John W. Cowper Co Sites

The Calvert Street bridge was built in 1935 as part of the completion of the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway project of the 1930s. It was later named for Duke Ellington. It replaced a streetcar bridge built in the 1890s. Plans for a new bridge were submitted by architect Paul Cret and Modeskji, Masters and Chase engineers in 1931-32, but work was held up by disputes over the proper design (between a single steel arch or multiple concrete arches) and opposition from an architect who had another design approved before World War I.   The concrete design finally won over the Civic Arts...