my family grew up there and there are many stories of race riots on that bridge. its next to the old dan dee building right by where francis ends at 65th
According to "Bridges of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County" - Digital Cleveland Library, there was another bridge at this same location before the Sidaway. It says the Timber Bridge carrying the Old Dummy Line was near East 55th Street over Kingsbury Run. The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History says Wilbur Watson helped set standards for bridge construction across the country. He was designing bridges as early as 1898.
Wilbur Watson was indeed an important figure in bridge design and I wish the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge (no, I won't call it Hope Memorial!) was named for him. The rapid transit bridge at Holton and E90th is another Watson bridge. There are many in Cleveland.
It would appear I got to this site much too late as the last comment seems to have been made about 6 months ago.
My interest is that Sidaway (Sid a way) was my maiden name and my genealogical one name study.
Some Sidaways emigrated to Cleveland in the early 1900's - they were chainmakers from the Staffordshire Cradley Heath area of England which was well known for the chainmaking industry.
The name is very common in that area of Staffordshire. Thanks for the look at this
Hi, thanks for the info. Wish I knew how Sidaway Ave got its name. Don't know much about Emigration to Cleveland from England - other than that there were immigrants from the Isle of Man that settled around the Corlett neighborhood.
Thanks for this info! I never knew about it and had friends just around the corner on Francis and E.66th! I grew up in Slavic Village on Hosmer Ave., now in Garfield Hts. The next day after seeing this I had to drive by and check it out. Pretty cool!
Thanks for the post! I never knew the history behind the bridge. I remember a fire took place under the bridge back in the 70s. I was just in the area taking pictures.
The Nickle Plate railroad built the Sidaway pedestrian bridge in 1929 in a, at the time, Polish neighborhood. Blacks now dominate the Kinsman side; the 65th St. side is mixed. Cleveland's only suspension bridge was damaged during the 1966 Hough Riots. (Someone set fire to it's wooden deck and ripped out 15 feet of planks.) It hasn't been used for decades. In 1955 a woman jumped from the bridge to her death. It's situated over the Kingsbury Run gully, where the unsolved torso murders occured.
I grew up in Cleveland a few blocks from this bridge. As Swiiila correctly said it was known as the swinging bridge cause it swayed when you walked on it. As kid we would walk across it to get to the Dan Dee Potato Chip Factory and steal potatoe chips. Sidaway and the bridge borders one end of the Garden Valley Projects with 79th St. bordering the other end. I believe it was originally built so workers could get to their jobs easier.
I'm not so sure about that, after all, the Brooklyn Bridge dates back to the 1880s. Maybe it was a prototype for foot bridges. The engineer who designed it was Wilbur Watson.
Hi, thanks for the posting. I grew up on East 67th street. This bridge was at the end of my street. It seperated our neighborhood from the black neighborhood across the ravine. The black kids would come over to our side to visit the candy and ice cream stores. They risked their lives because there were many slats missing. The bridge also swayed a lot. When we saw them coming we ran like fire because this was during the time of the 60's riots and we were fearful.
Thanks for your personal history of the area. It's the first I've heard from anyone from when the bridge was passable. btw, is it a short or long "I"? (Sidd-away or side-away)?
We called it "the swinging bridge." It was behind the DanDee Potato Chip factory, in whose parking lot I learned to ride a bike. The black kids would come over the bridge to shop at Ferrins and Krazowski's stores and Dairyland Ice Cream but they did not attend our school, Todd Elementary. To adults the bridge was a symbol of segregation but to those kids it "bridged" the worlds between their community and ours. The only other time they came over was Halloween, when everyone was welcome.
Hi, it's me again. LONGLIVELAYNESTLEY is my son, and sometimes i forget to pay attention to which one of us is logged on.
This is really beautiful what you're writing. I think John Grabowski, a history prof at Case Western would be interested in your very personal account of this neighborhood at that moment in time. He is the author of several books of Cleveland history. Do you still live in the area? Is the DanDee factory still in operation. The sign is still there.
Thanks. I would be happy to tell about it. It was a wonderful place for a kid. It was safe and clean. People planted grass and flowers even if they rented. Mrs. Safarski brought us day old potato chips from DanDee. A man with a horse drawn wagon came by yelling "rag man." An ice cream man pedeled a cart on a bicycle. Halloween was huge and the houses sparkled at Christmas. My dad was an amateur photographer and I have slides of the neighborhood. We left for Cincinnati in 1966.
Oh, I have a question. At about 1:23 in the video you can see something that hangs down from the middle of the bridge tower - is it a bell? What was it for?
Neat, didn't know that was there. I love seeing stuff like that. I remember in Mohican state park there was one on the trail when I was a kid. I was facinated by it.
This is really cool stuff! I'm a lifelong Clevelander and I've seen this bridge in the distance while riding the Rapid, but I never knew it's history. Great work, bro, and thanks for posting this. By the way, the ravine it crosses...isn't that part of Kingsbury Run, the sometime body dump of Cleveland's most infamous (and unknown) serial killer?
umm, I'm not a bro - but thanks. Yes, that is part of Kingsbury run.
I used to commute by the Shaker Rapid, too - this bridge was always a fascination to me. At one point the Metroparks was considering dismantling it and moving it to Bedford Reservation. I doubt it will ever be opened as a pedestrian bridge again.
thanks. If you google "sidaway bridge cleveland" you can get to the Library of Congress' HAER (Historical American Engineering Record) of the bridge. It's an amazing resource. I wish your friend good luck; urban history is so important.
i really like your lil document,i have a friend that is an aspiring film maker that wants to do a movie titled ''hough'' please keep up the good work...especially for the younger folks
my family grew up there and there are many stories of race riots on that bridge. its next to the old dan dee building right by where francis ends at 65th
johng7769 11 months ago
my family grew up there and there are many stories of race riots on that bridge.
johng7769 11 months ago
theres an article on this bridge in the book "bridges of metro cleveland" the article can be found on line
01tnql 1 year ago
According to "Bridges of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County" - Digital Cleveland Library, there was another bridge at this same location before the Sidaway. It says the Timber Bridge carrying the Old Dummy Line was near East 55th Street over Kingsbury Run. The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History says Wilbur Watson helped set standards for bridge construction across the country. He was designing bridges as early as 1898.
swiiila 2 years ago 2
wow! More history! Thanks.
Wilbur Watson was indeed an important figure in bridge design and I wish the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge (no, I won't call it Hope Memorial!) was named for him. The rapid transit bridge at Holton and E90th is another Watson bridge. There are many in Cleveland.
Thank you again.
queenoftheuniverse 2 years ago
The bridge is named after my Great Grandfather.
MILLMOTION 2 years ago
Who was he?
katsidaway 2 years ago
It would appear I got to this site much too late as the last comment seems to have been made about 6 months ago.
My interest is that Sidaway (Sid a way) was my maiden name and my genealogical one name study.
Some Sidaways emigrated to Cleveland in the early 1900's - they were chainmakers from the Staffordshire Cradley Heath area of England which was well known for the chainmaking industry.
The name is very common in that area of Staffordshire. Thanks for the look at this
dorothymwalker 2 years ago 2
Hi, thanks for the info. Wish I knew how Sidaway Ave got its name. Don't know much about Emigration to Cleveland from England - other than that there were immigrants from the Isle of Man that settled around the Corlett neighborhood.
queenoftheuniverse 2 years ago
Thanks for this info! I never knew about it and had friends just around the corner on Francis and E.66th! I grew up in Slavic Village on Hosmer Ave., now in Garfield Hts. The next day after seeing this I had to drive by and check it out. Pretty cool!
depto5064 3 years ago 6
Thanks for the post! I never knew the history behind the bridge. I remember a fire took place under the bridge back in the 70s. I was just in the area taking pictures.
tubehead357 3 years ago 6
Where are your pix? on flickr? I'd love if you'd post a link.
queenoftheuniverse 2 years ago
Thank you for i did not know we had this!I lived in Old Brooklyn until i married, now live in what use to be Rockport(Grayton Road/I- 480).
dadgenius 3 years ago 8
The Nickle Plate railroad built the Sidaway pedestrian bridge in 1929 in a, at the time, Polish neighborhood. Blacks now dominate the Kinsman side; the 65th St. side is mixed. Cleveland's only suspension bridge was damaged during the 1966 Hough Riots. (Someone set fire to it's wooden deck and ripped out 15 feet of planks.) It hasn't been used for decades. In 1955 a woman jumped from the bridge to her death. It's situated over the Kingsbury Run gully, where the unsolved torso murders occured.
BKagent22 3 years ago 9
I grew up in Cleveland a few blocks from this bridge. As Swiiila correctly said it was known as the swinging bridge cause it swayed when you walked on it. As kid we would walk across it to get to the Dan Dee Potato Chip Factory and steal potatoe chips. Sidaway and the bridge borders one end of the Garden Valley Projects with 79th St. bordering the other end. I believe it was originally built so workers could get to their jobs easier.
BKagent22 3 years ago 7
I am under the impression the Sideaway was also a prototype for other suspension bridges.
swiiila 3 years ago 3
I'm not so sure about that, after all, the Brooklyn Bridge dates back to the 1880s. Maybe it was a prototype for foot bridges. The engineer who designed it was Wilbur Watson.
queenoftheuniverse 3 years ago
Hi, does anyone know why it's called the Sidaway bridge?
katsidaway 3 years ago 4
It connects the two halves of Sidaway Avenue.
queenoftheuniverse 3 years ago
heh, I just noticed your name. I don't know after whom or what the street was named.
queenoftheuniverse 3 years ago
Hi, thanks for the posting. I grew up on East 67th street. This bridge was at the end of my street. It seperated our neighborhood from the black neighborhood across the ravine. The black kids would come over to our side to visit the candy and ice cream stores. They risked their lives because there were many slats missing. The bridge also swayed a lot. When we saw them coming we ran like fire because this was during the time of the 60's riots and we were fearful.
swiiila 3 years ago 3
Thanks for your personal history of the area. It's the first I've heard from anyone from when the bridge was passable. btw, is it a short or long "I"? (Sidd-away or side-away)?
Thanks again!
LONGLIVELAYNESTALEY 3 years ago
We called it "the swinging bridge." It was behind the DanDee Potato Chip factory, in whose parking lot I learned to ride a bike. The black kids would come over the bridge to shop at Ferrins and Krazowski's stores and Dairyland Ice Cream but they did not attend our school, Todd Elementary. To adults the bridge was a symbol of segregation but to those kids it "bridged" the worlds between their community and ours. The only other time they came over was Halloween, when everyone was welcome.
swiiila 3 years ago 5
Hi, it's me again. LONGLIVELAYNESTLEY is my son, and sometimes i forget to pay attention to which one of us is logged on.
This is really beautiful what you're writing. I think John Grabowski, a history prof at Case Western would be interested in your very personal account of this neighborhood at that moment in time. He is the author of several books of Cleveland history. Do you still live in the area? Is the DanDee factory still in operation. The sign is still there.
queenoftheuniverse 3 years ago
Thanks. I would be happy to tell about it. It was a wonderful place for a kid. It was safe and clean. People planted grass and flowers even if they rented. Mrs. Safarski brought us day old potato chips from DanDee. A man with a horse drawn wagon came by yelling "rag man." An ice cream man pedeled a cart on a bicycle. Halloween was huge and the houses sparkled at Christmas. My dad was an amateur photographer and I have slides of the neighborhood. We left for Cincinnati in 1966.
swiiila 3 years ago 5
Thank you for such an evocative description. This is youtube at its best!
queenoftheuniverse 3 years ago
Oh, I have a question. At about 1:23 in the video you can see something that hangs down from the middle of the bridge tower - is it a bell? What was it for?
queenoftheuniverse 3 years ago
Sorry, I do not remember a bell or anything hanging down.
swiiila 3 years ago 4
It's a short 'I' Sid-away not side-away.
katsidaway 3 years ago 4
@katsidaway Yeah I hate it when people call me Side-away >:@
DanSids1988 9 months ago
Neat, didn't know that was there. I love seeing stuff like that. I remember in Mohican state park there was one on the trail when I was a kid. I was facinated by it.
horseisbeauty 4 years ago 4
This is really cool stuff! I'm a lifelong Clevelander and I've seen this bridge in the distance while riding the Rapid, but I never knew it's history. Great work, bro, and thanks for posting this. By the way, the ravine it crosses...isn't that part of Kingsbury Run, the sometime body dump of Cleveland's most infamous (and unknown) serial killer?
mamboman01 4 years ago 2
umm, I'm not a bro - but thanks. Yes, that is part of Kingsbury run.
I used to commute by the Shaker Rapid, too - this bridge was always a fascination to me. At one point the Metroparks was considering dismantling it and moving it to Bedford Reservation. I doubt it will ever be opened as a pedestrian bridge again.
queenoftheuniverse 4 years ago
hi, those LANESTALEYDAMAN comments were me but on my kid's login, just in case you were confused.
LAYNESTALEYDAMAN 4 years ago 2
thanks. If you google "sidaway bridge cleveland" you can get to the Library of Congress' HAER (Historical American Engineering Record) of the bridge. It's an amazing resource. I wish your friend good luck; urban history is so important.
LAYNESTALEYDAMAN 4 years ago
i really like your lil document,i have a friend that is an aspiring film maker that wants to do a movie titled ''hough'' please keep up the good work...especially for the younger folks
gripgetter 4 years ago 2
ps - gimme some star, bro! ;)
LAYNESTALEYDAMAN 4 years ago 2