The Upper Steel Arch Bridge, also known as the Honeymoon Bridge or Fallsview Bridge (less frequently Falls View Bridge), was an international bridge which crossed the

Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York in the United States (on the east). There are diffe ...

, connecting

Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the Canada 2016 Census, 2016 census. It is part of the List of census ...

, Canada, with

Niagara Falls, New York Niagara Falls is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 48,671. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and named after the fame ...

, United States. It was located about upriver of the present-day Rainbow Bridge. It collapsed in 1938.

History

Built in 1897–98 by the Pencoyd Bridge Company, the Upper Steel Arch Bridge was located closer to the American Falls than the bridge that it replaced. When completed, the bridge became the largest steel

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...

in the world. Its features included a double track for trolley cars and room for carriages and pedestrians. The bridge had to be constantly protected from

ice bridge An ice bridge is a frozen natural structure formed over seas, bays, rivers or lake surfaces. They facilitate migration of animals or people over a water body that was previously uncrossable by terrestrial animals, including humans. The most si ...

s that formed over the river every winter. In January 1899 a huge ice bridge threatened the bridge when ice piled around its

abutment An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining wal ...

s due to their close proximity to the river's surface. The bridge was subsequently fortified with a tall stone wall around the abutments. The protection around the abutments held for about another forty years, until January 27, 1938, when the bridge collapsed. A sudden wind storm on

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also ha ...

sent a massive amount of ice over the falls, resulting in nearly of ice pushing against the bridge. Final collapse occurred at 4:20 pm, before thousands of onlookers who had come to watch the bridge go. The structure collapsed in one piece into the river. Demolition of what was left of the bridge took place from February to April 1938 when all of the pieces were either removed or had sunk. Construction of a replacement bridge was undertaken shortly thereafter, this time with the abutments much higher off the river. It was named the Rainbow Bridge and opened in November 1941.

Gallery

File:Honeymoon Bridge, Niagara Falls (1900).jpg, Upper Steel Arch Bridge from

Goat Island Goat Island (or Goat Islands) may refer to: Arts * Goat Island (performance group), a Chicago-based company * ''Goat Island'' (play), ''Delitto all'isola delle capre'', by Ugo Betti Places Australia * Goat Island (Port Jackson) in Sydney Harbou ...

, 1900 File:Curtiss Model D. flies under Honeymoon Bridge, Niagara River (circa 1911).jpg, Curtiss Model D flies under Honeymoon Bridge, circa 1911 File:Steamboat and Honeymoon Bridge.jpg,

Maid of the Mist The Maid of the Mist is a sightseeing boat tour of Niagara Falls, starting and ending on the American side, crossing briefly into Canada during a portion of the trip. The fleet currently consists of two vessels, both of which launched in 2020. ...

beneath Honeymoon Bridge, circa 1920 File:Honeymoon Bridge Collapse Niagara Falls Jan 1938.jpg, Collapsed bridge on ice jam in Niagara River (view from Canadian side) File:Honeymoon Bridge Collapse.jpg, Collapsed bridge (view from U.S. side) File:Honeymoon Bridge 1 220.jpg, Closer view of collapse

References

External links

CBC Radio Archives
Announcing the collapse of the bridge (1938) {{Authority control Bridges in Niagara Falls, Ontario Bridge disasters in Canada Bridge disasters caused by engineering error Bridge disasters caused by maintenance error Bridge disasters in the United States Transportation disasters in New York (state) Bridges completed in 1898 Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in Canada Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in the United States Steel bridges in the United States Steel bridges in Canada Road bridges in New York (state) 1938 disasters in Canada 1938 disasters in the United States