POP's Nowland Avenue Bridge Fundraiser

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A nonprofit fundraiser supporting

Friends of Brookside and Spades Parks

POP is raising funds to repair the historic Nowland Ave bridge and help finish the Pogue's Run Trail

$50,262

raised by 363 people

$30,000 goal

Pathways Over Pogue's (POP) is a grassroots group of Near Eastside neighbors that formed in the summer of 2017 to advocate for the repair of the historic Nowland Avenue Bridge in Spades Park, just west of Rural in Indianapolis. 

Built in 1903, the Nowland Avenue Bridge is the oldest surviving bridge in Indianapolis by the nationally renowned engineer Daniel Luten, known for his innovative designs.  

Although a historic landmark, the bridge has been allowed to deteriorate, with large chunks of asphalt breaking off and narrowing the walkway; a cracked and spalled arch; and the south concrete rail - gone.  

The bridge is the eastern entry into Spades Park, and the main connector to the adjacent Brookside Park.  But it has been closed off with concrete barriers and a 'Bridge Closed' sign for years, discouraging use of  one of the Near Eastside's greatest assets - its chain of parks, and sending a signal of neglect to this low-income community.      

It is also impeding completion of the 5.3-mile Pogue’s Run Trail, which lies directly along its route and which could do so much to revitalize the area, as the Cultural Trail has done for Fountain Square.  The Pogue's Run Trail will connect the Near Eastside to downtown and the Monon Trail, provide a safe and accessible form of exercise  and social connectivity for neighbors of all income levels, and spur development.  

In 2018 POP and partners raised $140,000 - more than enough to design the repair of the bridge which was completed in May of 2020. Now POP is seeking the estimated $524,000 needed for the repair itself with over $90,000 committed.  POP is a standing committee of the 501(c)3 Friends of Brookside and Spades Park.

But this is a challenging time to raise funds, and there is an urgency to getting the work done in 2021 because the longer the delay between design and repair, the more the bridge can deteriorate,  requiring duplication of work already performed and increasing costs.  

For more info, please go to POP's website.


Below is the Nowland Avenue Bridge in 1903, the year it was built.












Above is the Nowland Avenue Bridge in 2018

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