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Bridges of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, 1918 THE BRIDGE THAT WAS BUILT IN A NIGHT By W. A. Stinchcomb Unique amongst the bridges of Cleveland is one that was constructed in a night over the Lake Shore and Pennsylvania Railroad tracks at the foot of West 6th Street (formerly Bank Street) in connection with a dispute which arose between the city officials of Cleveland and those representing the railroads, as to the right of the city to fill in the lake front and make land opposite Lake View Park. THE BRIDGE THAT WAS BUILT IN A NIGHT The dispute came to a head during the closing months of 1896, and the bridge was built between ten o’ clock at night and dawn of the following morning, following a meeting of the city council one Monday evening. It was the result of careful maneuvering on the part of Mayor Robert E. McKisson and his aides. Material for the bridge, which was of wood, had been carefully cut and hidden at a convenient point, so that it might be speedily transported to the scene of action. A corps of engineers was in readiness to superintend the work and several large gangs of men from the city’s street repair department were held in hiding until the signal was given to get into action. They then swooped down on the railroad tracks at the foot of West 6th Street, erected their timbers and by daylight a completed bridge spanned the tracks and gave access to a small fill of land north of the railway right of way.
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