Honeymoon Bridge (Ontario)
| Upper Steel Arch Bridge Honeymoon Bridge | |
|---|---|
 The Upper Steel Arch Bridge at Niagara Falls | |
| Preceded by | Niagara Clifton Bridge |
| Followed by | Rainbow Bridge |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Steel Arch Bridge |
| Total length | 1,240 ft (378 m)[1] |
| Longest span | 840 ft (256 m)[2] |
| History | |
| Construction end | 1897 |
| Opened | 1898 |
| Collapsed | January 1938 |
The Upper Steel Arch Bridge, also known as the Honeymoon Bridge or Fallsview Bridge, is a now-demolished bridge which crossed the Niagara River, connecting Niagara Falls, Ontario with Niagara Falls, New York. It was located about 500 feet (150 m) upriver of the present-day Rainbow Bridge.
History
Built in 1897 by the Pencoyd Bridge Company, and completed the following year the Upper Steel Arch Bridge was located 14 feet (4.3 m) closer to American Falls than the former bridge that it replaced.[3] When completed the bridge became the largest Steel Arch Bridge in the world, its features included double tracks for trollies and room for carriages and pedestrians.[4] The bridge had to constantly be protected from ice bridges that formed over the river every winter. In January 1899 a huge ice bridge threatened the bridge due to the close proximity of the bridge's abutments to the surface of the river. The bridge was repaired when the ice piled around the abutments which resulted in a 24-foot (7.3 m) tall stone wall being constructed around the abutments.[4]
The protection around the abutments held for about another forty years, then on January 23, 1938, the bridge collapsed. A sudden wind storm on Lake Erie sent lots of ice over the falls resulting in nearly 100 feet (30 m) of ice pushing against the bridge.[4] The final collapse occurred at 4:20pm, after drawing thousands of people who had come to watch the bridge go. It collapsed in one piece into the river. Demolition of what was left of the bridge took place from February to April 1938 when all of the pieces were either removed or had sunk.[5] Construction of a new bridge dubbed Rainbow Bridge was built in the early 1940s that replaced the collapsed bridge.[4]
Gallery
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Upper Steel Arch Bridge from Goat Island, 1900
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Collapse of the Honeymoon Bridge in winter storm
References
- ↑ Encyclopaedia Britannica 1911
- ↑ Honeymoon Bridge at Structurae
- ↑ "The Honeymoon Steel Arch Bridge". niagarafallsinfo.com. Retrieved 2014-12-15.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Fall Of The Honeymoon Bridge". niagarafallsmuseums.ca. Retrieved 2014-12-15.
- ↑ "Collapse of the Honeymoon Bridge". www.niagarafrontier.com. Retrieved 2014-12-15.
External links
- CBC Radio Archives Announcing the collapse of the bridge (1938)
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