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He has designs on city’s bridges
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| Baxter |
By ARLENE FINE
Senior Staff Reporter
Structural engineer Daniel Baxter has always been fascinated with bridges. When he was a little boy, he used to build elevated freeways on his model train table. When Baxter, then a college student, took a trip to Mackinac Island in Michigan, everything crystallized.
“As we drove over the Mackinac Island suspension bridge, I knew beyond a doubt I wanted to design bridges for the rest of my life,” he explains.
For the past four-and-a-half years, Baxter has followed his dream and is a bridge designer for Michael Baker Jr. Inc. in The Halle Building. He helped design the arches on the new Fulton Road Bridge that spans the Cleveland MetroParks Zoo, and he is involved with analysis of the Innerbelt Bridge.
Like other aging cities, Cleveland has its share of older bridges, but “the stewards of the infrastructure in this city are doing a good job maintaining these structures,” assures Baxter.
The engineer does not have to cross any bridges to get to work. All he has to do is cross the street. And that makes Baxter a big fan of the convenience of living in downtown Cleveland.
From the new nightlife and restaurant scene on E. 4th Street, to the excitement of PlayhouseSquare in my own backyard, I’m greatly impressed with my neighborhood,” he says. “Many of Cleveland’s finest virtues, including the reasonable cost of living, the arts scene, and the city’s beauty, are underappreciated. And one of the best things about this city is that I met my girlfriend at a Jewish singles party.”
Name: Daniel Baxter
Age: 29
Status: In a relationship
Current residence: Statler Arms Apartments, downtown
Alma Maters: high school in Ann Arbor, Mich.; Carleton College; Washington University in St. Louis
Everyone knows: I really like bridges.
No one knows: When I was in college, I was in a band that wrote a mini-rock opera.
Favorite sport: Hiking
Favorite film: “Repo Man”
Favorite TV show: “Curb Your Enthusiasm”
Music always on my iPod: Rock and classical
“As we drove over the Mackinac Island suspension bridge, I knew beyond a doubt I wanted to design bridges for the rest of my life,” he explains.
For the past four-and-a-half years, Baxter has followed his dream and is a bridge designer for Michael Baker Jr. Inc. in The Halle Building. He helped design the arches on the new Fulton Road Bridge that spans the Cleveland MetroParks Zoo, and he is involved with analysis of the Innerbelt Bridge.
Like other aging cities, Cleveland has its share of older bridges, but “the stewards of the infrastructure in this city are doing a good job maintaining these structures,” assures Baxter.
The engineer does not have to cross any bridges to get to work. All he has to do is cross the street. And that makes Baxter a big fan of the convenience of living in downtown Cleveland.
From the new nightlife and restaurant scene on E. 4th Street, to the excitement of PlayhouseSquare in my own backyard, I’m greatly impressed with my neighborhood,” he says. “Many of Cleveland’s finest virtues, including the reasonable cost of living, the arts scene, and the city’s beauty, are underappreciated. And one of the best things about this city is that I met my girlfriend at a Jewish singles party.”
Name: Daniel Baxter
Age: 29
Status: In a relationship
Current residence: Statler Arms Apartments, downtown
Alma Maters: high school in Ann Arbor, Mich.; Carleton College; Washington University in St. Louis
Everyone knows: I really like bridges.
No one knows: When I was in college, I was in a band that wrote a mini-rock opera.
Favorite sport: Hiking
Favorite film: “Repo Man”
Favorite TV show: “Curb Your Enthusiasm”
Music always on my iPod: Rock and classical
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