Shakespeare Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Shakespeare Bridge in the Franklin Hills section of Los Angeles, California
was built in 1926. It is made of concrete and decorated in a Gothic style. It was named after famous playwright
William Shakespeare
and was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #126 in 1974.
The bridge was rebuilt in 1998 after the Northridge earthquake
due to concerns that the structure would not be stable in an earthquake. As part of the seismic retrofit
, the deck, sidewalks, and railings were removed and reconstructed using reinforced concrete. The expansion joints were also removed, so the bridge is now a one-piece structural diagram built to transfer all seismic forces into the abutment walls at either end of the bridge. All of the rebuilding was done in an effort to preserving the historic appearance of the bridge.
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
was built in 1926. It is made of concrete and decorated in a Gothic style. It was named after famous playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
and was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #126 in 1974.
The bridge was rebuilt in 1998 after the Northridge earthquake
Northridge earthquake
The Northridge earthquake was a massive earthquake that occurred on January 17, 1994, at 04:31 Pacific Standard Time in Reseda, a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, lasting for about 10–20 seconds...
due to concerns that the structure would not be stable in an earthquake. As part of the seismic retrofit
Seismic retrofit
Seismic retrofitting is the modification of existing structures to make them more resistant to seismic activity, ground motion, or soil failure due to earthquakes. With better understanding of seismic demand on structures and with our recent experiences with large earthquakes near urban centers,...
, the deck, sidewalks, and railings were removed and reconstructed using reinforced concrete. The expansion joints were also removed, so the bridge is now a one-piece structural diagram built to transfer all seismic forces into the abutment walls at either end of the bridge. All of the rebuilding was done in an effort to preserving the historic appearance of the bridge.