Jose Rizal Bridge
historic bridge in Seattle, Washington, United States
The Jose Rizal Bridge carries 12th Avenue South over South Dearborn Street and Interstate 90 in Seattle, connecting the International District to Beacon Hill. Built in 1911, and originally called the 12th Avenue South Bridge or the Dearborn Street Bridge, it was one of the first permanent steel bridges in Seattle. It was renamed in honor of the Filipino patriot José Rizal in 1974, though the official name is not well known by Seattleites. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, under its original name.
As a result of Paul Schell's attempt to light several bridges for the Seattle Millennium Project, the bridge is illuminated by floodlights.
In 2002, a police informant was found murdered near a homeless encampment under the bridge.
The bridge originally carried four lanes of traffic until 2021, when they were reduced to two lanes to accommodate a set of protected bicycle lanes.
The public source identifies “Jose Rizal Bridge” as historic bridge in Seattle, Washington, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Jose, Rizal and Bridge.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Jose Rizal Bridge”, the useful work is to connect “historic bridge in Seattle, Washington, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6279543. Authority coordinates are 47.596, -122.317. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1911, 1974, 1982 and 2002.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
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- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Jose Rizal Bridge” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.