Flannigan fights to save Tacoma landmark

May 28, 2008

Representative Dennis Flannigan has been fighting to save Tacoma’s Murray Morgan Bridge for years. The bridge was supposed to be demolished in 2006 but community advocates are hoping to restore the bridge and put it back on the drivers map.

Now, the bridge is getting a boost from the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation which just released its 2008 list of endangered historic properties. The list includes a nuclear reactor facility in Seattle, the old Granary Building in Bellingham, and many others. Flannigan was among those who attended a news conference on the Murray Morgan Bridge to unveil the list.

Exit133 describes the history of the bridge (and recaps the press conference) here:

… built in 1913, the Murray Morgan Bridge, known then as the 11th Street Bridge, played a key role in the city’s urban development by linking downtown to the waterfront and the industrial tide flats... In addition, the bridge plays a prominent role in Tacoma’s social history, serving as the setting for gatherings and labor disputes, including a violent strike in 1916, just three years after completion.