Cherry Street Bridge (1884)

It's definitely been lost in the annals of time that these beautiful spans once donned magnificent paint schemes. Too bad they didn't have color photography back then so we could truly see it!

Paul,

Interestingly, both colors on Gallman are correct but I agree with you, I like the white better. I like the fact that they at least tried to replicate the missing trim. BTW, Keowee was originally at least four colors.

Nels recently did a really nice job on a two color bowstring. There may be some stuff in the pipeline but no guarantees.

Regards,

Art S.

Nathan,

While you're kidding, you're not really wrong. The builder's home town bridges, e.g. Penn Bridge Co.'s Fallston Bridge and Columbia Bridge Co.'s Keowee St. Bridge were multi-color, over the top wonders. The builder's photos are eye opening. The same applied to important town bridges. But before standardization, most bridges had elegant details and cast additions that added charm and beauty above pure utility. At this point, we're happy if a bridge still exists even though, often, many of the original details have been lost.

With the exception of the utilitarian cast Whipples, almost all of the cast iron bridges had striking initial paint jobs.

Early photos take a little interpretation because they are black and white but with bit of study, you get a sense of the coloration. Occasionally you can find a period painting that reveals the colors but another reference to give you a sense of things are 1860 - 1880 color pattern charts from steam engine makers.

Once we stem the tide of destruction, it would be nice to get some of these details replicated.

Regards,

Art S.

Or else Toledo saw what Napoleon, Ohio had built five years before them on Perry Street (another Smith span: https://bridgehunter.com/oh/henry/river/) and were jealous that a small town like that would get ahead of them in building a deluxe iron bridge when all they had was an old wooden swing span!

Art,

As amazing as it would be to see a bridge like this today (basically Wells Street x 4 in size!!) it would be even more impressive to see one actually decked out in multiple colors such as you describe! Paint schemes like the all-black Gallman Bridge in Newark, Ohio just don't quite do the trick--I liked the original white much better. But hey, at least it's being preserved!

They saw what Fort Wayne, IN was putting up on Wells Street this same very year and IMMEDIATELY called the nearest bridge company to demand their most ornate package with all the extras! That's a joke. Maybe! Its in Toledo, it probably was a source of pride for Toledo-based Smith Bridge Company. If you like old photos of fancy pin-connected trusses, Chicago used to have some real gems before the swing bridge extermination brought on by the War Department.

Paul,

Absolutely agree! My guess is three colors. Amazingly, as you find more builders photos, you'll discover this was the norm rather than the exception ack then. The B & O Bollmans were over the top as were most of the cast iron bridges.

Once we stem the tide of losing them, we can work to restore the lost trim an color! While there are a few in the country that have been restored properly, imagine encountering something like this while simply out for a drive!

Regards,

Art S.

Looking at this University of Toledo image of this bridge's incredible portals....all I can say is WOW! Definitely a contender for the position of "Ohio's Most Ornate!"

https://utdr.utoledo.edu/islandora/object/utoledo%3A2540/dat...