McKee Street Bridge, Moderne architecture bridge in downtown Houston, United States

McKee Street Bridge is a moderne-style bridge spanning Buffalo Bayou with a brick road surface supported by three concrete sections. The structure provides adequate clearance for boat traffic to pass beneath while maintaining strong visual presence along the waterway.

The first bridge at McKee Street was a steel truss swing bridge powered by a motor to move it out of the way of water traffic. It was demolished in 1928, and the current bridge was built between 1931 and 1932 for a contracted price of $122,000, including removal of the previous bridge. The design responded to War Department clearance requirements and the 77-degree angle at which McKee Street meets Buffalo Bayou.

Locals call the span the "McKee Street Bridge," and its 1985 paint scheme of aquamarine, purple and lavender was applied by a local artist, making the girders a landmark visible from the bayou bends on either side. The bridge carries McKee Street between the Second and Fifth Ward areas.

The bridge sits northeast of downtown Houston, linking the Second and Fifth Ward areas, and crosses Buffalo Bayou at a 77-degree angle between two bends. Pedestrians share the 2.5-inch brick deck with road traffic, and the 42-foot vertical clearance keeps the crossing open to bayou craft below.

The bridge crosses Buffalo Bayou at a 77-degree angle between two bends, so its girders were shaped to the calculated bending-moment curve rather than as straight beams. That shaping cut cost and produced a 120-foot central span, the longest concrete girder span of its time.