Designed by Polish-born engineer Ralph Modjeski, the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge features an arch and a drawbridge section weighing three million pounds. Following the success of the Tacony-Palmyra ferry, a private company erected the permanent bridge in 1929. The bridge, along with the Frankford Elevated and Roosevelt Boulevard, spurred development that turned farmland into orderly rows of houses set amid manicured lawns. Cars soon crowded the narrow streets approaching the bridge, forcing the city to improve roads and regulate traffic. When it opened on August 14, 1929, cars lined up as people waited to cross the 3,659-foot-long bridge.
