Photos 

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Oblique view from southwest

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View from riverfront

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Oblique view from northwest

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West approach

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Deck view

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Lewis and Clark statue

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Center span

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Center pier

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Below one arch

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Directly underneath

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Westbound train

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Eyebars

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Interface between arch and pier

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Arcade arches

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Removed arch

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Eads and Gateway arches

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Postcard: Deck view

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Postcard: Passing steamboat

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Postcard: Skyline

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Rail deck with no rails

These three black-and-white photos were taken May 1983 by Jet Lowe for the Historic American Engineering Record and show the bridge before its change of ownership and rehabilitation
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Tollbooth

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East approach for railroad tracks

Map 

Vicinity Map

Vicinity map

Map links:

Timeline 

Compiled by James Baughn

1839
Charles Ellet proposes building a suspension bridge across the Mississippi, but the project is rejected by the city as too expensive

1855
Josiah Dent of St. Louis receives permission to build a suspension railroad bridge, but cannot raise enough money

1856
John A. Roebling proposes a suspension bridge, but this venture is also unsuccessful

1866
Congress issues charter authorizing the St. Louis and Illinois Bridge Co. to build a bridge in downtown St. Louis, but with several restrictions intended to cripple the project

1867
Company selects James Eads as engineer-in-chief

Feb. 25, 1868
Cornerstone laid on top of bedrock for the west abutment

Mar. 5, 1868
The company buys out the rival Illinois and St. Louis Bridge Co., which unsuccessfully tried to sabotage the project

Feb. 28, 1870
East channel pier caisson reaches bedrock

Apr. 1, 1870
West pier reaches bedrock

Mar. 8, 1871
Tornado causes one death and $50,000 in damage

Apr. 30, 1871
East abutment caisson completed

Feb. 1870
Keystone Bridge Co. of Pittsburgh contracted to erect the steel arches

May 24, 1874
Upper roadway deck opened to pedestrians

June 9, 1874
First train crosses the rail deck

July 4, 1874
Bridge officially dedicated with a 15-mile long parade, inaugural train ride, speeches, and fireworks display

Apr. 14, 1875
Bridge company files for receivership because of delays in securing paying passenger train service

Dec. 20, 1878
Bridge sold at auction for $2.0 million

1881
Railroad magnate Jay Gould acquires the bridge and eventually the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis gains control

1974
Last Amtrak train crosses the bridge and the rails are later removed

Oct. 21, 1974
Designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark

Aug. 31, 1989
St. Louis acquires the bridge in a trade with the Terminal Railroad Association for the MacArthur Bridge

1993
MetroLink light rail service across the lower deck of the bridge begins operation

July 4, 2003
Upper deck is officially opened to vehicular and pedestrian traffic

Facts 

Overview
Three-span steel arch bridge over the Mississippi River in downtown St. Louis
Status
Top deck open to four lanes of traffic with a pedestrian lane, bottom deck open to two tracks of MetroLink light rail service
History
Built 1869-1874 under the direction of engineer James Buchanan Eads
Design
Steel arch
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 533.0 ft.
Total length: 4,024.9 ft.
Deck width: 45.9 ft.
Recognition
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966
Approximate latitude, longitude
+38.62882, -90.17860   (decimal degrees)
38°37'44" N, 90°10'43" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Inventory numbers
NRHP 66000946 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
MONBI 12992 (Missouri bridge number on the National Bridge Inventory)
BH 22625 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection (as of 05/2005)
Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Appraisal: Not deficient
Sufficiency rating: 80.4 (out of 100)
Average daily traffic (as of 2005)
2,000

Categories 

19th Century (1,704)
Arch (7,541)
Built 1874 (26)
Built during 1870s (251)
Deck arch (6,638)
Double decker (10)
HAER documented (282)
Illinois (815)
Mississippi River (88)
Missouri (2,322)
NR-listed (1,472)
Open (21,537)
Span length 500-1000 feet (233)
St. Clair County, Illinois (10)
St. Louis, Missouri (30)
State line crossing (143)
Steel arch (261)
Total length over 2500 feet (334)

Update Log 

Sources 

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Comments 

Eads Bridge
Posted October 5, 2007, by darrell clendenin (dmclendenin [at] hotmail [dot] com)

I lived in Illinois and worked for wohl shoe co on washington ave and use to drive that bridge everyday was a dime toll as I recall. I loved that bridge and Mc A that came out at the dog food co checker board square i think. anyway just a note we all love the bridge

Eads Bridge
Posted August 12, 2007, by Anonymous

I was born and raised in St. Louis. My father, who is a history buff, told me all about the bridge many times throughout my childhood and its mystique stuck with me. After all these years I still never tire of seeing it. I took the image below at sunrise in August of 2005. Coincidentally, my childhood neighborhood in Crestwood was next to the old Eads mansion which was demolished when I-44 was constructed.

That this wonderful structure is in use again after many years of neglect is one of the great success stories in historic bridge renovation. The lower train deck has been refurbished for use by the Metrolink light rail service and the upper road deck carries vehicular traffic.

Fans of the bridge should be aware of the book "The Eads Bridge". Originally published in 1979, it was out of print for many years until 1999 when a 2nd edition was published by the Missouri Historical Society Press. There is a remarkable, extensive black and white photographic essay and a companion history about the construction of the bridge. It's a wonderful publication.

Uploaded file: JPEG image data, JFIF standard 1.01, 61241 bytes

Eads Bridge
Posted December 19, 2006, by Terry Glass (tglass_13 [at] charter [dot] net)

I really miss the blue lights that used to shine acrossed the bridge. I wish someone could start a fund raiser to light it up again. It is a beautiful piece of St. Louis History and deserves the same lighting and respect as the Old Courthouse, Cathedral and the arch.

Light the bridge

Eads Bridge
Posted November 22, 2006, by meredith (meredithz13 [at] hotmail [dot] com)

My grandfather helped construct this bridge. He was one of the civil engineers that worked on it. I am proud of his work!

Eads Bridge
Posted June 26, 2006, by Donald Sowder (dsowder [at] oncliq [dot] net)

I have been a fan of old and/or unusual bridges for most of my 74 years. I appreciate the fine pictures and the information found at this website. Mr.Eads went on to contribute many engineering innovations on the Mississippi River.

Eads Bridge
Posted September 14, 2005, by george (gharaka [at] yahoo [dot] com)

I am reading a book " Rising Tides" which describes the building of this bridge and all the people involved.

I thank you for having so much good information on this site about this and other brdges