[milwaukee-electric] Re: A Little More About the Creeks

[Gary Schnabl]

The Caspar 1930 map 
<http://www4.uwm.edu/libraries/digilib/zoom/am001552.cfm> is not totally 
accurate, but it does yield some possible clues why things were done 
back prior to the Great Depression.
(1) Why a bridge crossing the rerouted Lincoln Creek at 37th Street?
The map shows that Sherman Boulevard only extended to Hope. [My 
grandfather's (30?) acres there were sold in 1928.] Sercombe (39th) 
Street was an early NS arterial, probably due to the original creek 
messing up 35th Street around Capitol Drive (Lake Road). BTW, the map 
clearly shows that Sercombe bent to the NE (prior to 1900) in order to 
cross the creek on the bent part, north of Hope (Oak). Sercombe 
connected to Marion at about 37th Street. So, the 37th Street bridge 
over the rerouted creek was probably sort of an arterial before 35th 
Street was (re)built later.
(2) Many maps show that Hopkins was a through street north of Capitol. 
Was it ever? It seems to me that some of the maps were actual roads, 
whereas others might have been planned, "governmental" routes, but were 
never, in fact, ever built afterward. Hopkins there appears to be one of 
the planned governmental streets.

(3) Lake (Capitol Drive) stopped to the west somewhere around 27th 
Street until the creek was rerouted. Again, some of the street and 
platted blocks west of 27th Street may have never been built according 
to their governmental maps. AFAIK, Hopkins ended at Lake/Capitol, and 
Capitol Drive afterward went under the railroad tracks in the 30th 
Street Industrial Corridor by way of two large underpasses. Hopkins did 
not go through, over, or under the yards, IMO.

(4) I remember driving back around 1960 when Hampton still intersected 
the railroad tracks at grade (atop a "hill"). Having to stop for 
train(s) there was a real bitch if one was stuck on Hampton (up the 
"hill", east of the tracks there). A driver would either have to ride 
the clutch for several minutes while stuck up the hill or stop the 
engine until the train(s) passed at grade. Usually some guy was right on 
your bumper while stopped, necessitating some pretty rapid foot-pedal 
movements more typical of race-car drivers after the trains finally passed.

Driving was much easier on Hampton after that bottleneck at the tracks 
was eliminated.


Gary



On 7/13/2010 9:25 PM, Larry Allan wrote:
> Here is an article from the Milwaukee Journal dated Jan. 19,1899 regarding
> the planning of the North Milwaukee Lines crossing of Lincoln Creek, then
> known as Mud Creek. See Attached.
> On Sun, Jul 11, 2010 at 7:43 PM, Gary Schnabl<gSchnabl at swdetroit.com>wrote:
>
>    
>> On 7/11/2010 7:13 PM, Ken and Tracie wrote:
>>      
>>> Thanks, Gary. I noted I didn't have it quite right. I have maps with it
>>>        
>> in
>>      
>>> its correct spot, just have them boxed away.
>>>
>>> I need to get out that early 1900s USGS map showing the dam and pond
>>>        
>> north
>>      
>>> of Capitol.
>>>
>>> K.
>>>
>>>        
>>

-- 

Gary Schnabl
Southwest Detroit, two miles NORTH! of Canada--Windsor, that is...