifically for this location, deviating from standardized plans commonly utilized throughout the state. Homer X. White was the Oklahoma State Highway Commission Engineer who signed and sealed the plans for the bridge. Mr. White was a bridge engineer with the state for 22 years after working for the American Bridge Company in the early twentieth century. The Homer X. White Memorial Bridge in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, commemorates Mr.

White's service to the state and to engineering. 16 The double-decker Noble Avenue Viaduct was designed for two main purposes: to carry Noble Avenue traffic and pedestrians safely over Cottonwood Creek and the railroad tracks, and to maintain vehicle access to the large ice plant and railroad tracks located on the east side of the creek. The vertical geometry of the approach roadway and bridge is steeply inclined to carry the upper deck roadway up and over the lower deck, which remained relatively at-grade with creek banks and the railroad track. The viaduct railings were designed with clean horizontal lines, typical of the time period and of other bridge designs found in the standardized plans from the Oklahoma Highway Commission during the 17 15 Oklahoma State Highway Commission.

Biennial Report of the Oklahoma State Highway Commission for the Calendar Years and (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. December 31, 16 Joseph E. King, Spans of Time, Oklahoma Historic Highway Bridges (Planning Division- Oklahoma Department and FHWA). Accessed September 13, 17 Mead and Hunt. "Oklahoma Depression-era Road-related Resources and Bridges NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 11) There are no known extant bridges with the same design as the Noble Avenue Viaduct in Oklahoma. The Noble Avenue Viaduct is likely the only one of its design produced by the Oklahoma State Highway Commission.

Though the Oklahoma Office of Public Roads prepared and utilized standard plans for bridges across the state and during the period from to the plans for the Noble Avenue Viaduct were customized to this particular site. There are no other known bridges of this design found within the state, and no known drawings of other bridges that are similar with this design are located at the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (formerly the State Highway Commission). On March 15, the local newspaper's headline read: "Guthrie's Dream of Almost 40 Years Practically Became a Reality as the Path was Cleared for the City to get its Long-Sought Overpass on Noble Avenue at the Santa Fe Tracks.

18 The SaIne article provided information on the preliminary design of the bridge, indicating, "in addition to the span, one-way streets and a bridge crossing the creek will be built under the viaduct. These two paved passages will be to serve cars seeking the track level and ice plant access. The overpass and ground level street will be lighted. Safety devices will guard the railroad crossing.,,19 Following the development of the design for the bridge, bids were advertised for construction on April 22, On April 27, the contract was awarded to the lone-bidder, Guy H. James Construction Company out of Oklahoma City in the amount of 21 The Guy H. James Construction Company constructed a number of bridges and culverts across the state and in surrounding states.

In May it was reported that the "city faced an odd dilemma in projects. The Noble Avenue Viaduct project was delayed due to a shortage of laborers. The overpass job was a Federal Bureau of Public Roads project and the labor for it must come from the relief rolls.,,22 At the time, the City of Guthrie had other Works Progress Administration (WP A) projects under construction, resulting in a shortage of laborers. The city manager, John Hamil, moved laborers from the community stadium project to the bridge project. Work was started on the bridge on July 12, by men employed by the 18 Guthrie News Leader, March 15, 19 Ibid.

20 "Bid on Viaduct." Guthrie News Leader, April 26, 210klahoma State Highway Commission, Biennial Report of the Oklahoma State Highway Commissionfor the Calendar Years and (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, December 22 "Bid on Viaduct." Guthrie News Leader, April 22, NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 12) regional labor office of the Federal Works Administration. 23 In March the local newspaper, the Guthrie News Leader, reported that 900 people were employed by the WP A in Logan County, though it is unknown how many individuals in total worked on the viaduct. 24 On March 17, a dedication parade and ceremony marked the opening of the viaduct over Cottonwood Creek; a reported spectators crossed the bridge, and senators and WP A officials attended.

The Guthrie News Leader noted that the "dedication of the Noble Avenue Viaduct stands as an important milestone in the civic development of the city.25 The viaduct has provided the community of Guthrie a primary travel route over Cottonwood Creek. Over the years, the bridge has been periodically overtopped with flood waters, rending the bridge impassable.

The bridge is currently considered functionally obsolete as it no longer can support the traffic demands imposed on it; additionally, the vertical geometry creates unsafe circumstances for drivers along Noble Avenue (State Highway 230klahoma State Highway Commission, Biennial Report of the Oklahoma State Highway Commission for the Calendar Years and 24 "Agreement on Viaduct Issue Being Studied." Guthrie News Leader, March 7, page 1; and "Path Cleared for Noble Avenue Construction." Guthrie News Leader, March 15, 25 "Dedication Reception Surpasses Expectations," Guthrie News Leader, March 18, NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 13) Part II. Structural/Design Information A. General Statement: 1.

Character: The Noble Avenue Viaduct is distinguished for its engineering significance as the only known double-deck bridge to have been constructed in Oklahoma. It is likely the only one of its design produced by the Oklahoma State Highway Commission because it was designed specifically for its Guthrie location, deviating from standardized plans commonly utilized throughout the state. Because the plans were customized to the particular site they were able to uniquely address the multiple needs of the local users. Although passage across the creek was crucial, access to a nearby ice plant was also a high priority. The bridge design provided vehicular access via the lower deck at the railroad track level, which also provided the ice plant access.

The steep upper level overpass allowed express travel over the creek. Its rare and unusual design provided a unique solution to a specific engineering need. 2. Condition of fabric: According to the ODOT bridge inspection report, the bridge has a sufficiency rating of and is classified as structurally deficient. There is substantial spalling of the concrete on the undersides, piers, and railing of the bridge. The deck and substructure ratings are poor, and the superstructure rating is fair. B. Description: The Noble Street Viaduct Bridge is located in Logan County, Oklahoma, in the town of Guthrie. Guthrie is situated on U.s. Highway 77, 32 miles north of Oklahoma City.

The Noble Avenue Viaduct has an overall length of -0" and an overall width of 39' The viaduct consists of roadways crossing Cottonwood Creek on two levels. The upper roadway is 24' -0" wide and provides two travel lanes with 4' -0" sidewalks on both sides. The lower roadway is at grade level and has an roadway with one sidewalk measuring 4 feet on the north side only. NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 14) Superstructure The superstructure of the upper deck consists of the components that span the railway feature the bridge is intended to cross. The superstructure includes the deck, deck structure, sidewalk, and handrails.

The upper roadway deck is constructed of reinforced concrete that varies in thicknes~ between 6" and Each of the 16 spans of the upper-deck structure consists of eight wide-flanged steel beams, ranging from 8" to 30" in depth. Span lengths are 61 and The underside of the deck structure where it spans what is now the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway tracks is protected from any damaging effects of locomotive gases by wrought iron blast plates. When constructed, the railway was owned and operated by the The lower deck is constructed of reinforced concrete and, as is the case with the upper deck, varies from 6" to in thickness.

The structure consists of five steel I-beams that vary in depth from to 33" with span lengths of and Substructure The substructure consists of the components that support the superstructure. The maIn components are abutments, interior bents, footings, and pilings. The Noble Avenue Viaduct's substructure consists of concrete abutments and multiple-column concrete bents resting on concrete footings. The footings of the western abutment and four westernmost bents are further supported by multiple reinforced concrete pilings varying in length from 25' -0" to 30' -0" and are driven into bedrock. Thirteen of the bents are normal to the bridge's alignment.

The remaining two bents are skewed to align with the (previously the tracks.27 26"Engineering Plans for the State Highway 33 (Noble Avenue) Bridge spanning Cottonwood Creek (ODOT Structure/Location number: X and National Bridge Inventory (NBI) number Held by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Environmental Programs Division. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 27 Ibid. NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 15) Railing Design The bridge displays an overall Modernistic Style influence with elements of both of the sub- styles of the Art Moderne and Art Deco styles. The stylistic influences of the bridge are most readily visible in the design of the railing.

Both of these styles were popular in the United States during the period of design and construction of the Noble Avenue Viaduct, which was completed in The bridge can also be described as possessing elements of the PWA Moderne- Style, a less common subgroup of the Art Moderne style that was also applied to buildings completed from to in the United States as part of relief projects sponsored by the PWA and the WPA. The Art Deco Style emphasizes symmetry and rectilinear rather than curvilinear design elements. These aspects of the style corresponded with the increased use of machinery in manufacturing during the early twentieth century and the requirements of mass production. The Art Moderne Style tends to emphasize elements of horizontal lines.

The combination of rectilinear elements and horizontal lines in the bridge design combines to emphasize the concept of streamlining. This concept was used by industrial designers who stripped design of its ornament to create the visual appearance of motion and speed through simplified linear design. The Noble Avenue Viaduct design combines elements of the both Modernistic styles to visually illustrate these design concepts. The smooth wall surface of the concrete elements of the bridge is an identifying feature of both the Art Moderne and Art Deco styles. However, additional elements of each style can be seen in the structural components of the railing.

The railing is composed of rectangular interior posts with a smooth, concrete surface on all four sides, placed vertically approximately every 9' -0" along the length of the bridge. End posts are also rectangular concrete blocks, positioned vertically, and are slightly larger in dimension than the interior posts, visually signaling the endpoints of the bridge. As is typical of the Modernistic Style, decorative detailing is kept to a minimum. The Art Deco Style, in particular, emphasizes geometric forms arranged in symmetrical patterns. This aspect of the style can be seen in the symmetrical spacing of the post elements. The bridge's only NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 16) decorative detail is exhibited by incised vertical grooves on the front and back of the posts and end posts.

The interior posts display a single incised groove, which extends almost to the upper and lower edge of each post on the front and back, stopping a few inches from the top and bottom. Each larger end post block is incised with three vertical grooves; the center groove is longer than the two shorter grooves of equal length that flank it. The three-stripe design detail of the end posts and the single stripe detail on the interior posts, as well as the vertical positioning of the rectangular posts provide the bridge with the vertical and geometric details that are characteristic of the Art Deco Style. Connecting the post elements of the railing are two 10" x 6" chamfered concrete bars.

The bars span the posts horizontally and are spaced approximately on center (o.c.) and 8"apart from each other. The substantial dimensions of the bars result in a strong visual horizontal line, which is an identifying feature of the Art Moderne Style. The combination of the horizontal connecting bars and the vertical post elements provides a mixture of both the Art Deco and Art Moderne styles in the design of the bridge. 28 c. Site Information: The bridge spans Cottonwood Creek, which runs north to south as it passes under the bridge. It also spans the (previously the Railroad tracks, which run generally northeast by southwest at the bridge location and are located on the east side of the creek. The creek and the tracks are generally parallel at the point of crossing.

Mature trees line both sides of the creek in the area of the bridge, creating a thickly wooded area along the banks. The bridge is located within the City of Guthrie limits, which had a population of at the time of the census, placing it within the center of a moderately urban environment. The town is heavily populated on the east side of the bridge with a grid pattern of development consisting of a combination of mostly residential and commercial uses that extends as far as the railroad tracks. Land use along the west side of the bridge is less dense. Level, unoccupied land is located closest to the creek; aerial views show that it was previously platted for development.

However, this area of the creek has historically been more prone to flooding and, as a result, the 28 Virginia and Lee McAlester, A Field Guide to American Houses (NewYork: Alfred A. Knopf, NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 17) areas closest to the creek on the west side are no longer being developed. Residential development begins again farther west and becomes increasingly dense. Part III. Sources of Information A. Early Views: No historic or early photographs were identified of the Viaduct B. Current Views: All 4" x 5" large-format photographs were taken by AmaTerra Environmental, Inc. in April C. Original Engineering Drawings: All original engineering drawings are held by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Environmental Programs Division, 200 N.E.

Street, Room 3D2a, Oklahoma City, OK D. Bibliography Bridge Design Specifications, California Department of Transportation, March Bridge Term Definitions, Ohio Department of Transportation, Division of Information, America Builds: the Record ofPWA, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, Engineering Plans, on file at the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Guthrie Daily Star, Vol 9 No 43, Ed 1, Tues Apr 30, Guthrie Daily Leader, "Agreement on Viaduct Issue Being Studied," March 7, "Path Cleared for Noble Avenue Construction," March 15, "Bid on Viaduct," April 22, "Dedication Reception Surpasses Expectations," March 18, Logan County Historical Society. Vertical Files. Bridge Dedication Pamphlet, NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No.

OK-7 (Page 18) McAlester, Virginia and Lee, A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Oklahoma Depression-era Road- related Resources and Bridges, Historic Context Survey, June National Register of Historic Places Guthrie Historic District, Guthrie, Logan County, Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT), Oklaholna's Memorial Highways and Bridges, Oklaholua Historic Highway Bridges, Joseph E. King, Spans of Time. Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, "Guthrie" . Oklahoma State Highway Commission.

Oklahoma Highway Studies Highway Planning Survey, Biennial Report of the Oklahoma State Highway Commission for the Calendar Years and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, December Biennial Report of the Oklahoma State Highway Commission for the Calendar Years and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, December 31, Oklahoma State Register (Guthrie, OK), "Cottonwood went Out of its Banks' , VoL 30, No. 49, Ed. 1, Thursday, April 13, "Logan County For Hard Surface Roads, VoL29, No. 49, Ed. 1, Thursday, Apri115 th, p 1. "Logan County's Increased Road Fund", VoL 29, No. 39, Ed. 1, Septeluber 16, NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 19) Public Works Administration. America Builds: The Record of PWA. Washington, Government Printing Office, Division of Information, NOBLE A VENUE VIADUCT HAER No.

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(Photocopy of the construction plans on file at ODOT) (S ee Field Records for enlargement. ) NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 23) Ii' ; II ~Q s .I ., ", . . It ~! l~ ~A .~ ~L -- - ef ~, . 1. Figure 4. Photocopy of Sheet No. 18A (Right Half): AS BUILT GENERAL ELEVATION PLAN AND SUMMARY OF QUANTITIES. (Photocopy of the construction plans on file at ODOT) ( See Field Records for enlargement ) NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 24) Figure 5. Photocopy of Sheet No. 28: DETAILS OF UPPER ROADWAY AND SPECIAL DETAILS. (Photocopy of the construction plans on file at ODOT) (See Field Records for enlargement) NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 25) Figure 6. Photocopy of Sheet No. 29: DETAILS OF LOWER ROADWAY AND SPECIAL DETAILS.

(Photocopy of the construction plans on file at ODOT) ( See Fie ld Recor ds for enl argement ) NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 26) PHOTOGRAPH 1. TIMBER TRUSS BRIDGE OVER COTTONWOOD CREEK, DATED JUNE (Used with permission from the Oklahoma Historical Society) NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 27) PHOTOGRAPH 2. TIMBER TRUSS BRIDGE OVER COTTONWOOD CREEK, DATED JUNE 19, (Used with permission from the Oklahoma Historical Society) NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 28) HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD APPENDIX C: INTERVIEW Oral History ofFrank Rhodes, Guthrie, Oklahoma resident. Recorded by Kathryn St. Clair, historian, on July 7, in Guthrie, Oklahoma. Kathryn St. Clair So your name, you're Frank Rhodes? Frank Rhodes: I'm Frank Rhodes here in Guthrie, Oklahoma.

And I grew up on a farm out west of Guthrie at the Woods Place. Well no, I didn't grow up there. I was born there, and they said that my Grandpa Rhodes had bought a building and so he moved it down. He had an apple orchard across the railroad track. And at the time, the Cimarron River was three quarters of a mile north of that house, and they built the house there-a two room house. May I ask what year you were born? Frank Rhodes: October 9, See that puts me back there in the dustbowl days. I remember thelll too. So whenever they got that all built, well then they moved down there in an apple orchard, and we grew up there until about when we left there.

The reason for our leaving there was the year before the Cimarron had gotten a lot closer, and we had a barn that I'd estimate about a hundred feet north of the house and a windmill there. The Cimarron River was flooding and got within four foot of the house, and dad decided it was time to move. So the next year, it got in the house and also it took the bam and the windmill out-took it down. The Cimarron River is a very treacherous river. It's got a lot of quick sand on it. I've been on a horse, riding, and got into quick sand. The minute I could feel the horse sinking, and boy, I started kicking and hitting and got that horse moving, so we got out of it. And I've been in ... it just feels like the bottom drops out from under you. But I never broke through, so I kept getting on out of it.

It's very dangerous if you fight it, like you want to do is lie down. You don't want to fight it because the lllore you fight it, the deeper you go in. But that's what happened there, and the river moves from one bank of rock and stuff toward the other. And on after we moved, well the river got within just, oh say, 250 feet of the railroad track. Now this railroad track came out Guthrie and went to Crescent and on to Marshall and stuff. And my aunt, Rhea Graves, used to go down and flag it. She'd flag it and they'll stop and pick you up and take you to Marshall or Crescent or whatever. Without having to go to a depot, huh? Frank Rhodes: That's right. That was their depot. That's where they also filled up with, that was at Lawry. No, yeah, Lawry. Wait a minute, Mudge.

It was at Mudge-that was the town. It was, it had a lot of buildings there, and when Mudge was built, why there was a 160 acre farm north of the railroad track, NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 29) but the guy that homesteaded that, why then he-when it got down to 10 acres and the city would not drop their taxes-why he just gave it to them and walked on. My grandpa Rhodes home-stayed at that place in So when your family moved from the apple orchru:d in did you move closer into Guthrie? Frank Rhodes: No, we went straight south on Highway 33, going west. We moved on the Beland Place, and we lived there 'til about, let's see, the fall of We rented a place down on what they call Charlie Nova's Place back down on the river, but the house was up on the hill.

And it was straight north of Harmony Church, and we lived there. that's whenever the cow got out and got stuck in the quicksand, so I was able to get the tractor close enough, and we was able to put a belt around the cow and was working pulling her out and digging. And we got her out of the quicksand, and well, we saved her 'cause the Cimarron River was coming up. And then another time we had a big field, probably 50 acres of oats, and I always drove the tractor and my dad road the binder, and we bound that all up. And then Wilbur, dad, and I shopped at, which is what they do is stand it up all in bundles and we got done. And instead of dad taking a wagon and team and loading that up and hauling it out of there and putting it in a big stack, we shopped it up.

Well, we didn't have to worry about it the next morning when I got up. The Cimarron come up and flooded and took everything down the river. So in the then, your dad was a farmer? Frank Rhodes: Yes he was a farmer. He grew up on the farm. So how did-when I met with you at the public hearing, you indicated your dad worked on this bridge. Frank Rhodes: Yes, that's right. -The Noble Avenue Viaduct- Frank Rhodes: Hubbards lived in town, and they had a big backyard, so dad brought the wagon and his slip and team and drove into Hubbards, and I rode a pony behind him. So you must have been, let's see, about seven years old at the time? Six or seven? Frank Rhodes: '26 ... Well, let's see ... About eight years old.

Frank Rhodes: Wasn't the bridge built in Between '36 and NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page JO) Frank Rhodes: Alright, so that's in so 10 years old. We got fed and my dad got on the saddle and I rode on the back and we rode back home, which was about five miles. And then he took a slip down there. That's the way they filled that viaduct up there on the west side where all the dirt- Where all the embankments and the abutments of the bridge-it was all filled dirt- Frank Rhodes: -With slip because they didn't have tractors and all of that stuff then. CP & Y: So this is horse-drawn? Frank Rhodes: Horse-drawn slip. What it is, it's got two handles on it and then it's got a hitch that the horses hook onto it, and you raise it up so high.

Well, dad knowed [sic] how high to raise it because here's what's happened. If you get too high, it'll flip you over behind the horse because it just goes like crazy. That's the way they dump it-just raise them up and then it just And so it was a long process of a lot of horses and team and driving and dragging dirt and getting it there. Now, was your dad employed by the either the-was there a labor group that he was employed by locally? Frank Rhodes: He was employed locally on the ones that were in charge of building the bridge. Ok, so that was all part of one of the social programs for-labor programs-part of the works progress administration- Frank Rhodes: -You're talking about the ... I don't remember whether it was right then, or not, but they had a ...

let's see, what did they call it? It was labor that got paid for going out and building bridges and stuff along the road. I can't think of the name of that, but maybe I'll think of it a little later. CP & Y: It was all part of the works progress administration. Does that sound right? They would have had a regional office for laborers to go sign up and get employed. So he was a part of this ... he was a farmer and then during the depression- Frank Rhodes: -Yes, during the depression-well, during well, '34-is when the depression, but it was still more or less ... a dollar went a long way. A dollar would fill a paper sack full of groceries. Not anymore- Frank Rhodes: -Not anymore, you're right. But that's what it was ... CP & Y: So he was looking for work? NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No.

OK-7 (Page 31) Frank Rhodes: Yes, well, he had to have work in order to ... because he planted a lot of com, and so had a team and of course they put blinds on them so they won't be eaten that com if they walk down to it. And if he wanted them to tum right, they'd holler "Gee", and if he wanted them to tum left, they'd holler "Haw". And the horses would go left then or they'd tum right by "Gee" or "Haw". And he went out and shucked ... he had a peg in his hand that would shuck that com and all they got was just an ear of com. And he had 95 bushels of com. He unloaded one load and then he got the other filled in one day. He really had to work hard to get that much com. The horses wouldn't mind him real good, so that's the way that they shucked com.

CP & Y: So he was doing the farming in addition to the labor work? Frank Rhodes: Yes, that was in addition so that he'd get some cash there, so he could buy him a car. He bought him a just a two-door, one-seated Chevrolet coupe. Sometimes it wouldn't start, so he'd get the pony out, put the saddle on him and he'd hook onto it. He would put mother in it, and she would push in on the clutch. And whenever they got to moving, well then she'd let off on the clutch and get it started. So that's the way they started it. That's a lot of work. Frank Rhodes: So I thought this would be interesting to you to how they kept everything moving since you didn't have no tractors then. Absolutely.

Frank Rhodes: But he worked on that, and that brought him in some spending money to help pay for the seed and stuff and cow feed, because he had cows. He milked cows and sold the cream. And what's your father's name? Frank Rhodes: Hugh Rhodes. And then Kristy Rhodes is my mother. That's uh, before that viaduct was in, we went across that railroad track. And I've been across that a lot of times before the viaduct was in because you just went right down across the railroad tracks and then up the hill. So there was an old bridge before the viaduct? There would have been an old truss bridge? Frank Rhodes: There was no bridge. There was just. .. 'cause you couldn't have a bridge because the trains run up and down the tracks. Or, I mean crossing the river, right where 33 crossed the river.

You still had to cross over the railroad tracks, right? NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 32) Frank Rhodes: No, I'm talking about here in Guthrie. Now the Cimarron River on Street, they had a wooden bridge that went across the Cimarron River. And on that wooden bridge in the middle of it they had a pullout because you could only meet the horse and buggy or horse and wagon. they had to have a pullout, so then two teams could meet. But before that bridge was put in ... Well, let's go back. Can we go back? My Grandpa Sanderson lived in Kansas, and he got up a team and some equipment and I think his dad came with him, and they took twelve days from Kansas to the north side of the Cimarron River.

And when you get over there to Highway why you go straight west, and when it goes north, you go two and a half miles further west. And he found a place over there and he home-stayed at it. Well, the first year he lived in a tent, and then they got fence, so they had have the horses tied, and then they got enough fence around to where they could keep the horses in, and so they started farming over there. Well, he raised cotton. What he would do was get the people in town. There were a lot of people that liked to pick cotton just to make money, so he'd take them out there and they'd pick all that cotton and put it in the wagon. But I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself. Before ...

because they had to have a bridge then to get the cotton to town, but whenever he went to get groceries, why he went down east of them there, and there was a railroad track that goes north and south. Well, they'd get on the east side of it, there's a road there and they would drive their team down to the Cimarron River. And when they drove it down there, they'd tie them up and they would walk across the railroad bridge and go in and buy groceries. And when they bought groceries, as enough people bought enough groceries, the grocery store manager would haul them out to the railroad bridge, which is right east of where the Cottonwood goes into the river. And then they would carry them across there and put them in the wagon and then they'd go back home that day. It was a full day's journey.

Well, then they built the Street Bridge, that cut off, let me see, two miles of going down to the railroad track. They could go straight south and go across that and then they could drive their team in there and get groceries. We rode across that bridge in a car several times. So that was the way that worked. But that made a big help in carrying those groceries. So would the SH 33, the bridge that's there over Cottonwood Creek. Frank Rhodes: Well, that's the Cottonwood Creek- the uh ... -Yes, the one that we're replacing. Frank Rhodes: Well now, they had to have a bridge across it. Right, but the original one didn't go over the train tracks. It stayed straight?

Frank Rhodes: Oh no, it just went right there and you went across that and then you had, they built up boards and stuff in there so you could drive on across, so we crossed it a number of times. NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 33) CP & Y: Do you remember the train backing up any traffic there, or do you remember the train creating any problems? Frank Rhodes: Well, there wasn't that many cars. This is a nightmare today driving east and west on 33 'cause this is like the '8ger parade. There's as much or more traffic now as what we saw in Guthrie on '8ger's day. It might be five or ten minutes before you see a car go down Noble Avenue. Back in the twenties? Frank Rhodes: Well, in the thirties and forties.

Well, in the thirties, Highway 33 was a dirt road, so we would ride to town on that. I remember when they put the concrete in there. The one that's there now? Frank Rhodes: On the highway, yes. So what. .. Back to that bridge, so your dad was part of the crew that helped with construction, and do you remember, did he work on it the whole period under construction? Frank Rhodes: I think he worked on it as long as it took. It took a long time to drag that dirt because when you got a .. , oh, it's about this wide. And it might hold a cubic foot of dirt, but I doubt it, especially if they've got a bad fill. Yes, it took a long time to build that bridge. I went to grade school all the time because I was out in the country.

Thank goodness the bus route started about That was the first year I went to high school because I graduated in the 8th grade out of the Harmony School. And then I rode the bus into town. But they had that bridge in then because it was '36 when they built it. But it was a big help to get over the train tracks because a lot of times the train was stopped and you couldn't get over. And you had to go further south and sometimes you couldn't go far enough south to get over - because the train is on the track. Now do you remember going, you would have been again 10 maybe 11, when they had the opening ceremony for the bridge? It would have been in kind of the spring of It would have been a big parade and kind of a ribbon cutting.

Frank Rhodes: I don't remember that there because we didn't go to town when it wasn't necessary. Dad had worked on it, so he wasn't interested in going. He had enough of that bridge. But it's amazing how they built that bridge that high and everything, and it's still standing today. Now that is remarkable. I would like to go-this might be out of order, but anyhow-the Cottonwood Creek, yeah it's got brush in it and it does back up, but my Grandpa Rhodes said-it might have been before I was born or right after I was born, but I was too little-but they come a big rain storm, and the tributary of the Cottonwood River, NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 34) it was so full.

And then on the Cimarron, they hadn't had a lot of rain, so it backed the Cimarron up five Iniles west there, past his place. And he actually saw it running backwards, which is very unusual. This is something that I would like to suggest to you, is when they are going to spend all this money to put in this deal, what will happen now is you're shutting off the water from running down through all of the streets and making it down the creek and it's going to build higher than what it did during the highest flood.

And the reason for that is, if you go-I haven't been there, but my aunt, I was talking to her the other day, believe it or not Aunt Rhea is 96 years old and I'm 87, be 88 in October, so we have a lot of good talking together, and her husband and her rode down there one time to the end of where Cottonwood Creek goes in the river. Now say that this is the river here, the Cimarron River, the Cottonwood Creek comes down here and right on the last it turns and goes upstream there, into the Cimarron. And with a track hole and a bulldozer, if they could get that property right there, 'cause it's all right there at the end, just real close to the Cimarron River, and cut a ditch where-right here-where it starts to tum up and would tum it and make it go down, with it flowing with the river.

That would let the water out a lot faster because see, it's actually backing it up and causing the flooding. You mean where it meets up with the Cimarron? Frank Rhodes: Yes, where it's meeting up with the Cimarron. See this is west, and see how it comes around there. If they could take somewhere in here and make it go over here and let it go down with the nver- -Instead of curling back around. Is this the natural cut of the creek, though? Is that how it's always been or has it been re-routed at some time. Frank Rhodes: Yes, that's going west. See this is going north, and instead of coming there, why it turns and goes west, 'cause this has to be west here, and uh this, I don't know what this is right here. It could be a transmission line or a roadway.

Frank Rhodes: Could that be the train track? Yeah, that looks like a train bridge right there. Frank Rhodes: Well, even if they would start in anywhere here to get this headed this way so it'll be heading that way. That's interesting. We can- Frank Rhodes: -That's something that somebody needs to look at and go down there. Now this, let me see ... In the fifties, this railroad track, they was coming from the north, and they was coming too fast NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 35) around that curve out there, and whenever they got on the bridge, the engine stayed on the track. It was in the spring and they had live chickens and baby chicks in there and all the mail. Well the mail car and the chickens, there were two cars that went off over that into the Cimarron River.

And they say that that one car is 65 feet deep in that and went down through the quicksand 65 foot deep with all the Inail and all the chickens, everything. Somebody done lost out on some checks and somebody didn't get paid. And I saw it there because I was working at Boeing No, that had to be in the fifties when that did because I was working at Boeing(?) about '49 in Wichita. I was coming up and down (route) 77 because they didn't have 35 put in. And then I quit Boeing(?) in '58 in December, and the boss, I told him that I was looking at a chance to get to working for Western Electric. I mean, looking for a job. So he was very kind and wrote me up and I told him, so they made it ok then 'cause they said I had all fives and wanted to know why I was quitting.

I said well, it's one simple reason-my wife is very sick and she had a lot of lung infection and fluids and stuff, so I needed to get to where I could get my folks to help. I lived in Mulvane, Kansas, and in Mulvane, Kansas and Wichita, it's like pulling eye-teeth trying to get acquainted with people there because they're very distant. It took us four years to get acquainted with some people up there. CP & Y: It's good to be near family for sure. Frank Rhodes: And my folks, we stayed with them for a while until I rented a house there in town. So that's ... and then I went to work there. I started out in Boeing(?) a dollar-well, 95 cents-but I got a 10 cent bonus because I worked night shifts, so I got a dollar and a nickel an hour.

And can you imagine having a heart surgery and paying for that? This is what happened, she ... you could see these veins beating and just doing like this, and she literally would rock the bed and just rocked me to sleep. We got married in January of and my daughter was born April the 23 rd of I thought I was doing good by coming to Guthrie, but I got a bad doctor. He just didn't know what he was talking about because he said she's putting on and there wasn't nothing wrong. Well, I know there's sOlnething wrong, but I didn't know how to handle it. So when I got back with my other doctor, well, then he said r d been looking for you. And he sent us to a heart specialist in Wichita.

He said, yeah there's been about 275 people that have had that surgery and some of them have died, but most of them lived. And he said-she was 23 then- she'll be lucky if she lives to be 25 and extremely lucky to be 30. I didn't call no folks, I didn't do nothing. I said let's go for it. Because I was going to gamble. That way then, I saved her, and we got that all straightened up and then she had a blood clot and they didn't know how to handle them, and then about. .. see Sammy was born in December of so it was about February of '57 why I put her in the hospital. And her folks come up and say where's Jean? And I say I put her in the hospital. Here's another hard thing that you have to go through, I mean it's a challenge.

Sammy was December to February, and NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAERNo.OK-7 Page 36) since her milk was-he couldn't handle it-so they put him on Soy B (infantformula), and Soy B (infant formula) was $8 a case, so I sent her down with Jean's folks. And then my mother come up and took Jean down with her because I had big brothers down there going to the other place while they had one grandson that was just about her age. And when you live on a farm, and you're just not there all the time that gives just too much opportunity for kids to play. It's a challenge all the time, every time you go somewhere. And then we got her well enough and then when we moved down here, she got well. She didn't have no lTIOre problems. I don't know what the difference was.

It made me happy, but I got her where my folks could help me out if I needed help. The doctor said I'd charge 10% of your yearly income, and so over a two or three year period I paid him I mean, that's all I made, that year. Can you imagine just $4, OOO? No, and I can't imagine doctors working with people like that anymore. Frank Rhodes: Well, the same operation here in Oklahoma City was I'd have never been-it'd took me forever to pay that out. And same operation. That's just a little history. Well, I'm glad that worked out. It's always interesting to hear how your families, you grew up together, and then you kind of come back together and how people sort of go do their own thing and come back and gravitate back to their families for help, and whatever just to be near family.

Frank Rhodes: And do you know that-let's see-where the stadium is at downtown. Alright, you go a block north to Main Street and there was what's called the bath house there. What that was, was a big ditch that went through there, and so they built that bath house over that ditch, and I've set on them steps and watched the parade a number of years. And then you go to the block south and then you go about a quarter or a block or so-it's where the first building is there. That was a play house where they actually put on staged performances with plays and stuff. And they had two theaters here in town, and of course, they had the one out at the Sonic south of town-the drive-in theater.

So you go where the police station is on the east side before you get to that antique place-now, it used to be a car dealer-there was a motel sitting in there in that blank plot. And the motel, where it is now, they had about four or five motels here in Guthrie. It was a real historic place until they started taking some of them places out. And the police station was a three story old building and when they tore it all down, well, then they built the one they've got now. It changed a lot. Now you go across the street-well, you know where we met-the next building west of that, that was the ticket office for the Interurban. When I went to the service in in September, I rode the Interurban down to the city to be uh physical and sent on to be drafted. But the Interurban come there and stopped.

They used to have Interurban in Guthrie, and if you go a block south there, you can see the tracks still in the brick. But that place was a motel and the lady and her husband NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 37) that owns that now, they're going in there and re-did that whole building. And right at this present tilne we have the New Horizon that's in the bottom part of that, and they do all of the paperwork because federal rules would not let them stay out at where the people work because the federal government does all of that. And out at that building, it's a big long building, and we have-well, what these are, there are people that are mentally ill. Some of them can't walk, they just slide their feet and stuff.

And we've got one girl out there, and they've got something for her to do. And she has a white stick that goes around, so that keeps her from running into people 'cause she is partially blind. I think she sees objects, but that's it. But yet, she's working out there and they've got other people of all different kind ... working out there. It's real interesting. And I'm Mr. Frank out there. I go out there and I do the electrical lights and putting in the lights and stuff and helping them. Oh, they just love me to pieces. That's that. And then I also work with the Red Cross. The ladies and I kept the Red Cross from folding because of the manager that was in the Red Cross.

I was fixing to go, I don't remember where I was fixing to go-Edmond or someplace-and we had a big fire coming in from the south. Well, it got too dangerous. So the manager called me up and wanted me to open up a shelter. Now I hadn't been trained to open up a shelter. I had been trained for nothing. So she said, (indiscernible name) at the present office says she'll tell you, she'll help you. She didn't know nothing. I'd never talked to such a dumb person, and so I started driving up ice chests and stuff. I had a little bit of advantage. See, I also was the Baptist Disaster Team, see we got trained to cook and stuff. I'm on the cooking part. Oh, you can make theln real good French fries in an oven. A lot better than putting them in grease.

I learned a lot of stuff in there too about cooking. One of their kettles-they it call Big Bertha--67 gallons of peas or com or whatever. And yes, you can cook 500 hamburgers and serve them in 30 minutes with a tilt skillet because what it is, these hamburgers are already cooked and all you have to do is put them in water and heat the water. And then you're ready to serve. So I learned that. Back to the Red Cross, well, I took all that stuff over and I opened up a shelter at the Christian Church. Then I had a lady come in and help me there. Well, finally the manager comes back. All she did was want to talk to the news media and stuff, but she wasn't doing nothing. She just acted like she didn't know nothing. She knows something, but didn't want to work.

And then-since I was on the board-later on down the road a lot of other things happened, so the regional director said you've got to get rid of her. So we voted to fire her, but first we said let's give her a chance and let her resign. Well I was chicken, I didn't go. But the rest of them all went to the board members and they told her. Oh, she started having a fit and then they started mentioning what their options was. She decided to resign. The reason you see, we had an ice storm over Crescent and instead of being in the office and doing her thing, she just went off and let the AmeriCorps lady in there to do it. The AmeriCorps lady is only supposed to do certain things that are different, but they work with the Red Cross.

So she was spending a lot of time up at the bar just north of there, the Blue Bell Saloon, drinking. When we got her out of there, there was a NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 38) whole pile of letters that the Guthrie people got where they would not donate to the Red Cross because of the way of all of this pile. Then there was cash, there was cash in the drawers- CP & Y: -Mismanagement ... Frank Rhodes: Well, some of that was for her ... so she could go drink. It was on that desk. I mean, I don't want to look like I'm better than anyone else, but I believe in honesty, and if it can't be honest, I don't want no part of it. I was told by some of the businesses the reason people are donating now is because they know you. My dad taught me that early age.

I used to charge-well, I'll give you an instance. Bill Frye had a grocery store. About an $8 ticket he charged it, he took it up and put it up on his desk and somehow it fell behind and eight years later he found it. So he said, I'm going to send that to Frank. They said you won't get your money, it's too late. So I took the ticket in there and I said hey, this is too late. I don't need to pay this here, but here I'll hand you a check because I believe in paying my bills. He got the last laugh because he laughed at them and said see, I got my check. He told them you'd pay. He knew you would. Well, I just had a couple more questions too, coming back to the bridge. Did you dad work on any other bridges? Frank Rhodes: No,just that one.

And when he was working with the labor group, was this his only project at the time? Frank Rhodes: That was the WPA. I don't know whether it was connected with the WP A or not, or whether it was just a group that hired him. I didn't find out how he got hired-if the WPA office got him or how. They might have went to the WP A and got them to get a list of people. Anyhow, he got a job. CP & Y: He could have signed up too at the regional office if he was looking for extra work and got assigned to this particular project since its right here in his hometown. Yeah, that's interesting. Let's see, do you remember any of the flooding that happened on this bridge, that's there. I know there's been recent ones, but do you remember any early ones or any stories around the flooding. Frank Rhodes: Yeah.

Well ... CP& Y: Do you want a map? Do you want me to bring up a map? Frank Rhodes: Yes, I do. A whole lots of them. I bet because there's been a lot of flooding events on this one. So here's the bridge there and there's the railroad tracks (pointing to locations on map). NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 39) Frank Rhodes: Right here was a lumber yard and over here was a lumber yard. Oh wait, you got to get back here-- -There's an Ice Plant. Frank Rhodes: Is this a road going ... ?- -There's Noble Park (pointing out location on map). Frank Rhodes: We got to get back to here. Right here was a lumber yard and right there was a house or a shed. I don't know what they sold in it, but it wasn't very big. And I saw water way up above the door on that.

The first-this bridge-the water got up and it floated that lumber yard right up to that bridge. And then it COlne up a year or two years later and it took this house out and it took this lumber yard and brought it around to the bridge. I drove through it back here, and there had been lots of flooding. Whenever it got up so high, you just couldn't go nowhere. It got awful deep down in here. The further up you go, the shallower it got. I did find-I was working a Red Cross deal-and it was flooding down here, and there was another bridge up here that's on College Avenue right there. I was able to cross it, there wasn't no water on the road. Now see, this right here used to be-no wait, not that-this here used to be the furniture factory.

There was a guy that went to First Baptist Church that was in the casket deal. My dad worked for the furniture factory in there a lot. Then they went out of business. Then the casket company got in there and started making caskets and stuff. I've got caskets froln them during Halloween, and we would take them out and put somebody in them. Now that's what that was there. In order to keep the furniture factory from getting all this water, that's why your big dyke started right around here and goes around and then you've got the railroad track going out to Crescent that comes down through here, and then the big flood took this bridge out. That's how come they closed down the railroad tracks going to Crescent. And I guess they've sold the tracks or something.

Now there's a big bridge out at the Cimarron River. They had a bridge out there. Well, this is about the third bridge that went in. They drove big steel beams way down deep, and I've been up there at that bridge one week and I walked clear up to the beams. The next week some other kids was braver than I. They said it was about foot deep right there at that bridge. And this is something around here that you do not do. My dad knowed [sic] of a kid that come out of Guthrie, and he used to go swimming and a deal like that. So he was real smart. He said, well I went swimming last week or the week before. And so what did he do? You're always supposed to go in and test the waters. He dived in and he broke his neck. I think they did get him to the doctor in time to save his life.

I'm not sure if they did or not. This was in-I was probably only about five or six about that time. But it's something. CP &Y: Yeah, unpredictable water in there. NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 40) Frank Rhodes: Course we had-where that bank is used to be a lUlnber yard. And then there used to be another one right across where the-let me see, where was that lumber yard?-right across from the bank, I think, where the library is. The bank is, I think right here, right? Because that's Stables restaurant right there, so isn't that the bank right there? Frank Rhodes: It's across the street from the Stables. Yeah, that's the bank then right there. And then there was a big ice plant here, right? Frank Rhodes: Yes, there was a big ice plant. I've been inside of that ice plant.

They had a big place for hundred pound blocks of ice in there. And they would ship that on the railway there? Frank Rhodes: They used to put ice on the railroad. Now, course out at Mudge, when I was talking about out there by that place, it was-they had a little house there and they also had a water tank where they could fill the train up with water. Well, we have this room for an hour, so we're going to have to wrap up. But is there anything else that you either had questions for us or that you wanted to share about any memories of the bridge or anything else? Frank Rhodes: Well the bridge is pretty well-I've told you pretty much everything about it. Now I wanted to tell you about that water deal because that is very ilnportant.

I saw lots of flooding going on out there 'cause see, we lived west of town all the time. I used to come to town, and you couldn't get into town lots of times. Ok, Is there anything else? Frank Rhodes: There's nothing that I can think of. Ok, I might have questions for you that I forgot to ask you. Frank Rhodes: Well, you can always call me up. Thank you. Because you know there might be somethings I forgot- Frank Rhodes: -Well, we can get together again if you need. CP & Y: Ok, I really appreciate it. It's been really helpful and just fascinating to hear the stories about your family in particular. I love that. That's the kind of history I like. NOBLE AVENUE VIADUCT HAER No. OK-7 (Page 41) Frank Rhodes: Yeah, I mean, that gets down to personal matters- -Yeah, it's just so interesting.

Frank Rhodes: Now one of the problelns Grandpa Rhodes found out is that whenever you have a big hog pen full of hogs, you don't let the neighbors come along and get into the hog pen because if they have hogs and they happen to have cholera, why it's on your feet and you transfer it in. He had some, I think, neighbors coming over and they was in there looking at the hogs, and he got cholera and 500 hogs or pigs or big ones or little ones died and that was a mess trying to get that all cleaned up 'cause that was the biggest stink you ever saw. Now the funny part about it was he was 20 years older than grandma when they got married. She lived until '58 or somewhere along in there before she died and he was about...and he was (tape cut off suddenly then re-started).

My wife lived to be 74 and we was married 53 years. That's a lot different. I stayed with her all the time because she needed assurance and help. But she was a great lady and a real good wife. CP &Y: And two children, right? Frank Rhodes: Yeah, two children. A boy and a girl? Frank Rhodes: Yeah, a boy and girl. And another thing, that heart problem is hereditary. It doesn't go to the first generation, it goes to the second because my daughter's son had that too. They operated on him when he was about six or eight months old. That's a lot better than when you're 23 years or 24 years old. Hopefully he'll just be big and strong at this point forward. Frank Rhodes: Yeah, he is. He hadn't gotten married yet 'cause he's probably in his thirties. Aww, well that's good to hear.

I really appreciate you sharing these stories with us, Frank. Frank Rhodes: Well, that's quite alright 'cause it's history. It's a lot of history, and so it needs to be spread out because when I'm gone, it's gone. Right, that's why I feel fortunate I ran into you at that Ineeting. So that's good. It worked out good. I really appreciate it. I am going to stop the recording now ... (Recording ends)