Book Chapter 1- A Walk Into The Past

A Walk Into the Past

The Detroit-Superior Bridge, now known as the Veteran Memorial Bridge, is an icon of Cleveland’s history. We see it everyday. Some of us drive on it one our way to work every morning. We take for granted, nothing out of the ordinary. But nothing could further from the truth. Built as a replacement to the old Superior Viaduct, the Detroit-Superior Bridge was, at the time of it’s completion in 1918, the largest double-decker bridge in the world, one deck, at street level for automobile traffic and a lower level for subway or streetcar traffic. At a length of 3,112 feet, it was supported by twelve arches varying height from 58 to174 feet. At the highest point in its arch, the bridge stands 110 ten feet above the Cuyahoga River. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

On Sunday, June 29, the office of the Cuyahoga County Engineer opened the “subway” deck of the bridge to the public for waking tours. A few times each summer, for the past couple of years, the Cuyahoga County Engineer opens the subway deck to raise awareness of Cleveland’s recent past and because of the publics curiosity about the subway deck. And, it’s all without charge!

Subways in Cleveland? You bet! Under the “traffic” or upper deck of the bridge is a second deck that carried streetcar traffic through tunnels beneath West 25th street and Detroit Avenue to just west of Public Square. According to the county engineer, the lower deck opened on Christmas Day 1917. Four tracks ran down the center of Superior Avenue. Pedestrian entrances were located at each end of the bridge as well as through the Forest City Savings and Trust Building, now Piccolo Mundo Restrant. Streetcar service was discontinued in January of 1954. Access to the lower deck was paved over. It was left unused and forgotten. That is, until recently.

Parking near St. Malachi’s Church, your tour begins as you walk though the one of the bridges pedestrian access doors onto the massive expense of the second and seldom seen second level of Cleveland most famous bridge.

Stretching out from east to west for as far as you can see is the cave-like subway deck. Everything is there to see. The original trolley tracks and paving brick of the original platform lie beneath your feet. The pedestrian ramp, long since paved over, is there with its ornate railings lying broken and rusted along side of it. The ceramic white brick that covers the walls is still visible as are the brass light fixture, although their light has long been dimmed by time and neglect. With a little imagination, you can very easily picture hundreds of Clevelanders bustling around the platform on their way to work in the morning or making their way home to waiting families in the evening. The ghosts of the past a definitely here.

Continuing my walk into the past, deeper into the bridges interior, site after amazing site become visible. If one takes the time to look, the ordinary becomes extraordinary. Locker rooms where the trolley crew prepared for work take on a fascination. Even the public restrooms have a certain appeal, from a historic point of view. Keep in mine that everything is the way it was left in 1954 when the deck was closed.

Before continuing your walk you should really stop by the trolley museum and view the photographs of the bridge in its hay day. Also, be sure to take in the video presentation of the six mile trolley ride down Detroit Avenue in the early decades of the twentieth century. It will give you a real appreciation for what you have seen and what you are about to see.

Leaving the platform area, walking west, you enter the actual structure of the bridge. Walking through the massive arches of the bridge, you are following exactly the same path your trolley car would have taken as you headed into downtown for a day of work or shopping. Along the way, you are treated to views of the city unlike you have ever seen before.

To the north, Lake Erie sparkles, sapphire blue under the morning sun. Yes, I said blue. I told you it’s a view of the city you’ve never seem before. Most of us think of it as a dirty green. Contrasted against the sky and clouds, with a light breeze blowing through your hair, you can imagine what it was like to be on a trolley and be treated to such a view every morning.

Looking south, down the Cuyahoga River, is quite another view. Visible are the remnants of the industry that made Cleveland the manufacturing giant it was in the last century. The steel mills and refineries are quite now. But, if you were on a trolley headed east, they might have been your final destination on your way to work.

While these view a truly spectacular, don’t miss the most interesting view, the one straight down.

When you reach the highest point on the bridge, you are standing in the steel arch that is familiar to all of us. If you have a fear of heights, this is the place to conquer it. You are 110 feet above the Cuyahoga. The trolley track and brick are gone. Below your feel is steel grating thru which that you can see straight through to the Flats below. It’s a totally different point of view because you are looking straight down on to the top of other Cleveland landmarks such as the Swing Bridge, Settlers Landing and Irish Town Bend. There is ply wood planking down the center of the grating for the not so brave of heart. But, to get the true experience, sallow your guts and step out onto the grating. Every fiber of your body tells you “Don’t go out there!” but give it a try. It will be worth it.

Sound like sometime you might like to do? Well, you have one more chance this summer. The subway deck of the Detroit-Superior Bridge will again be open for touring Labor Day Weekend. The usual hours are 9AM to 3PM. For more information call the office of the Cuyahoga County Engineer. Do yourself a really big favor. Take the tour. Take a walk into Cleveland’s past.