Home Om778_1004161_001

Reference URL

Add tags

Comment

Save to favorites

To link to the entire object, paste this link in email, IM or document

To embed the entire object, paste this HTML in website

To link to this page, paste this link in email, IM or document

To embed this page, paste this HTML in website

Roebling Suspension Bridge Pamphlets

you wish to report:

Your comment:

Your Name:

Submit

Cancel

...

Title	Roebling Suspension Bridge Pamphlets
Subject	Transportation Suspension bridges Bridges Roebling, Charles G. (Charles Gustavus), 1849-1918
Place	Cincinnati (Ohio) Hamilton County (Ohio)
Description	These two documents, which measure 5.5" by 8" (13.97 by 20.32 cm), relate to the Roebling Suspension Bridge, also known as the Newport Bridge, which connects Covington, Kentucky and Cincinnati. After the Civil War, Cincinnati needed another bridge across the Ohio River. Two opposing camps quickly published pamphlets justifying their views on the length between the support columns of the proposed bridge. In the end, Roebling's bridge with a 500-foot span between columns was built. The first 39-page pamphlet argues that 500 feet is "practical and can be safely constructed." Chief among those arguing for the longer span was John A. Roebling (1805-1869), who had completed a span for Cincinnati ten years earlier that enabled him to solve many of the problems for his later achievement, the Brooklyn Bridge. Other experts who were more familiar with the Ohio River and its unique problems also supported the plan. Pointing out the hazards to navigation and the effects upon river currents of piers placed too closely, Roebling lists bridges with much longer spans that have been constructed successfully in many parts of the country. On the opposing side, the second 31-page pamphlet, primarily written by railroad companies, argues that a bridge with a span of 500 feet is "hazardous, and an untried experiment." While the railroads argued safety of shorter spans and ease of construction, the cost and additional time needed to construct a longer stronger bridge are the underlying factors behind their view.
Creator	Bradley & Power
Date of Original	1868
Source	Published material HE2701 R 36 no. 10 HE2701 R36 no. 11
Submitting Institution	Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center
Type	Text

Title	Om778_1004161_001
Rights	For rights and reproduction requests, go to the Ohio Historical Society's Audiovisual and Graphic Reproduction Services page at http://www.ohiohistory.org/resource/audiovis/photodup.html; Online access is provided for research purposes only. For rights and reproduction requests or more information, go to http://www.ohiohistory.org/images/information
File Name	Om778_1004161_001.tif
Image Height	3235
Image Width	2148
File Size	559.351 KB
Full Text	// BRIDGING THE OHIO RIVER. 300 Feet Span Insufficient and Unsafe for Navigation. 500 Feet Span Practical, and can be Safely Constructed, TESTIMOiNY OF SCIEiNCE AND EXPERIENCE. PEOPLE APPEAL TO THEIR LEGISLATORS. Facts Concerning Connmerce, Navigation, and Bridge Construction. COI^GEESS THE CONSTITUTIONAL GUARDIAN OF COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION. A SYSTEM OF BRIDGING NAVIGABLE RIVERS IN KEEPING WITH THB MARCH OF PROGRESS. VESTED RIGHTS TO BE MAINTAINED.

Find results with:

Searching collections:

Home Om778_1004161_001

Roebling Suspension Bridge Pamphlets

Object Description

Description

Tags

Comments

Roebling Suspension Bridge Pamphlets

Roebling Suspension Bridge Pamphlets

	All
	Pages Enter page numbers or page ranges separated by commas. For example: 1,3,5-12