Description: John A. Roebling suspension bridge over the Ohio River was completed in 1866 and connects Cincinnati, Ohio to Covington, Kentucky. Photograph ca. 1935-1943. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B01F17_030
Subjects: Suspension bridges--Ohio--Cincinnati
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: John A. Roebling suspension bridge, completed in 1866, connects Cincinnati, Ohio to Covington, Kentucky. Photograph ca. 1935-1943. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B01F17_031
Subjects: Suspension bridges--Ohio--Cincinnati
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: Caption reads: "Suspension Bridge, taken from underneath Bridge at foot of Vine st." Designed by engineer John A. Roebling, the Covington and Cincinnati Bridge was completed in December of 1866, following a decade of construction which was delayed by the Civil War and financial constraints. At the time it was built, the bridge had the longest main span in the world and was also the first bridge to use both vertical suspenders and diagonal stays branching out from the towers. The bridge was remodeled in 1894 to widen the deck and to accommodate more weight. The bridge, known locally as “The Suspension Bridge,” was renamed the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge in 1984. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B01F17_039_001
Subjects: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio); Suspension bridges--1930-1940
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge, which links Covington, Kentucky, with Cincinnati, Ohio. Formerly named the Covington-Cincinnati Bridge, the structure was the first Ohio River bridge linking the North and South after the Civil War. This view shows the bridge and downtown Cincinnati skyline. In 1846 the Kentucky General Assembly granted a charter to the founders of the Covington & Cincinnati Bridge Company, which hoped to build a bridge across the Ohio River that would connect the two cities. Cincinnati was a major metropolis by the 1850s, and Kentucky farmers and businessmen hoped to have an easier time transporting their goods to the city. For various reasons, many Ohioans were less enthusiastic. As a result of this opposition, the Ohio legislature did not grant the Covington & Cincinnati Bridge Company a charter to construct a bridge in 1849. Despite these hurdles, the Covington & Cincinnati Bridge Company persevered, and in 1856 it signed civil engineer John A. Roebling (1806-1869) to construct a suspension bridge. Construction began that year, but it stopped the next year due to the Panic of 1857. Construction resumed during the American Civil War when Ohio and federal government authorities realized the need for a bridge to supply the soldiers operating in the South. Due to the high inflation during the war, Roebling had to pay his workers in gold, and shortages forced him to import some construction materials from England. Workers completed a small footbridge across the Ohio River on September 24, 1865, nearly six months after the war ended. This initial bridge gave construction workers an easier means of stringing the cables. The Covington & Cincinnati Suspension Bridge was opened to pedestrian traffic on December 1, 1866, but its formal opening occurred a month later. To help offset the construction cost (approximately $1.8 million), the company established tollbooths at both ends of the bridge and charged three cents per person to walk across the span. At the time of its completion, it was the world’s longest suspension bridge (a span of 1,619 feet. When the Ohio River flooded in 1937, the Covington & Cincinnati Suspension Bridge was the only bridge that remained open along the Ohio River between Steubenville, Ohio, and Cairo, Illinois, a distance of more than eight hundred miles. The bridge was privately operated until Kentucky purchased it in 1953. In 1982 the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet officially renamed it the “John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge.” It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975. The Covington & Cincinnati Suspension Bridge is regarded as a prototype for Roebling’s next project, which would become his most famous structure. The New York Bridge Company hired him to design and build a bridge over the East River that would connect Brooklyn and Manhattan. Roebling, however, would not live to see the completion of the world-famous Brooklyn Bridge. He contracted tetanus after being injured on the work site and died in 1869. His son Washington Roebling, a civil engineer, and daughter-in-law Emily Warren Roebling supervised the construction and completion of the bridge, which opened in 1883. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06656
Subjects: John A. Roebling Bridge (Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Ky.); Suspension bridges; National Historic Landmarks Program (U.S.); Roebling, John Augustus, 1806-1869; Bridges; Ohio River
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge, which links Covington, Kentucky, with Cincinnati, Ohio. Formerly named the Covington-Cincinnati Bridge, the structure was the first Ohio River bridge linking the North and South after the Civil War. This view shows the bridge from the Kentucky side looking toward the downtown Cincinnati skyline. Clearly visible are the suspension cables and one of the bridge towers. In 1846 the Kentucky General Assembly granted a charter to the founders of the Covington & Cincinnati Bridge Company, which hoped to build a bridge across the Ohio River that would connect the two cities. Cincinnati was a major metropolis by the 1850s, and Kentucky farmers and businessmen hoped to have an easier time transporting their goods to the city. For various reasons, many Ohioans were less enthusiastic. As a result of this opposition, the Ohio legislature did not grant the Covington & Cincinnati Bridge Company a charter to construct a bridge in 1849. Despite these hurdles, the Covington & Cincinnati Bridge Company persevered, and in 1856 it signed civil engineer John A. Roebling (1806-1869) to construct a suspension bridge. Construction began that year, but it stopped the next year due to the Panic of 1857. Construction resumed during the American Civil War when Ohio and federal government authorities realized the need for a bridge to supply the soldiers operating in the South. Due to the high inflation during the war, Roebling had to pay his workers in gold, and shortages forced him to import some construction materials from England. Workers completed a small footbridge across the Ohio River on September 24, 1865, nearly six months after the war ended. This initial bridge gave construction workers an easier means of stringing the cables. The Covington & Cincinnati Suspension Bridge was opened to pedestrian traffic on December 1, 1866, but its formal opening occurred a month later. To help offset the construction cost (approximately $1.8 million), the company established tollbooths at both ends of the bridge and charged three cents per person to walk across the span. At the time of its completion, it was the world’s longest suspension bridge (a span of 1,619 feet). When the Ohio River flooded in 1937, the Covington & Cincinnati Suspension Bridge was the only bridge that remained open along the Ohio River between Steubenville, Ohio, and Cairo, Illinois, a distance of more than eight hundred miles. The bridge was privately operated until Kentucky purchased it in 1953. In 1982 the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet officially renamed it the “John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge.” It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975. The Covington & Cincinnati Suspension Bridge is regarded as a prototype for Roebling’s next project, which would become his most famous structure. The New York Bridge Company hired him to design and build a bridge over the East River that would connect Brooklyn and Manhattan. Roebling, however, would not live to see the completion of the world-famous Brooklyn Bridge. He contracted tetanus after being injured on the work site and died in 1869. His son Washington Roebling, a civil engineer, and daughter-in-law Emily Warren Roebling supervised the construction and completion of the bridge, which opened in 1883. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06657
Subjects: John A. Roebling Bridge (Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Ky.); Suspension bridges; National Historic Landmarks Program (U.S.); Roebling, John Augustus, 1806-1869; Bridges; Ohio River
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: In January and February of 1937, weeks of heavy rainfall caused the Ohio River to flood parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky, causing $500 million in property damages, and displacing and killing hundreds. By the end of January, the Ohio River measured 80 feet deep in Cincinnati, one of the areas most affected. This photograph is taken from the private bridge of the Wheeling Steel Corp. in Steubenville, Ohio, looking north. At the center are slag piles, and Fort Steuben Bridge is in the distance. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dispatched thousands of relief workers from the Works Progress Administration to rescue flood victims and restore affected cities. In 1935, President Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F06_017_001
Subjects: Wheeling Steel Corporation; Suspension bridges--Ohio; Ohio River; Floods; Natural disasters; Works Progress Administration; Ohio Federal Writers' Project
Places: Steubenville (Ohio); Jefferson County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated ca. 1930s, this photograph shows the Anthony Wayne suspension bridge in Toledo in Lucas County, Ohio, looking northwest from the east bank of the Maumee River, connecting Clayton Street to Woodville Road. The bridge was constructed in 1931 and spans the Maumee River in downtown Toledo. The bridge, also known as the "The High-level," was constructed by the McClintic-Marshall Company. Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was a United States Army general and statesman. Wayne adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him a promotion to the rank of brigadier general and the nickname of Mad Anthony. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B13F12_032_001
Subjects: Maumee River; Suspension bridges--Ohio; Civil engineering; Ohio Federal Writers' Project; Works Progress Administration
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows Fort Steuben during a flood, possibly the 1937 Ohio River flood, also referred to as the Great Flood. A note on the reverse reads “River at flood stage at Ft. Steuben Jefferson County.” This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B15F03_008_01
Subjects: Fort Steuben (Steubenville, Ohio); Floods; Ohio River; Suspension bridges--Ohio
Places: Steubenville (Ohio); Jefferson County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows the steamer ore boat "Steelton of Wilmington" docked alongside railroad tracks in Toledo, Ohio. This was probably owned by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation (1857 - 2003), based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and used for transporting coal or steel. In the background can be seen the Anthony Wayne Suspension Bridge. The bridge, built in 1931by the McClintic - Marshall Company is 1252 long in total. Also called The High Level Bridge, it has various lattice patterns, as well as a large "X" in each of the towers. Unusual is the fact that the the extender cables running down from the main cable are in sets of two, rather than the more common single extender. Spanning the Maumee River and currently painted sky blue, it connects Clayton Street to Woodville Road with Routes 2, 21 and 65 also using the bridge. The bridge was named after General Anthony Wayne. Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was a United States Army general and statesman. Wayne adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him a promotion to the rank of brigadier general and the nickname of Mad Anthony. Among his many actions and accomplishments, on August 20, 1794, Wayne mounted an assault on the Indian confederacy at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, in modern Maumee, Ohio (just south of present-day Toledo), which was a decisive victory for the U.S. forces, ending the war. Wayne then negotiated the Treaty of Greenville between the tribal confederacy and the United States, which was signed on August 3, 1795. The treaty gave most of what is now Ohio to the United States, and cleared the way for that state to enter the Union in 1803. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F09_037_1
Subjects: Lake Erie; Erie, Lake, Coast (Ohio); Steamships; Suspension Bridges Ohio; Wayne, Anthony, 1745-1796
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: Caption reads "River front, looking toward Market Street Bridge, Steubenville." Built in 1905, this suspension bridge was originally designed to carry light traffic until 1922 repairs designed by David Steinman increased the bridge's load-bearing capacity. The bridge crosses the Ohio River, connecting West Virginia and Ohio, and is still in use. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B01F18_015_001
Subjects: Suspension bridges--1930-1940; Steubenville (Ohio)--History--Pictorial works; Ohio River--History
Places: Steubenville (Ohio); Jefferson County (Ohio)