Kanawha Boulevard – Charleston WV

City:
Charleston, WV

Site Type:
Roads, Bridges, and Tunnels, Infrastructure and Utilities

New Deal Agencies:
Public Works Funding, Public Works Administration (PWA)

Quality of Information:
Very Good

Marked:
Yes

Site Survival:
Extant

Description

Kanawha Boulevard is the modern term for a route that was part of the original James River& Kanawha Turnpike, and previously known as First Street, Water Street, and Kanawha Street. This route was renamed in the 1920s as Kanawha Boulevard.

In the 1930s, the Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the four lane Kanawha Boulevard that runs approximately 4.6 miles along the north bank of the Kanawha River, from 35th street to the Elk River. At this point, the boulevard crosses a bridge, also a New Deal Project, and continues along Columbia Boulevard to Patrick Street. Once connected by the bridge, Coleman Boulevard was changed to Kanawha Boulevard West, with the original called Kanawha Boulevard East.

The PWA designed stair access to the river and created a drainage system taking the rainwater underground and then down the slopes into the Kanawha River. Because of this work, Kanawha Boulevard is considered eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. In 2014, much of the PWA work on the embankment was dismantled and new rocks were placed by the US Army Corps of Engineers. As a result of the new project, a historical marker recounting the history of Kanawha Boulevard was installed on the site. It is located across the street from the Stonewall Jackson Monument on the West Virginia State Capitol Grounds.

As a result of the US Amy Corps of Engineers reconstructing the riverbank, the stairs and the drainage were removed. Some of the material was saved and reused along the trail beside the Kanawha River, and a plaque detailing this history was placed nearby. Other stones were also saved in the project and are stored or used elsewhere in Charleston, including the parking area at the base of the Carriage Trail.

The USACE will continue to work from Greenbrier Street to the Elk River with replacement of the PWA stonework.

In 2017, the western end from Magic Island to Patrick Street was changed into bicycle lanes and the median removed. Further signage and information on the history of Kanawha Boulevard appears on theclio.com and signage along the route.

 

 

Source notes

Charleston Daily Mail.
Charleston Sunday Gazette-Mail.
Billy Joe Peyton, Historic Charleston: The First 225 Years, HPN Books, 2013.
Ernest E. Blevins, who worked on the mitigation for the USACE Project and the Kanawha Bicycle Trail project.

Site originally submitted by Ernest Everett Blevins on November 26, 2017.
Additional contributions by Brent McKee, March 24, 2018.

Location Info


Kanawha Boulevard
Charleston, West Virginia Kanawha County

Location notes: Stretching along approximately 4.6 miles of the north bank of the Kanawha River in Charleston, Kanawha County, West Virginia. from 35th Street on the east to Patrick Street on the west crossing over the Elk River.

Coordinates: 38.335504, -81.614305

Contribute to this Site

We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal site.

Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site

Join the Conversation

Please note:

  • We are not involved in the management of New Deal sites and have no information about visits, hours or rentals.
  • This page shows all the information we have for this site; if you have new information or photos to share, click the button above.

Your email address will not be published, shared, or sold.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Contribute to this Site

We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal project site.

Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site

Join the Conversation

Please note:

  • We are not involved in the management of New Deal sites and have no information about visits, hours or rentals.
  • This page shows all the information we have for this site; if you have new information or photos to share, click the button above.

Your email address will not be published, shared, or sold.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.