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For “Spanning the Past,” a thorough and insightful inventory of bridges built between 1880 and 1954 in Forsyth County.
About the Award
Each year, Preservation North Carolina presents the Gertrude S. Carraway Awards of Merit to individuals and organizations that have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to promoting historic preservation.
The awards have been given since 1975 and are named for the late Dr. Gertrude Carraway of New Bern, a leader in the successful effort to reconstruct the state's colonial capitol, Tryon Palace, in New Bern.
“Spanning the Past,” a survey of the bridges of Forsyth County, was a remarkable endeavor, not only for its thoroughness in identifying bridges built between 1880 to 1954, but also in its ability to illustrate the grace and beauty inherent in such practical structures.
Describing the location, structure and condition of 45 bridges, the study tied together the architectural history and the social context of these utilitarian yet often elegant assets.
In the 1920s and 1930s, as motorized transportation became more popular, Forsyth County underwent a boom in bridge building. Yet the result wasn’t a cookie-cutter set of spans but a series of structures featuring unique attributes: Art Deco designs, grandly fluted columns — even uncommon bridge “accessories,” such as obelisk lamp posts at each end.
While many of those identified were suffering from neglect, the bridge project shed new light on an often overlooked architectural feature and set the stage for renewed interest in their preservation and, in some cases, possible designation as historic structures.
2010 Preservation Awards
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