The Boardman
River flows into the west arm of
Grand Traverse Bay in
Traverse City, Michigan. The Boardman's upper
tributaries rise near
Kalkaska, Michigan, and its watershed drains an
area of 295 sq. miles through 130 miles of river and
tributaries. The Boardman River is considered one
of the
top ten
trout streams in
Michigan. Before entering the
Grand Traverse
Bay, it becomes Boardman Lake
which is a reservoir retained by the Union St. dam,
it really just forms a wide,
deep stretch of the river about 2 miles long and a
half mile wide.
The picture here is the Boardman River between >>>>
downtown Traverse City and Grand Traverse Bay. This section of the boardwalk runs from just west of the mouth of the Boardman at Grand Traverse Bay to Cass St. at the Chamber of Commerce.
After flowing through Boardman Lake, the river descends through downtown Traverse City, following a hairpin-shaped course to Grand Traverse Bay. This Traverse City section of the Boardman River is accessible by motorboat from Boardman lake up to a small decommissioned hydroelectric dam located between Cass and Union Streets. Here you see the section of boardwalk that runs from 8th St. at Boardman Ave. to Cass St. along Midtown.
Midtown Boardwalk >>>>
View
from TC-RiverHouse of the Cass
St. Bridge
Year Built: 1930
Boardman River American Legion Memorial Bridge:
The American Legion Memorial Bridge qualifies for
the National Register as a significant memorial
bridge and for its connection with Daniel Luten, a
prominent bridge engineer.
In 1929, the Traverse City city commission ordered a
public election to authorize the sale of bonds to
build new bridges over the Boardman River at
Union Street and Cass Street. At the same time, the
commission hired Daniel B. Luten, a well-known
Indianapolis bridge engineer who specialized in
concrete-arch design, to prepare plans for the Cass
Street Bridge. Voters approved the measure in May.
In the meantime, the city learned that the state
would erect a bridge at South Union Street, so the
city's efforts focused on Cass Street.
On June 27 1929, the commission awarded a contract
for the bridge's construction. A few weeks later,
the commission agreed to issue $50,000 worth of
bonds to pay for the project. In June 1930, the
commission accepted the contractors' work and
authorized final payment. At the same time, the
commission decided to purchase dedication plaques at
the request of the American Legion for $100. Plague
is located on the north east corner of the American
Legion Memorial Bridge.
While the removal of the original railings over the
arch and the addition of the Jersey barricades
detract from the original design, the bridge remains
an important and rare example of the work of Daniel
Luten in Michigan. The bridge is also locally
significant as a memorial bridge commemorating the
American Legion.
...
Michigan whitewater - Boardman River, Grand Traverse County
CLASS I-II Easy > 0.5 miles >>
Grand Traverse county, 6 miles South of Traverse City starting at Keystone Rd. is a section of whitewater for kayaking, rafting, tubing and canoeing.