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Cuyahoga River Bridge #1

The Iron Curtain

Primary Photographer(s): Nathan Holth

Bridge Documented: June 24, 2007, and October 1, 2021

View Photos
and Videos

View Maps
and Links

Facility Carried / Feature Intersected
Railroad (Norfolk Southern and Amtrak) Over Cuyahoga River

Location
Cleveland: Cuyahoga County, Ohio: United States

Structure Type
Metal 10 Panel Rivet-Connected Polygonal Warren Through Truss, Movable: Vertical Lift (Tower Drive)

Construction Date and Builder / Engineer
1956 By Builder/Contractor: American Bridge Company of New York, New York and Engineer/Design: Howard, Needles, Tammen and Bergendorff of Kansas City, Missouri

Rehabilitation Date
Not Available or Not Applicable

Main Span Length
265.0 Feet (80.8 Meters)

Structure Length
265.0 Feet (80.8 Meters)

Roadway Width
Not Available

Spans
1 Main Span(s)

Inventory Number
Not Applicable

Historic Significance Rating (HSR)
View Information About HSR Ratings

Bridge Documentation

This bridge is sometimes called the Iron Curtain. Built during the Cold War period where the term was used, the bridge's gateway-like location as the last bridge a boat passes under to enter Lake Erie, as well as its steel vertical lift design likely lent to this nickname for the bridge. This bridge was designed by Howard Needles Tammen and Bergendoff, but the actual contractor/builder is unknown.

The bridge is on a national scale, relatively young, nor is it the oldest bridge in Cleveland. Regardless, it is still an example of a design no longer built today and thus has some historic value. The bridge replaced a structure when the river was widened in a large project that had been launched in 1946.

Above: 1957 Advertisement.

This bridge is tagged with the following special condition(s): Unorganized Photos

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Photo Galleries and Videos: Cuyahoga River Bridge #1

Bridge Photo-Documentation

A collection of overview and detail photos. This photo gallery contains a combination of Original Size photos and Mobile Optimized photos in a touch-friendly popup viewer.
Alternatively, Browse Without Using Viewer

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Additional Unorganized Photos

Original / Full Size Photos
A supplemental collection of photos that are from additional visit(s) to the bridge and have not been organized or captioned. This gallery offers photos in the highest available resolution and file size in a touch-friendly popup viewer.
Alternatively, Browse Without Using Viewer

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Additional Unorganized Photos

Mobile Optimized Photos
A supplemental collection of photos that are from additional visit(s) to the bridge and have not been organized or captioned. This gallery features data-friendly, fast-loading photos in a touch-friendly popup viewer.
Alternatively, Browse Without Using Viewer

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Bridge Being Opened

Full Motion Video
Note: The downloadable high quality version of this video (available on the video page) is well worth the download since it offers excellent 1080 HD detail and is vastly more impressive than the compressed streaming video. Streaming video of the bridge. Also includes a higher quality downloadable video for greater clarity or offline viewing.

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Bridge Being Closed

Full Motion Video
Note: The downloadable high quality version of this video (available on the video page) is well worth the download since it offers excellent 4K detail and is vastly more impressive than the compressed streaming video. Streaming video of the bridge. Also includes a higher quality downloadable video for greater clarity or offline viewing.

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Maps and Links: Cuyahoga River Bridge #1

Coordinates (Latitude, Longitude):

Search For Additional Bridge Listings:

Bridgehunter.com: View listed bridges within 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) of this bridge.

Bridgehunter.com: View listed bridges within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of this bridge.

HistoricBridges.org Bridge Browser: View listed bridges within 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) of this bridge.

HistoricBridges.org Bridge Browser: View listed bridges within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of this bridge.

2021 National Bridge Inventory: View listed bridges within 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) of this bridge.

Additional Maps:

Google Maps

Google Streetview (If Available)

Bing Maps

OpenStreetMap

GeoHack (Additional Links and Coordinates)

Apple Maps (Via DuckDuckGo Search)

Apple Maps (Apple devices only)

Android: Open Location In Your Map or GPS App

Flickr Gallery (Find Nearby Photos)

Wikimedia Commons (Find Nearby Photos)

Directions Via Sygic For Android

Directions Via Sygic For iOS and Android Dolphin Browser

USGS National Map (United States Only)

Historical USGS Topo Maps (United States Only)

Historic Aerials (United States Only)

CalTopo Maps (United States Only)

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