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Snake Alley
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Snake Alley is a street located in Burlington, Iowa, once recognized by Ripley's Believe It or Not as the "Crookedest Alley in the World".
The physical limitations and steep elevation of Heritage Hill inspired the construction of Snake Alley in 1894. It was intended to link the downtown business district and the neighborhood shopping area located on North Sixth Street, of which Snake Alley is a one-block section. Three German immigrants conceived and carried out the idea of a winding hillside street, similar to vineyard paths in France and Germany: Charles Starker, an architect and landscape engineer; William Steyh, the city engineer; and George Kriechbaum, a paving contractor.
The alley originally provided a short cut from Heritage Hill to the business district. Bricks were laid at an angle to allow horses better footing as they descended. Unfortunately, riding horses back up the alley often resulted in a loss of control at the top.
The alley is composed of limestone and blueclay bricks. The constantly changing slant from one curve to the next necessitated a complicated construction technique to keep the high grade to the outside. Snake Alley consists of five half-curves and two quarter-curves over a distance of 275 feet, rising 58.3 feet from Washington Street to Columbia.
The street is the site of an annual bike race, the Snake Alley Criterium. The race is uphill. There is also an art fair, the Snake Alley Art Fair, sponsored by the Art Guild of Burlington.
External links- - Roadside America
- - Criterium info
- - Art fair info
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