At one time the Washington Avenue Bridge, a pin-connected, Pennsylvania through-truss was the longest single span truss bridge in Texas. In 2009 it underwent an extensive historic rehabilitation that was completed in 2010. Fabricated and erected between 1901 and 1902, the bridge continues to function as a vehicular bridge. Ninety five percent of the original structural members were preserved, and the bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A feature on the Washington Avenue Bridge that I found of particular interest was the riveted lattice bar construction for the horizontal struts and cross bracing, as seen in the two pictures below. Each of these members has lattice bar on four sides. This same riveted lattice bar construction is also seen in structural members of the Brackenridge Park Bridge.

Both the Washington Avenue Bridge and the Brackenridge Park Bridge have another historically significant feature: the chord pin and recessed nut, often overlooked as historic, with its function least recognized. An article in the 1897 Home Study Book describes in detail the function of the chord pin and recessed nut. (In rehabilitation projects, replacing these with new standard threaded nuts and pins would diminish the overall historic appearance and historic record of a bridge.)  

Below is a close-up photo of a chord pin and recessed nut on the Brackenridge Park Bridge (left) and a detailed cross section drawing from the 1897 Home Study Book (right). 

A trip through Texas would not be complete without a stop to visit Kitty Henderson, Executive Director of the Historic Bridge Foundation based in Austin. Kitty recognizes the importance of the craftsmen's record, wrought in the iron and steel of historic bridges. For many 19th and early 20th century bridges, it is the only record where no written historic record exists. The Historic Bridge Foundation, through their online catalog of bridges and their newsletter, describes their preservation work in saving historic riveted truss bridges and the preserving the craftsmen's record. Kitty treated us to lunch at a famous local restaurant, Threadgill's. Kenneth Threadgill opened his tavern in 1933, and it is known as the birthplace of the "Austin Sound." Threadgill let Janis Joplin sing at his Wednesday bluegrass sessions, earning $2.00 and all the beer she could drink. They became lifelong soulmates. Some folks credit Threadgill with giving Joplin her start, although Threadgill himself puts it this way: "People say I gave Joplin her start, I say she gave herself her start." The walls of the tavern are papered with Joplin-related newspaper clippings.