Sunday 9 October 2011

Tip of the hat to Conde McCullough


Carol Leigh through her fabulous photo seminar, created an environment where those in attendance gained access to exciting photo opportunities located along the central Oregon coast.  Cameras “at the ready” from pre dawn to post sunset, we marched with our tripods, cameras, filters and constant encouragement from Carol to see the common with a new perspective and the uncommon with the excitement of a “newbie.”


Of the many new photo experiences, one that really struck Elena and I was the beautiful coastal bridges in central Oregon.  A little research, (travel brochures & Google” taught us that much of this beauty was created by Conde McCullough.  Mr. McCullough was the embodiment of the “American dream.”  Born in South Dakota in 1887, Conde supported his family after the premature death of his father but still managed to get a civil engineering degree at age of 23.  He worked for a bridge company in Iowa for a year prior to taking a position with the Oregon Agricultural College.  In 1919 he took a position as head of the bridge division of the Oregon Department of Transportation.  This was a good time because highway 101, the coastal route, was being created. 


During his career, he designed a substantial number of beautiful bridges, many featuring Gothic, Art Deco & Romanesque features that added substantially to the beauty of his bridges.


We offer these images as homage to the timelessness of these great designs.


Yaquina Bay Bridge, Newport 1936


The ever present cormorant, Yaquina Bay Bridge, Newport



Bridge geometrics,
Siuslaw River Bridge, Florence 1936

Bridge geometrics,
Yaquina Bay Bridge, Newport




No comments:

Post a Comment