Market Street Bridge, Harrisburg, PA
Revitalization
With the support of Crenshaw Lighting, who acted as the historic lighting restorer on the project, the original fixtures were restored/recreated with some modern features. - LD+A, March 2006 |
The Market Street Bridge in Harrisburg, PA was built in 1926. Designed and built by Modjeski & Masters, builders of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge, this long stone arch bridge spans the Susquehanna River. By the 1970s, the bridge’s monumental pier-mounted lanterns and other historic light fixtures had fallen into disrepair, and many were removed. In 2003, Crenshaw Lighting restored the small remaining collection of these historic light fixtures as part of a downtown revitalization project that identified the Market Street Bridge as a key gateway to the city.
National Register of Historic Places
The challenge of creating an attractive, pedestrial-friendly path to entice visitors to Island City was further complicated by the overlapping concerns of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (the bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places) and Penn DOT, whose primary concern is highway safety.
Restoration
Crenshaw Lighting restored or recreated five fixture types for the Market Street Bridge Project. Each type required unique lamping strategies to meet the demands of the lighting design.
The original monumental lanterns featured here were completely stripped and repainted with marine grade paint. Laminated glass panels incorporated tempered glass for safety, an inner frosted layer to diffuse and mix the light from the new 85W induction lamps, and rippled decorative glass to maintain the historic appearance.
