In Mason City's early days, North Carolina Avenue was known as Stewart Avenue.

By November of 1913, there were detailed plans for the construction of the Stewart Avenue Bridge. For reasons lost to the passage of time, Mason City did not petition the county for this new bridge which would span across Lime Creek (present-day Winnebago River) until February of 1914. In its petition, the city promised to raise $1,500 towward construction costs if the county would move the existing bowstring arch-truss bridge at that site to another location. Construction bids were opened on March 23, 1914. Nine contractors placed their bids. The lowest bid of $12,775 placed by N.M. Stark and Company of Des Moines won the contract.

N.M. Stark and Company, well-known to Cerro Gordo County, had built a number of its bridges during the early 20th Century. In 1903, the company had built the State Street Bridge which has also placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Upon being awarded the contract, N.M. Stark and Company began work and the bridge was completed later in 1914.

The Stewart Avenue Bridge is an excellent representation of the Iowa State Highway Commission (ISHC) urban bridge design of the 1910's. A statement issued by the ISHC in August of 1914 observed, "A beautiful concrete arch has just taken its place."

Originally the bridge had built-in lanterns along its sides.

The Stewart Avenue Bridge has continued to carry regional traffic in an unaltered state from the day it was opened to traffic.

The Stewart Avenue Bridge as placed on the National Register of Historic Places June 25, 1998.

SOURCE: bridgehunter.com Iowa

Submission by Sharon R. Becker, November of 2013