{"id":200253,"date":"2021-01-08T13:11:32","date_gmt":"2021-01-08T18:11:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/csce.dev\/en\/?post_type=historic_site&p=200253"},"modified":"2022-07-07T11:10:56","modified_gmt":"2022-07-07T15:10:56","slug":"blackfriars-bridge-london-on","status":"publish","type":"historic_site","link":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/historic-site\/blackfriars-bridge-london-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Blackfriars Bridge, London, ON."},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
\"\"\r\n
1875 Blackfriars Bridge. (Source: Department of Special Collections, Stanford University).<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"\r\n
2019 Blackfriars Bridge. The geometry and member massing is similar to the 1875 structure, with the Keystone column shapes, lattice hangers, sway frames and railings retained from the previous structure. (Source: F. M. Bartlett)<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Site Location: Lat.: 42\u2070 \u2013 59\u2019 \u2013 22\u201d N; Long.: 81\u2070 \u2013 15\u2019 \u2013 28\u201d W. (GPS: 42.9889761, -81.2594319). At the west edge of downtown London. Take Exit 186 from Highway 401 and follow Wellington Road north 6.9 km to Horton Street. Turn left (west) on Horton and, 1.7 km later, turn right (north) on Wharncliffe Road. After 1.4 km, turn right (east) on Blackfriars Street, and continue approximately 450 m to the bridge. Limited street parking is available on Blackfriars Street between Wharncliffe Road and the bridge.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Plaque Location: On a concrete plinth at the east end of the bridge, beneath an \u201cartifact\u201d.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"\r\n
CSCE and City of London Plaques on plinth supporting artifact. (Source: F. M. Bartlett)<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Description: The 1875 Blackfriars Bridge was a wrought-iron bowstring arch-truss that spanned 67 m (220 ft) across the north branch of the Thames River to connect London with the adjacent community of Petersville. It was designed and fabricated by Wrought Iron Bridge Company (WIBC) of Canton, Ohio, during an era in Ontario when wood bridges were replaced by metal bridges. Blackfriars Bridge has been a key piece of the cultural fabric of London. It has been widely photographed, drawn, and painted, in particular in a series of stained glass images created by Ted Goodden that is exhibited in Centennial Hall in London.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"\r\n
Figure from Abbott\u2019s 1876 patent, where double-panel diagonals EF and GH pass through the panel point at Node K, making them structurally more efficient than steeper single-panel diagonals. (Source: United States Patent Office).<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Historic Significance: The 1875 structure represented the zenith of wrought-iron bowstring arch-truss technology. It was designed to resist pedestrian loadings that are consistent with those specified in modern codes. It contained eight features patented in WIBC\u2019s most significant U.S. patent of 1873. It also featured double-panel web diagonals that were patented by Job Abbott after Blackfriars opened to traffic, perhaps because the then state of structural analysis was insufficient to compute the member forces accurately. Abbot subsequently created a WIBC branch plant in Canada, in response to the Macdonald\u2019s National Policy, that in 1882 became the Dominion Bridge Company, the most significant Canadian steel bridge company of the 20th century.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"\r\n
Completing construction of Blackfriars Bridge, 1875. (Source: Western University Archives)<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"\r\n
Plaque Detail. (Source: F. M. Bartlett)<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Plaque Text: National Historic Civil Engineering Site. BLACKFRIARS BRIDGE. A tribute to the civil engineers, contractors, and workers who designed, fabricated and erected this bridge to maintain an important social, political and economic link between London and Petersville. The bridge is a rare survivor of the through arch-truss form fabricated by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company of Canton Ohio. The original pedestrian loadings are consistent with those specified in modern codes. The central four truss panels feature a double-panel diagonal configuration that was patented in America one year after the bridge opened on 27 September 1875. Blackfriars Bridge has also been woven into the cultural fabric of London. Canadian Society for Civil Engineering. 2016.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Site historique national de g\u00e9nie civil. PONT BLACKFRIARS. En hommage aux ing\u00e9nieurs civils, aux entrepreneurs et aux ouvriers qui on con\u00e7u, fabriqu\u00e9 et \u00e9rig\u00e9 ce pont afin de maintenir un lien social, politique et \u00e9conomique important entre London et Petersville. Il est l\u2019un des derniers ponts en arc avec tablier inf\u00e9rieur fabriqu\u00e9 par la Wrought Iron Bridge Company de Canton Ohio. Les charges initials de conception pour pi\u00e9tons sont conformes \u00e0 celles qui sont sp\u00e9cifi\u00e9es dans les codes modernes. Les quatre pannaux en treillis centraux on tune configuration \u00e0 doubles diagonals qui fut brevet\u00e9e ien Am\u00e9rique un an apr\u00e8s l\u2019ouverture du pont le 27 Septembre 1875. Le pont Blackfriars fut \u00e9galement con\u00e7u pour fusioneer dans le tissue culturel de London. 2016. La soci\u00e9t\u00e9 canadienne de g\u00e9nie civil.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Plaque Unveiling Ceremony: The plaque was unveiled in a ceremony held in a large tent immediately west of the bridge on the afternoon of Friday 03 June 2016. The Master of Ceremonies was Alistair MacKenzie. Tony B\u00e9gin, CSCE President, and City Councillor Paul Hubert made brief remarks. Mike Bartlett gave a short description of the history of the bridge and the reasons for its recognition as a CSCE National Historic Site.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"\r\n
Blackfriars Bridge Plaque Unveiling by City Counsellor Paul Hubert (l) and City Engineer John Braam. (Source: R. Sham)<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"\r\n
Paul Hubert, John Braam and Tony B\u00e9gin with the Egarton Sewer and Blackfriars Bridge plaques. (Source: R. Sham)<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"\r\n
John Lucas (centre left) presents commemorative rivets to Tony B\u00e9gin, Mike Bartlett, and Alistair MacKenzie (r). (Source: R. Sham)<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Links to Further Documentation:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Canada\u2019s Historic Places listing for Blackfriars Bridge
Biography of Job Abbott
\u201cLondon\u2019s Blackfriars Bridge\u201d, Canadian Civil Engineer, 2016. (see page 16)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Site Location: Lat.: 42\u2070 \u2013 59\u2019 \u2013 22\u201d N; Long.: 81\u2070 \u2013 15\u2019 \u2013 28\u201d W. (GPS: 42.9889761, -81.2594319). At the west edge of downtown London. Take Exit 186 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22598,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","classification":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/historic_site\/200253"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/historic_site"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/historic_site"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22598"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200253"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/historic_site\/200253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":211071,"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/historic_site\/200253\/revisions\/211071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"classification","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/classification?post=200253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}