With the failure of portions of the Hoan Bridge, it seems like a good time to look back at the man for whom the span is named and at his years as mayor, which were not a failure in any sense of the word.

Daniel Webster Hoan was born in Waukesha in 1881, and although he left school early, he became a lawyer in 1908 after studying at night. When he moved to Milwaukee and hooked up with Victor Berger, editor of the socialist newspaper, "The Milwaukee Leader," he joined in the efforts to facilitate urban renewal, legal aid, municipal ownership of utility companies and other reforms.

In 1911 Hoan became city attorney under socialist mayor Emil Seidel and spent the following years battling corruption among government officials. In 1917, he himself was elected mayor and he served until 1940.

Hoan's 24-year run marked the longest continuous Socialist administration in U.S. history and his progressive programs included the country's first public housing scheme, workmen's compensation, children's health clinics and civil service exams, which helped end corruption.

Last year, Melvin Holli, author of "The American Mayor," and a group of experts on local politics, named Hoan the eighth best mayor in American history.

However, Hoan was defeated in 1941 and soon thereafter he abandoned the Socialist Party for the Democratic Party. He twice ran unsuccessfully for governor (1944, 1946). In 1948, he ran as the Democratic candidate for mayor and was defeated by the socialist candidate, Frank Zeidler. Hoan died in 1961.

Nine years later building began on the Hoan Bridge, which connected downtown and Bay View and was expected to be the first part of a superhighway to Chicago. Neighborhood opposition stymied the project and the bridge, which wasn't completed until 1977, became known as The Bridge to Nowhere.

Shortly afterward, downtown approach ramps to the bridge were used in the filming of the film, "The Blues Brothers."

These days, the Hoan Bridge makes the downtown-Bay View commute a breeze and offers up a plethora of Milwaukee odors to drivers who lack the foresight to close the vents upon ascending the on-ramps.

Choosing to name the bridge after a socialist mayor who fought development along the lakefront (although he was a supporter of harbor improvements) may now appear more than ironic, especially to those who believe in the power of ghosts. Could it be that Hoan, himself, aimed a lightning bolt at the support beams, causing them to fail?

That's a question for the seers out there. For those of us living in Bay View, we prefer to ask, "when will it be fixed?!!!"

Stay tuned for a feature on "The Lake Parkway to Nowhere."