If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 401

Original Douglas Bridge, Alaska, 1937

We were recently in Juneau, Alaska and drove across the current bridge that was built in 1980.  When we got home and were going through the new postcards I had purchased on the trip I remembered seeing some Juneau cards in among the old cards I already had.  The postcard shared this week is the result of the search. 

The original bridge shown on this postcard with a photo by Fred K. Ordway was built in 1935.  The used card has a message dated 1944 but the picture has “37” to the left of Ordway.  It also has the number 35062 found just under the words "Douglas Bridge."  Ordway ‘s Photo Service or Photo Shop was first located on Front Street in Juneau and renamed Ordway’s Uptown Photo Shop when it moved to the Shattuck Building in Juneau in 1934.   The image used above had to be touched up due to damage.  The untouched card is shown below.

Untouched card with visible damage

It is always a little amazing to me that these old cards have survived all the years at all so it is not surprising that a few of the old family cards, like this one, have folds and creases and other damage. 

The Douglas Bridge is also known as the J.D. Douglas Bridge or just The Bridge and spans the Gastineau Channel between the community of Douglas, on the island, and Juneau the state capital of Alaska.  The original bridge was a cantilever steel truss bridge and was constructed from both sides of the channel to meet in the middle.  It was built with help from the Civil Works Administration and the Public Works Administration provided grants and loans to help with the cost of construction. 

The current bridge is a girder bridge begun in 1975 and completed in 1980.  The old bridge was demolished in 1981, so for about one year the two bridges spanned the channel side by side.   Improvements have been made on the new bridge including a reversible lane to help relieve traffic.  With the growth in population since the first bridge was constructed there is now a need for a second bridge for North Douglas.  The bridge is 66.4 feet or 20.2 meters above the water line.  It measures 66 ft or 20. 2 meters wide and has a span of 620 ft or 189 meters.  Cruise ships are too tall to go under the new bridge and must turn around and go out of the harbor the way they came in. 

Fred K. Ordway and his wife, Laura, were both photographers and also wrote and supplied pictures for magazines.  They traveled throughout Alaska during the 1930s.  Fred died in 1934 when his monoplane crashed south of Oregon City, Oregon.  His wife continued the business after his death.

The stamp is interesting as well.  It is a 1940 one cent Defense stamp with the Statue of Liberty emphasizing the importance of agriculture and industry in national defense.

For additional information, see:

http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ak/80444/xv32263
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneau-Douglas_Bridge
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95369754@N03/8701354423?ytcheck=1&new_session=1