Philly’s quirky 128-year-old Skew Arch Bridge gets a $100,000 rehab
The bridge recently underwent a $100,000 restoration that included brick restoration and graffiti removal.
The Skew Arch Bridge, built in 1896 with an idiosyncratic design that spans a gorge in West Fairmount Park, was neglected for decades as its bricks became loose or fell out.
But the bridge has just had its due with completion of a $100,000 restoration to fortify 14 brick ribs that resemble an opening eye of a camera shutter — a little less colorful with graffiti removed.
The bridge is now more structurally sound, said Tara Rasheed, senior director of capital projects for the nonprofit Fairmount Park Conservancy, which managed the work for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.
“Some of the work we did was about stabilizing a lot of the bridge’s structure,” Rasheed said. “We identified it as a unique design and eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Our goal was really to assess and understand what the bridge needed to be stabilized for a very active trail that runs right through it.”
The work comes on the heels little more than a year after the Trolley Trail that leads to the bridge underwent a $250,000 refurbishment.
» READ MORE: Refurbished Philly Trolley Trail leads to hidden gem bridge in West Fairmount Park
Why was the bridge built?
The Skew Arch Bridge was built for a trolley line that opened in 1897 and was operated by Fairmount Park Transit Co., a remnant of Philadelphia’s past. The bridge’s ribs were built to skew, or angle, 30-degrees to accommodate a curve in the road.
The trolley line went bankrupt and closed in 1946. It’s unclear how much maintenance, if any, the bridge received after that.
The bridge is now a centerpiece of the 4½-mile Trolley Trail, a multipurpose loop that roughly follows the former trolley line that once whisked visitors across Fairmount Park to Woodside Amusement Park, which closed in 1955.
The main access of the trail is off Chamounix Drive at two locations opposite each other at Chamounix Mansion Hostel, a National Historic Landmark that now provides group lodgings. The bridge has become a popular social media photo destination.
What work was done?
Rasheed said mortar had degraded between the bricks. About 50 loose or missing bricks were reset. Copious amounts of graffiti was removed, but some has since reappeared.
The bridge rests on two-foot thick stones, which will also eventually need repointing, meaning the joints will have to be filled or repaired.
The recent work took a month to do. It was completed in late November. Fairmount Park Conservancy crews cleaned and restored areas of the bridge in most need of attention. Invasive plants growing on the surface of the bridge were removed.
“This was sort of our first stabilization phase,” Rasheed said. “We did some investigative work to make sure that the bridge isn’t moving or shifting. Even shifts of a couple of centimeters is significant for a structure of this age. That’s really the most important thing — to make sure the bridge isn’t moving at all.”
She said engineers also inspected the top of the bridge and how it drains.
The restoration project was supported by grants from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the Cordova family.
“It is in very good shape for its age and the amount of neglect that it’s experienced over time,” Rasheed said. “It’s made of really solid materials, and we just need to begin the work of restoring those components to make sure that it gives us another 100 years.”
She said the bridge has become an important feature of the landscape.
“People love to take photos here,” she said. “And it really also helps you know where you are on the trail, which I think is really important.”