By RAY ADLER
Ask Adler
Does anyone know the name of the Man who lived under the Logan Street Bridge?
When my wife and I had the law office at 53 N. 6th St., adjoining the old Logan Street bridge, my immediate neighbor to the north was a man who lived under the Logan Street Bridge. The armory was across the street to the north. Dellen Oldsmobile was across the street to the east. South across the alley was a “vibrating bowl” manufacturing facility and then a gas station. Jim Jenkins ran an accounting office in the building along the railroad tracks, just east of the armory. Steve Schwartz and his wife, Lori, also adjoined the Logan Street Bridge, but on the west side of the river.
Between the Schwartz and Adler businesses lived the Man under the bridge. We were never exceptionally close, but we did talk on occasion. He told me that he was happy living where he did. He was not looking to live in a home and was not looking for a job.
When the Logan Street Bridge was expanded in the 1980s, I remarked to him that his home was getting a million-dollar makeover at no cost to him. The bridge was being widened to account for increased traffic on Logan Street, and there was a debate over whether the bridge should be expanded even more (which it later was to its current size). Mike Howard commented that everyone on the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago would love to have our traffic problems.
Not only has the Logan Street Bridge been widened, but new bridge improvements over the White River are planned for Hamilton County, including a new bridge for the Pleasant Street expansion project, and a major renovation on 146th Street Bridge over White River.
146th Street was originally part of the state highway system. The state sought to abandon 146th Street in the late 70s, and the then county attorney filed a lawsuit, alleging that the state could not abandon the roadway to Hamilton County because the bridge was in disrepair. When I became county attorney, years later, I inherited the 146th Street case, and the court ultimately ordered the state to replace the bridge. When 146th Street was expanded, the bridge was expanded as well. The new bridge will be at least the fifth bridge at that location.
So much has changed in Hamilton County over the last 45 years. The population has nearly quadrupled as fields have been transformed into thriving commercial districts and neighborhoods.
I often wonder what ever came of the Man under the Logan Street Bridge. Did the rapid expansion eventually push him out? Did he move to a different bridge? What stories of our county do you think such a Man has to offer?
Educational material and not legal advice, written by the team at Adler attorneys. Email andrea@noblesvilleattorney.com with questions or comments.