Hope Memorial Bridge

History

A bond issue to pay for the bridge was passed in 1921, but construction was delayed for years due to squabbles over how the money would be spent. The bridge was completed in 1932 at a cost of $4.75 million ($ with inflation). It stands 93 ft above the river's waterline in order to allow shipping to pass unobstructed. A second, lower deck designed to carry truck and commercial traffic was never put into service.

The bridge had originally been planned to go through the location of the Erie Street Cemetery on East 9th Street.

The bridge was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on October 8, 1976, after a controversy in which Cuyahoga County engineer Albert S. Porter threatened to remove the historic pylons to widen the span, stating, "Those columns are monstrosities and should be torn down and forgotten. There is nothing particularly historic about any one of them. We're not running a May Show here."

The bridge was renovated in the early 1980s.

On September 1, 1983, the Lorain–Carnegie bridge was officially renamed the "Hope Memorial Bridge". Press reports vary regarding whom the name honors: William Henry "Harry" Hope, a local stonemason who helped build the Guardians of Traffic sculptures, and the father of comedian and former Cleveland resident Bob Hope; Bob Hope himself;

• the entire Hope family;
• or Harry Hope along with the other workers who helped erect the Guardians of Traffic.

On December 10, 2012, officials opened a 14.5 ft multi-use path on the north side of the bridge, part of a project which also added lighting to the Guardians of Traffic.

The inaugural Guardian Mile road race was run across the bridge on August 11, 2018. The elite field boasts multiple Olympians and $14,000 up for grabs in prize money, as well as races for runners of all ages and levels.

On November 19, 2021, the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball changed their name to the Cleveland Guardians; the choice was inspired by the Guardians of Traffic, which neighbor Progressive Field, the team's home ballpark.

References

References

1. "Lorain–Carnegie Bridge".
2. {{NRISref
3. Wise, Carrie. (October 4, 2018). "Exploring the History and Popularity of Cleveland's Guardians of Traffic". [[Ideastream]].
4. Trickey, Erick. (August 2009). "Icons of Cleveland: The Guardians of Traffic". [[Cleveland Magazine]].
5. Johannesen, Eric. (1999). "A Cleveland Legacy: The Architecture of Walker and Weeks". [[Kent State University#Kent State University Press.
6. (August 30, 2021). "Akron sculptor helped carve Cleveland Guardians". [[Akron Beacon Journal]].
7. Shookman, Sara. (April 7, 2022). "Connecting the history of Cleveland baseball and the Guardians". [[WKYC.
8. (10 September 2021). "Erie Street Cemetery".
9. Snook, Debbi. (December 2, 2002). "[Bridge] of Hopes". [[The Plain Dealer]].
10. (23 July 2021). "Hope Memorial Bridge".
11. (September 15, 1983). "A Bridge by Any Other Name". The Plain Dealer.
12. Thoma, Pauline. (September 2, 1983). "Lorain-Carnegie span is new Hope". The Plain Dealer.
13. Thoma, Pauline. (August 7, 1983). "Bridge a Monument to '30s Stone Carvers". The Plain Dealer.
14. Strassmeyer, Mary. (August 25, 1983). "The People Page". The Plain Dealer.
15. (July 29, 2003). "Bob Hope: Entertainer always had a place in his heart for Cleveland". The Plain Dealer.
16. (December 10, 2012). "Lorain–Carnegie (Hope Memorial) Bikeway Opened Today". [[Ohio Department of Transportation]] District 12.
17. "GOH Run!".
18. Bell, Mandy. (November 19, 2021). "Guardians era officially arrives in Cleveland".