2020.02.20 Throw Back Thursday Ozymadias in Allsopp Park
For some of you who have never seen these bridge piers - you might search them out and imagine our Hillcrest version of the Big Dam Bridge.
About 200 years ago, British poet Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote a sonnet about a traveler finding in the desert the ancient remains of a giant statue of a long-ago middle-eastern king named Ozymandias. Analysts call the poetry a political commentary on the temporary nature of even our most powerful leaders and civilizations; but to ordinary readers, this sonnet is about the goosebumps you or I might feel when coming upon a mysterious historical ruin worn away by the elements of nature and time, in a remote location.
Shelley writes “I met a traveler from an antique land, who said –‘Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert … And on the pedestal these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings … Nothing besides remains. Round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare the lone and level sands stretch far away.’”
Deep in the ravines of what is now Hillcrest's Allsopp Park rests our own mysterious Ozymandias; but instead of trunkless legs, we find “bridgeless piers.” Two startlingly massive concrete piers, which once formed the base of a bridge, rise from positions in the wooded ravine just north of the Kavanaugh Promenade. Much has been researched through the years about the “vast and trunkless legs of stone” in our park. Here are some of the basics:
In 1903, land developers were intent on selling home lots on the beautiful forested ridge which we now know as South Lookout; however, since the automobile industry was still embryonic, there was a transportation problem hindering land sales. The closest streetcar stop on Kavanaugh required long walks to the potential building sites (down and up the steep ravine or a circuitous route on city streets). The entrepreneurs came up with the idea of a shortcut – a new footbridge which would be accessed near Kavanaugh and Rose Streets on the south and deliver pedestrians quickly near their new homesites at Fairview Street on the north. The bridge opened in 1906 and served both pedestrians and horseback riders for a little over two decades. Much as the Big Dam Bridge serves the community today, the Hillcrest footbridge attracted those from around the city for outdoor recreational fun.
The overall bridge length was roughly 600 feet and the wood deck of the bridge was about four stories above the lowest point in the ravine. It was not a “swinging” bridge swaying in the wind, but actually a very stiff “cable-stayed” system, with fanned splays of taut cable extending from towers, (which are difficult to perceive in the photo). Cable-stayed bridges date to the 16th century and have experienced a recent rebirth. The system can be seen in a modified form in the dramatic 2010 bridge leading from the Lake Chicot area of Arkansas across the Mississippi River to Greenville.
Just as real estate developers were responsible for the Hillcrest footbridge construction, so too did they contribute to its demise ... by neglect! When the lots were sold, they cared not about the bridge's upkeep and the city did not step up to repair it. By the 1930s the bridge is said to have been “functional but scary,” and soon the wood and steel cables began to fall into the ravine. The concrete piers have been left for us to encounter with awe and mystery.
Jim Pfeifer
CLASS NEWS
Cecelia Autry has suffered a broken lower back due to a terrible car accident out in CA. She has been in rehab and was hoping to go home this week. Good luck, Cil!
And More "Newsboys" and "Newsgirls" stories:
Marylou--Can I add another Paper Route Story??? I had a DEMOCRAT route while I was at West Side. I don't remember which year though. My route was roughly Johnson, Allis, and Brown from 13th to 20th. Monday thru Saturday was 140 papers and Sunday was 180 papers. My bicycle wasn't much help because of the hills so I walked it. Papers were dropped around 20th and Allis on the South side. Seems like there was a park in that area or else it just wasn't developed yet. As I recall Saturday papers were the smallest at 10 pages. That made for a smaller version of the 2 or 3 twist for throwing purposes. They held together well all the way to the porches. Sunday was tough with the size of the paper. My key bundle had 30 papers and there were three bundles at 50 each. My brother who was 4 years older and driving had to get up early and take me over to the drop point and go and spot the three 50's and then go back home.I don't remember how I got home. I remember one morning when he was not available and my Dad had to do it. He was not too happy about that. To compound it, he had a FLAT tire!!! Collecting was about the same as others have already related except one Saturday morning at a particular house and the lady was passing her money through the open door her small barking dog charged through the opening and bit me. Good thing I had on long pants. That's my story. Oh by the way , my Birthday was February 3rd. Say Hi to Igor for me. Bob Bryant
Love the paper boys and trolleys stories, Mary Lou. No stories but a couple of comments: I accompanied twin brother Dean several times on his trips of throwing and collecting( Phil Snodgrass and Don Orton were paper boys). AND, OF COURSE, I remember the trolleys. After all, I lived a 5111 Cantrell(I could see the trolleys from my house)! Happy Valentines Day,Jean Kizzia Gray
Well, I didn't have a paper route til I was 40, so reading these stories from the "guys"
brings back some of the same memories. Wish I had known what it was like back then so I
could have had more empathy or sympathy for them...
Of course, I really did not personally have a paper route but, Guy, my Son, did when we
three, Me, Guy and Kay moved to Dallas. I was going to Court Reporting School, then didn't
like that so started selling insurance to college kids, and was extremely broke, so my
sweet kids pitched in and worked. One of Guy's jobs was delivering the Dallas Times Herald,
now defunct. An afternoon paper except for a Sunday Morning paper.... I had a big yellow
Chevrolet Station Wagon (didn't we all in the 70's into the 80's/... anywho, the paper was
dropped at 4:00 a.m. Guy would fold, then I would get up and drive him down the streets
of University Park near SMU, etc. and he would sit on the rear door that dropped down and pitch from there.. I was so not awake, but knew each stop to make, like the mules that delivered milk and ice back in my Grandmother's day in Wynne, Arkansas where I learned that trick. Drive a little, stop, sleep a while, drive a little, stop and sleep awhile.
So as the guy's say, good memories even if mine came later in life and learned what real work
was for 12 year olds on bicycles was... we all learn our lessons in life, some just later than
others!
Ross Perot in Texarkana rode his bike and threw the paper to my friend Susie Atchley's house and she says she can still see him pedaling and shaking and kicking one leg with his foot at her dog that terrorized him every morning. And look where that tenacity took him... little bitty squirt but very tall standing on his wallet when he made his fortune.
Jan Nix McFarlane
For those of you in the Little Rock area, the Swing Band Reunion will be playing this Sunday night, 5:30p, at Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Hicks Hall in the back, for their annual youth mission trip fundraiser. This includes a chili cook-off. Come join us for an hour of some good music!
ML