Carrollton Viaduct

Carrollton Viaduct
Carrollton Viaduct over the Gwynns Falls stream in southwest Baltimore, first bridge built 1828–1829 for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, founded 1827. Pictured in 1971
Coordinates	39°16′31″N 76°39′18″W / 39.2754°N 76.6549°W / 39.2754; -76.6549
Carries	Railroad
Crosses	Gwynns Falls
Locale	Baltimore, Maryland
Owner	CSX Transportation
Characteristics
Design	Arch bridge
Material	Granite
Total length	312 feet (95 m)
Height	65 feet (20 m)
Longest span	80 feet (24 m)
Clearance below	51 feet 9 inches (15.8 m)
History
Construction start	1828 (1828)
Opened	1829
Carrollton Viaduct
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Carrollton Viaduct
Location	Gwynn's Falls near Carroll Park, Baltimore, Maryland
Coordinates	39°16′31.5″N 76°39′17.6″W / 39.275417°N 76.654889°W / 39.275417; -76.654889
Built	1829
Architect	James Lloyd; Caspar Wever
NRHP reference No.	71001032[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	November 11, 1971[1]
Designated NHL	November 11, 1971[2]
Location

The Carrollton Viaduct, located over the Gwynns Falls stream near Carroll Park in southwest Baltimore, Maryland, is the first stone masonry bridge for railroad use in the United States, built for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, founded 1827, and one of the world's oldest railroad bridges still in use for rail traffic. Construction began in 1828 and was completed in 1829. The bridge is named in honor of Charles Carroll of Carrollton (1737–1832), of Maryland, known for being the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, the only Roman Catholic in the Second Continental Congress (1775–1781), and wealthiest man in the Thirteen Colonies of the time of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783).

In 1982 the viaduct was designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers.