Automobile Under South Street Tunnel (Culvert/Viaduct) - Circa 1903
Title
Automobile Under South Street Tunnel (Culvert/Viaduct) - Circa 1903
Description
A boy is seated in a 1902 Baker Electric Automobile on the east side of the railroad tunnel on South St. and Lake St. It must be 1902 or later since the special December 12, 1901 edition of the Woodstock Sentinel notes that Dr. Windmueller has the first and only automobile in Woodstock. This is not the same automobile. See ID
By 1905, Woodstock had 27 automobiles in the town, the owners of most being members of the Woodstock Automobile Club.
A search in the Woodstock Sentinel for 1900 had no results for the word "automobile." By 1901, it was a popular topic. There were several automobile parades in 1905, including one each day at the McHenry County Fair.
This photo is unusual since it taken from the east side of the tunnel, viaduct, underpass, culvert. The dirt road splits left and right, unlike the straight street in the background.
The South St. tunnel (culvert/viaduct) is a helicoidal or spiral stone arch. One part was completed in 1867 and the other (over the other train track) was finished in 1897.
Allen Stebbins, Chair of the Woodstock Historic Preservation Commission, provided this insight to the tunnel (or "Culvert"):
"The South St. Culvert as it has been called was built in two
sections. The first in 1867 when the Chicago & Northwestern built a single rail line out this way and the second section 30 years later in 1897 when they expanded to a second line. That's why the two dates on the keystones. I've started collecting some historic records on this bridge.
"What's unusual is both sections were built in what's known as a helicoidal or spiral arch method. These arches are extremely rare in the United States built when a road or railroad crossed another road or river at an angle and at an incline. It posed some real problems for the engineers who looked back to the ancient Romans for ideas to solve the problem and rediscovered the spiral arch! Basically all the engineering up front needed to be pretty precise and once designed the stonemasons cut all the stones exactly the same dimensions then laid them in the spiral arch (oftentimes without the need of any mortar.) These types of arches are extremely strong and durable as witnessed by some of the ancient Roman examples still standing.
"In the United States there are only a few known examples–some in Pennsylvania and the Seventh Street Improvement Arches in Minneapolis. These are listed as landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places. The South St. Culvert is in the historic district and I would like to see it nominated as a national landmark, but do know Union Pacific opposes it. They do have plans in the future to expand the rail lines to three from Barrington all the way out to Harvard when they ultimately put in the Woodstock rail yard. ..."
The tunnel is architecturally and historically significant. The tunnel should be designated a Landmark by the City of Woodstock and preserved, as is the Woodstock Opera House.
[Woodstock Advocate blog, Gus Philpott]
By 1905, Woodstock had 27 automobiles in the town, the owners of most being members of the Woodstock Automobile Club.
A search in the Woodstock Sentinel for 1900 had no results for the word "automobile." By 1901, it was a popular topic. There were several automobile parades in 1905, including one each day at the McHenry County Fair.
This photo is unusual since it taken from the east side of the tunnel, viaduct, underpass, culvert. The dirt road splits left and right, unlike the straight street in the background.
The South St. tunnel (culvert/viaduct) is a helicoidal or spiral stone arch. One part was completed in 1867 and the other (over the other train track) was finished in 1897.
Allen Stebbins, Chair of the Woodstock Historic Preservation Commission, provided this insight to the tunnel (or "Culvert"):
"The South St. Culvert as it has been called was built in two
sections. The first in 1867 when the Chicago & Northwestern built a single rail line out this way and the second section 30 years later in 1897 when they expanded to a second line. That's why the two dates on the keystones. I've started collecting some historic records on this bridge.
"What's unusual is both sections were built in what's known as a helicoidal or spiral arch method. These arches are extremely rare in the United States built when a road or railroad crossed another road or river at an angle and at an incline. It posed some real problems for the engineers who looked back to the ancient Romans for ideas to solve the problem and rediscovered the spiral arch! Basically all the engineering up front needed to be pretty precise and once designed the stonemasons cut all the stones exactly the same dimensions then laid them in the spiral arch (oftentimes without the need of any mortar.) These types of arches are extremely strong and durable as witnessed by some of the ancient Roman examples still standing.
"In the United States there are only a few known examples–some in Pennsylvania and the Seventh Street Improvement Arches in Minneapolis. These are listed as landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places. The South St. Culvert is in the historic district and I would like to see it nominated as a national landmark, but do know Union Pacific opposes it. They do have plans in the future to expand the rail lines to three from Barrington all the way out to Harvard when they ultimately put in the Woodstock rail yard. ..."
The tunnel is architecturally and historically significant. The tunnel should be designated a Landmark by the City of Woodstock and preserved, as is the Woodstock Opera House.
[Woodstock Advocate blog, Gus Philpott]
Source
DeWane Studio
Date
1908~
Collection
Citation
“Automobile Under South Street Tunnel (Culvert/Viaduct) - Circa 1903,” Woodstock Public Library Archives, accessed September 11, 2026, https://woodstockpubliclibraryarchives.omeka.net/items/show/485.
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