Stocks, Spans, and Showmen

The Bridge of the Gods Corporation was approved to sell $300,000 worth of stock in Washington in 1921 and $250,000 of stock in Oregon in 1923. Stock sold for $1 per share. R.R. Clark was hired to design and engineer the bridge. L.A. Thomas served as a consulting architect. They favored a suspension bridge, stating that this design would best sustain strong Gorge winds. The Young McDonald Company built the first pier in April of 1922.

The architectural rendering of the planned suspension bridge was widely distributed to promote the vision of a bridge, generate excitement, and attract investors. Rendering by Fred Routledge.

With a rendering printed and demonstrated commitment to the project complete, the Bridge of the Gods Corporation printed marketing pamphlets and began an aggressive sales campaign. They engaged the Portland Ad Club to conduct a grandiose dedication ceremony.

On June 16, 1922, 3000 people came to the future site of the Bridge of the Gods. Portland Ad Club president George Rauch welcomed and introduced celebrity speakers throughout the event. George S. Allen, Governor Ben Olcott of Oregon, and Secretary of State J. Grant Hinkle of Washington gave short speeches celebrating the vision. Frederic Homer Balch’s sister, Gertrude Balch Ingalls, brought a bouquet of flowers from the Balch family farm in Hood River. She dedicated the flowers to her brother and to Chief Multnomah, who Balch had immortalized in his novel.

The headline speaker was Wasco-Klickitat elder Martin Spedis. Spedis gave the speech in his language with his son, Dave, as translator. The Spedis men were later joined by their wives, Ellen and Susie, and sister Lucy to perform a ceremony and dance.

Upon noticing him the audience, Rauch asked singer Walter Jenkins to lead some old-time songs. Portland Mayor George Baker closed the speeches.

To complete the dedication, the group gathered at the edge of the land. Dave Spedis shot an arrow from the completed pier across the river to symbolize the reconnection of the two landmasses and designate where the next pier should be built.

The Morning Oregonian ran this photo spread following the dedication ceremony on June 19, 1922. Photos include (1) George S. Allen, the originator of the Bridge of the Gods enterprise. (2) Completed pier on the Oregon shore of the river. (3) Dave Spedis shot the ceremonial arrow to symbolize the rejoining of the two sides of the river. (4) Martin Spedis gave a dedication speech with his son Dave as interpreter. (5) Speakers and presenters from left to right, Susie Silas Spedis, Gertrude Balch Ingalls, Portland Mayor George Baker, Oregon Governor Ben Olcott, Washington Secretary of State J. Grant Hinkle.

Constructing the Crossing

Wauna Toll Bridge Company contracted the construction work to Union Bridge Company out of Portland. The company promised to pay the contractor half of all toll receipts between June and September in the year following completion to motivate them to complete the project quickly. They began preparing for work in November 1925 to take advantage of low water and make allowances for poor weather conditions.

Union Bridge Company chief engineer R.M. Murray updated the design to create the steel cantilevered bridge in 1925. Murray also designed the Snake River Bridge and Twin-Falls Jerome Bridge.

Franklin W. Johnson came to Cascade Locks as local engineer for the Oregon side, and Lester S. Tubbs came to Stevenson as the local engineer for the Washington side. Johnson and Tubbs were recent alumni of the Oregon Agricultural College, now Oregon State University. They kept in contact with engineering faculty throughout the project and invited engineering students to inspect the bridge.

Union Bridge Company subcontracted with the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company. They brought in 50 men to complete the construction in January 1926. They worked in two crews, one on each side of the river to complete the lowest elevation work at the lowest water levels. A night crew was hired in February 1926 to get as much work done as possible before high water arrived in the spring.

In March 1926, the crew blasted the top 10 feet off of the first concrete pier with dynamite. The pier needed to be made larger to support the new steel cantilever design. The second concrete pier on the Oregon side was completed in April, and three piers on the Washington side soon followed. Stevenson company Hazard & Allen was contracted to complete the gravel and earth work for the Washington approach.

The Union Bridge Company allowed filmmakers to document the process of building the Bridge of the Gods.