ABSTRACT
Executive.Summary................................................................................................. 61 Introduction.............................................................................................................. 62 Historic.Parkways.in.Milwaukee.County.................................................................64 Design.Approach.for.County.Parkway.Bridges.......................................................68 Design.Guidelines.for.Projects.Affecting.Historic.Properties................................. 70 Milwaukee.County’s.New.Design.Approach........................................................... 71 Conclusion................................................................................................................ 73 References................................................................................................................. 74
A.historic.parkway.composed.of.integrated.natural.and.designed.features.presents.a. special.challenge.to.preservationists.and.engineers..Milwaukee’s.“Emerald.Necklace”. is.comprised.of.thirteen.early.twentieth-century.parkways.that.form.an.interlaced. chain.around. the.city..Contributing. to. the.aesthetic.of. this.necklace.of.parks.and. parkways.are.dozens.of.bridges.built.in.the.1920s.and.1930s.using.local.materials. and.handcrafted.finishes.on.railings,.abutments,.and.spandrel.walls..Early.on,.historians.and.engineers.agreed.on.a.goal.to.preserve.this.rustic.design.aesthetic.of.the. parkway.landscape,.but.struggled.through.several.bridge.replacement.projects.before. ultimately. finding. an. approach. to. new. bridge. design. that. appropriately. balanced. modern.design.standards.with.aesthetic. interpretation..This.approach. is. informed. by.existing.guidelines.for.historic.bridge.rehabilitation.projects.but.expands.beyond. these.to.consider.the.parkways.in.their.entirety,.not.just.the.individual.historic.bridge.. In.late.2006,.Milwaukee.County,.the.owner.of.most.of.the.bridges,.agreed.to.follow. a.new.approach.to.designing.replacement.bridges.that.better.interprets.the.historic. context.of.the.parkways.
