Arts and Crafts
Attraction

1888  Railroad Bridge Railing

n 1905 there were six eastbound and six westbound trains passing through the Greenwoods Road underpass each day, including freight trains that transported anthracite coal from Pennsylvania. Isabella Eldridge undertook to improve the railroad right-of-way near the library that she had built in 1888 and asked Alfredo Taylor to design a railing for the northern edge of the railroad underpass, which would replace the boxed-in water pipes that had previously served as protection. Taylor’s design is marked by an elegant combination of straight and curved lines with two rough-cut granite piers descending in an arc to the carved wooden railing. Mounted on the piers are two Arts and Crafts wrought iron electric lamps, also designed by Taylor. The railroad underpass is now filled in.

Historic District Walking Tour Map Index: 19