The Reverse Demolition of the Guardians of Traffic

[Diamond_Dog]

The 43-foot-tall statues, masterfully carved by Italian immigrants and now the namesake of Cleveland’s MLB team, once faced demolition — but the official behind the plan met his downfall instead.

In mid-20th-century Cleveland, Ohio, a plan to widen one of the city’s most significant bridges nearly erased its most iconic landmarks. At stake were the Guardians of Traffic — towering Art Deco sculptures lining the Hope Memorial Bridge, which spans the Cuyahoga River and physically links Cleveland’s East and West sides.

In the 1960s, Cuyahoga County Engineer Albert S. Porter proposed removing the statues to make room for more automobile lanes. Porter, a dominant force in Northeast Ohio infrastructure planning from 1947 to 1976, dismissed the sculptures as outdated ornamentation — “just a bunch of old stone men with helmets,” he scoffed. His priorities were clear: function over form. “Beauty doesn’t reduce traffic jams,” he argued.

The bridge, originally named the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge, opened in 1932 after decades of discussion around how to unify Cleveland’s split urban landscape. Local leaders believed a major bridge could symbolize not just physical connection, but civic ambition. Rather than build a bland utilitarian bridge, the city commissioned architect Frank Walker and sculptor Henry Hering to imbue the design of the structure with artistic and historical significance. The result was eight sandstone figures — monumental pylons, each holding a different mode of transportation — watching over the flow of traffic from both directions.



Mastrangelo meticulously carves away at the Guardians of Traffic in Cleveland’s Little Italy neighborhood at the Ohio Cut Stone Co. (the business eventually closed but the building still stands today).

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[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. It would be a travesty to demolish that historic bridge!

I hope they can figure out some other way to preserve the history and the beauty that it possesses.

On edit: I read the article and I see that the bridge was not only saved but cleaned and restored! That is good news.

[Diamond_Dog]

2. TY Peggy! I find it so fascinating to learn the history behind these architectural sculptures.

They just don’t make these majestic structures any more! Our baseball team now bears the Guardians name from this bridge.

Here’s another photo.