Hubbard Park Stone Arch

Located at Hubbard Park in Shorewood, this large stone arch bridge carries the former Chicago & North Western Railway mainline over a driveway. The first bridge at this location likely consisted of a timber pile trestle, constructed when the line was first built. During the 1880s and 1890s, the C&NW invested significant capital into this line, replacing timber bridges with new stone and iron structures. A two span stone arch bridge was constructed at this location in 1892, and the timber bridge filled. The bridge was widened for a third track in 1904, giving the structure its present configuration. Currently, the bridge consists of two 15-foot stone arch spans, set onto stone substructures and constructed at a width of 97 feet. The superstructure uses a standard design, with semicircular arches. The substructures also use a standard design, with stepped wing walls extending perpendicular to the bridge. Stone for the bridge consists of white limestone, which was likely quarried at Duck Creek, Wisconsin. An unknown contractor constructed the initial 1892 structure, and an additional unknown contractor widened the bridge in 1904. Stone arches were commonly used by railroads in the 19th Century, as they were durable and easy to construct. The C&NW continued to use the design into the 20th Century, as the railroad had access to numerous railroad-owned quarries which produced high quality stone. Despite claims that the bridge has ties to the Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Railway (MLS&W); there is no evidence to support this. The MLS&W connected to the C&NW mainline at Shoreline (near present-day Capitol Drive), and the Northwestern Union Railway had previously constructed from Milwaukee to Shoreline. Since the 1904 widening, the bridge has seen no significant changes, and now carries the Oak Leaf Trail. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked the bridge as being moderately significant, as it is a well preserved example of a large C&NW stone arch.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation prepared the following narrative of the bridge in 1986:
"The structure is a rock-faced, coursed-ashlar, sandstone bridge with 2 semicircular arches, perpendicular wing walls, and ornamental, triangular cutwaters on both faces of the central pier. Springing about 5 ft. above grade, the arches rise 7 ft. 6 inches over spans of 15 ft. Differences in stonework on the east and west elevations suggest that the bridge has been widened. The east elevation displays ring stones with a smooth, chamfered margin on the bottom edge; the keystone is elongated. In contrast, the west elevation makes no distinction between the keystone and the other ring stones, which are chamfered with a smooth margin on the intrados. The bridge’s length, excluding wing walls, is about 24 ft.; its width about 97 ft. Constructed by the Milwaukee, lake Shore & Western Railway Company, the bridge embodies a standard stone-arch plan favored by many American railroads during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. There are seven similar, stone-arch highway crossings in Wisconsin built by the Chicago and North Western Railway. The Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western bridge differs from these primarily in its use of ornamental cutwaters, making the design a significant, and architecturally interesting, variant of the standard plan."