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FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
“When San Francisco began
to consider duplicating its famous Bay Bridge, running the second alongside
the first, Mr. Wright felt that something should be done to stop that.
Something better suited to the times and their needs, to the superb scenery
of the area, something more scientific, simpler, quieter could be designed.
In the summer of 1949 the drawings shown here were made after Mr. Wright
was assured of the support of an internationally renowned engineer, J.
J. Polivka, residing in San Francisco.
The bridge, all of reinforced
concrete, rests upon a series of great hollow piers, penetrating the earth
below the bay like spearheads, almond-shaped in section. These are called
“tap-roots” by Mr. Wright … Long, hollow, curved slabs like huge fans spring
out and spread 80 feet on each side of a pier, supporting the roadway 70
feet wide, carrying six lanes of traffic and two pedestrian walks. Over
the main channel of the bay vast twin arches are flung across 2000 feet
of water, leaving 200 feet clearance at the center. Each arch carries traffic
in one direction and the two are connected at their crowns by a garden,
a pleasant relief and perhaps a stopping point for the traffic.”
Taliesin Drawings : Recent
Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright : Selected from his Drawings. Wittenborn,
Schultz, Inc., [1952]. (Problems of Contemporary Art no. 6).
Source: Environmental Design
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Introduction
| Antioch
| Carquinez
| Dumbarton
| Golden
Gate | Richmond
| Bay
| Unbuilt
| Acknowledgements
Copyright ©
1999 UC Berkeley Library
Updated 12/6/99
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