


|
The HistoricBridges.org Team: Nathan Holth - Author, Webmaster, and Photographer. Rick McOmber - Photographer and Content Advisor. Luke Gordon - Engineering / Construction Consultant and Photographer. |
Formerly Historic Bridges of Michigan and Elsewhere, Historicbridges.org offers
professional photo-documentation, information, and advocacy for
all types of historic bridges except covered bridges. North
American coverage radiates outward from Michigan, with
Pennsylvania, Chicago, and Ontario being coverage highlights as
well. HistoricBridges.org places an unparalleled priority on
professional photo-documentation of each bridge presented. In addition,
HistoricBridges.org strongly advocates for the reform of surface
transportation policy and fights to increase awareness of the
feasibility of historic bridge preservation. Click Here For The Latest Website Update (2-2-09) |
![]()
Historicbridges.org Features
![]()
![]() |
Featuring historic bridge photo-documentation and information, the Bridge Browser is the main feature on this website. The map shown here is an interactive clickable map that allows you to access the bridges on this website. Places listed in blue text have bridges available. BridgeSeek, an advanced search tool, is also available. Also, a standalone version of the Bridge Browser is available. |
Bridge Spotlight:Approximate Time Remaining Until All United States Historic Metal Truss Bridges Not Preserved Are Demolished:Lake Champlain "Crown Point" BridgeDemolition
The beautiful and historic Lake Champlain Bridge,
also known as the Crown Point Bridge, crossed Lake Champlain at a
historic location. The bridge was opened in 1929 under the name
"Lake Champlain Bridge" in 1929, being the only bridge on the entire
lake. After 70 years, the nationally significant arch-shaped
cantilever bridge which was one of the earliest examples of its
extremely rare design, was demolished on December 28, 2009, in the
heart of a normally joyful holiday season. The bridge connected and
contributed a number of very important historic sites on both sides
of the lake. It was celebrated and enjoyed by many visitors and
residents alike and preservationists had spent years fighting to
save the bridge. The discovery of a crack in one of the unreinforced
concrete piers allowed the bridge owners to declare the bridge too
dangerous to even repair. |
|
![]() |
Informative presentations designed to introduce viewers to the world of historic bridges. Utilizing photos and diagrams, the various terminology, construction, and configuration of historic bridges is discussed. A presentation on inspecting historic bridges is also available. This page also features some formal, yet easy-to-read, essays that further explore the historic bridge world. |
Historic Bridges Encyclopedia
![]() |
This feature contains articles relating
to historic bridges, as well as information about entire categories
of historic bridges. This section also includes some non-bridge
related photos. Some of the major features include: - An all-in-one collection of some of the best bridge photos available in wallpaper size. - A look at historic metal water towers, which share a lot of design characteristics with truss bridges. - A collection of interesting photos of the natural world. - An in-depth look at curved chord through girder bridges. |
Historic Bridge Park: A Visitor's Guide
![]() |
A comprehensive visitor's guide to this unique park located in Calhoun County, Michigan whose focus is the restored metal truss bridges within the park. Contains maps, photos, and links to bridge browser pages for the historic bridges within the park. |
Turning the Tide
A Campaign For Change: A Future For Historic Bridges
![]() |
Your help is needed! Help an important piece of historic bridge legislation revised and passed in 2007 to increase historic bridge preservation: A guide to write letters to U.S. government officials and legislators. These proposed changes did not pass in 2006 because the government felt that not enough citizens had spoken up in favor of historic bridges. Help change that! |
Historic Bridge Newsroom: Twitter
|
Presented through the convenient format of Twitter, the Historic Bridge Newsroom is a simple collection of links to current news articles about historic bridges, as well as word-of-mouth news snippets. Coverage includes any historic bridges in the United States and Canada, which may or may not be in the Bridge Browser. This is a human-edited list of links; therefore coverage may be biased to the areas that those team members who maintain it are familiar with. |
Links to Related Websites
![]() |
Features a collection of external links to other bridge websites on the Internet. Many other bridge enthusiast websites feature bridges from areas not covered by this website, and links to those websites can be found here. |
News and Updates
Preservation of Historic Iron and Steel Bridges and Other Metal Structures Workshop: March 2010 - Register Now!Lansing Community College of Lansing, Michigan and
Vern Mesler are inviting all interested individuals to register and
attend all or part of a three day workshop entitled Preservation of
Historic Iron and Steel Bridges and Other Metal Structures occurring
in March 2010. Five $600 scholarships are also available for
students to attend this workshop. These workshops would be of
interest and value to historians/preservationists, as well as
engineering students. |
Website UpdatesFebruary 5, 2010 - England Bowstring Bridge added.Added a page for the demolished Bowstring Bridge in England. February 2, 2010 - Main Page Interface Update and 29 Bridges AddedOne of the least organized bridge updates ever released, this update includes a group of bridges from various locations. Many of these photos were submitted by website visitors have been sitting on a to-do list for a long time. Thanks to all who contributed. Also due to the increasing website coverage range, a new clickable map on the main page is introduced and the main page layout has been reorganized to suit this new map. View a list of recently added bridges. January 29, 2010 - Pennsylvania Historic Bridge Inventory Search FeatureThe Historic Bridge Inventory from Pennsylvania is now incorporated into a searchable database on this website which should be more convenient that the forms PennDOT offers. Search Pennsylvania's Historic Bridge Inventory. January 20, 2010 - San Francisco Oakland Bay BridgeAdded the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge. The bridge is being introduced as part of HistoricBridges.org's Global Heritage project with Public Photo Compilation photo galleries, but the real reason this bridge has been added is so HistoricBridges.org could offer scathing commentary on the project that will demolish half of one of the largest and most important bridges in the country. View a list of recently added bridge pages. January 14, 2010 - Bridge Drawings AddedThe following bridges have had measured drawings added to their pages. These drawings were adapted from either HAER documentation or actual bridge plans.
http://www.historicbridges.org/other/6th/index.htm |
![]()









