Historical Markers
Steel truss bridge over river with two people - historic bridges

By car · principal city, California

Historic Bridges in Santa Clara, CA

Truss, arch, suspension and stone bridges on the register near you, engineering you can drive across.

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Photo: Maksim Zinchenko on Unsplash

Santa Clara is one of the cities the San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara, CA metro area is officially named after. The list below comes straight from the published records, with the distance from the center of Santa Clara, CA and the source for each site.

People walking on the brooklyn bridge on a sunny day - historic bridges
Photo: Maxim Klimashin on Unsplash
People on waterfront path under steel arch bridge - historic bridges
Photo: Christopher Gardner on Unsplash
People walking across metal truss bridge over water - historic bridges
Photo: Trương Tuyết Ly on Unsplash

On the record near Santa Clara, CA

The 12 nearest

23 listed sites on the record match historic bridges within 120 miles of Santa Clara, CA, out of 142 listed sites of every kind within 25 miles.

  1. Felton Covered Bridge22 miles from the center of Santa Clara · Structure · Felton · listed 1973National Register of Historic Places
  2. Glen Canyon Covered Bridge25 miles from the center of Santa Clara · Structure · Santa Cruz · listed 1984National Register of Historic Places
  3. Pilarcitos Creek Bridge27 miles from the center of Santa Clara · Structure · Half Moon Bay · listed 2014National Register of Historic Places
  4. Sather Gate and Bridge39 miles from the center of Santa Clara · Structure · Berkeley · listed 1982National Register of Historic Places
  5. Alexander-Acacia Bridge51 miles from the center of Santa Clara · Structure · Larkspur · listed 1984National Register of Historic Places
  6. Tocaloma Bridge65 miles from the center of Santa Clara · Structure · Tocaloma · listed 2018National Register of Historic Places
  7. Carneros Creek Bridge on Old Sonoma Road66 miles from the center of Santa Clara · Structure · Napa · listed 2005National Register of Historic Places
  8. First Street Bridge68 miles from the center of Santa Clara · Structure · Napa · listed 2004National Register of Historic Places
  9. Milliken Creek Bridge69 miles from the center of Santa Clara · Structure · Napa · listed 2004National Register of Historic Places
  10. Pope Street Bridge84 miles from the center of Santa Clara · Structure · St. Helena · listed 1972National Register of Historic Places
  11. Napa River Bridge on Zinfandel Lane85 miles from the center of Santa Clara · Structure · St. Helena · listed 2005National Register of Historic Places
  12. Tower Bridge88 miles from the center of Santa Clara · Structure · Sacramento · listed 1982National Register of Historic Places

Distances are straight-line from the center of Santa Clara, CA. Many sites are private property or working buildings - view them from the public way. See them on the map.

Historic Bridges in Santa Clara, step by step

  1. 1

    See every listed site of this kind in the area

  2. 2

    Sort by distance and pick the closest few

  3. 3

    Read the record for the year, the builder and the use

  4. 4

    View from the public way and note what has changed

  5. 5

    Collect the set and move on to the next county

What people in Santa Clara, CA ask first

How much does it cost to visit these sites in Santa Clara, CA?

Most listed sites can be seen from a public road or sidewalk at no cost, and the app is free to use. Some sites are private homes, working churches or museums with their own hours and fees. The record for each one says what it is, so you know before you go.

Where does the information on these sites come from?

From published records: the National Register of Historic Places, the Recorded Texas Historic Landmark program, and the Georgia Historical Society and Georgia Department of Natural Resources marker program. Every site on the page names its source.

Are these buildings open to the public?

Some are, many are not. Churches, courthouses and libraries usually keep regular hours. Houses, barns and mills are often private and best seen from the road. The record for each site tells you which kind it is.

What does it mean when a site is on the National Register?

It means the property was documented and accepted as historically significant. Listing honors the site, it does not open it to visitors or stop an owner from using it.

How a visit works in Santa Clara

  1. Step 1

    Find the place

    Every stop starts as a pin with real coordinates. In Santa Clara, CA the map shows what is listed around you and how far each one is, so the first decision is where to go, and it takes a few seconds.

  2. Step 2

    Read the story

    The record behind each marker is kept whole: what happened there, when, who was involved, and why it was worth a sign. You read it standing where it happened, which is the part a textbook cannot give you.

  3. Step 3

    Get there under your own power

    Walk it, run it, hike it, ride it or drive it. Stops in Santa Clara, CA are chained into routes that fit the way you move, so a lunch break, a long run or a Saturday drive can all pass through history.

  4. Step 4

    Collect it and come back

    Each stop you reach counts toward a badge, and a photo or a correction you send makes the record better for the next person. The map remembers where you have been, so the next trip starts where the last one ended.

The rules that make it work

The record comes first

Every site on these pages comes from a published register or marker program, with its source named. Nothing is listed that is not on the record.

Read the whole story

A marker is a few lines on a post. The story behind it is longer, and it includes the hard parts. Both are worth the stop.

Movement makes it stick

People remember the places they walked to. A route through five markers teaches more than fifty marker pages read on a couch.

Local beats famous

The marker two streets over usually has a better story than the one in the guidebook, and nobody else is standing in front of it.

Respect the ground

Many sites are private homes, working churches or cemeteries. View from the public way, follow posted hours, and leave it as you found it.

Every visitor can improve it

Markers go missing, get moved, or carry mistakes. A photo or a location fix from the person standing there is how the record stays right.

More ways in around Santa Clara, CA

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Historic Bridges near Santa Clara

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