Walnut Street Bridge

Completed in 1890, Walnut Street Bridge is the oldest surviving structure to have spanned the Susquehanna River and one of the largest multi-span truss bridges ever fabricated by the nationally significant Phoenix Bridge Company. It is also the oldest metal span bridge of its type in the U.S. and one of the most visible bridges in the country to preserve the technology of the company's patented Phoenix column. Originally known as the People's Bridge because of its lower fee to cross, it was erected to end a long-standing toll monopoly enjoyed by the neighboring Camelback Bridge, now the site of the Market Street Bridge. Both bridges continued to collect tolls well into the 1950's. Permanently closed to vehicular traffic after damage from Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972, the bridge was almost demolished, but that was averted through its listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Since then, it has served as a pedestrian and bicycle span. The bridge was damaged again by the ice flood in 1996, when three sections of its western span were washed away. Its eastern span survived intact, was thoroughly restored in 1997, and stands as a lighted icon symbolizing the bridge's continued resilience and historical importance to the growth of the Harrisburg region.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania · United States