How the suspension bridge became our icon
Some 50,000 were there to celebrate that triumph. At 10 a.m. Jan. 1, 1867, three cities in two states came to the shores of the river with pennies in our pockets.
We hummed along to the band. We waved at the drivers of the horse-drawn wagons, as each traveled the first bridge to bring us together, 100 feet above the icy current.
But from that first morning, the bridge has been more than a way to get from here to there.
It was, and remains, an engineering and architectural milestone, constructed in the past for a future – in weight and volume and scope – the builders never saw but knew was coming. A span of 1,057 feet that continues to shape how we move through the world.