The Bridge of Lions is a double-leaf

bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- o ...

that spans the

Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following t ...

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. A part of State Road A1A, it connects downtown St. Augustine to

Anastasia Island Anastasia Island is a barrier island located off the northeast Atlantic coast of Florida in the United States. It sits east of St. Augustine, running north–south in a slightly southeastern direction to Matanzas Inlet. The island is about long ...

across

Matanzas Bay Matanzas Bay is a saltwater bay in St. Johns County, Florida; the entrance to the bay from the South Atlantic is via St. Augustine inlet. Bodies of water that connect to the bay in addition to the South Atlantic are clockwise from the inlet: *Sal ...

. A pair of copies of the

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

Medici lion The Medici lions are a pair of marble sculptures of lions: one of which is Roman, dating to the 2nd century AD, and the other a 16th-century pendant. Both were by 1598 placed at the Villa Medici, Rome. Since 1789 they have been displayed at t ...

s guard the bridge, begun in 1925 and completed in 1927. They were removed in February 2005 and returned in March 2011. ''Roads & Bridges'' magazine named the Bridge of Lions as fourth in the nation's top 10 bridges for 2010. Projects were evaluated based on size, community impact and challenges resolved. The

United States Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States and ...

declared the bridge "structurally deficient and functionally obsolete" in 1999, prompting heated debates on what to do with the structure. A restoration plan was approved, but opponents continued to voice their opposition.

Reynolds, Smith & Hills RS&H, Inc. (RS&H) is an American facilities and infrastructure consulting firm in the United States. The privately held architectural, engineering, planning, and environmental services corporation is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, where ...

from nearby Jacksonville was awarded the engineering and design contract, estimated at $77 million, and projected to require five years to complete.

First Bridge

Prior to the Bridge of Lions in 1925, there was a wooden bridge, called simply, "The Bridge to Anastasia Island" or "South Beach railroad bridge". It was built in 1895, and after a major renovation in 1904, the bridge could accommodate a trolley. The span contained no rise, and had a movable opening for ship traffic, and charged a toll for transit.

Original Bridge of Lions

The old bridge frequently broke down, leading to calls for its replacement over the years. The man considered the "Father of the Bridge of Lions" was Henry Rodenbaugh, the vice president and bridge expert for Henry Flagler's

Florida East Coast Railway The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México. Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a p ...

. In the early 1920s he organized the bond issue to finance the new bridge, selected engineers

J. E. Greiner Company J. E. Greiner Company was a Baltimore, Maryland-based civil engineering firm specializing in bridge design. History The firm was founded in 1908 by former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad bridge engineer John Edwin Greiner (February 24, 1859 – ...

to design it—and had his young daughter Jean pour the first bucket of concrete when the work began in 1925. Its construction came at the height of the extravagant Florida land boom of the 1920s, and the bridge is one of its greatest landmarks. It was designed not merely to carry cars, but to be a work of art, and it cost ten times as much as more prosaic bridges constructed nearby at the same time. It was completed after the land boom busted, and the 1927 dedication ceremony had to be paired with the annual Ponce de Leon Celebration in cash-strapped St. Augustine. The Bridge of Lions is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was included by the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) on its list of the "11 Most Endangered Historic Sites" in the nation for 1997. The Bridge of Lions was later featured on the cover of the Trust's 1999 engagement calendar. From its earliest days, it was hailed as "The Most Beautiful Bridge in Dixie." It has long been a symbol of the nation's oldest city. It gets its name from two Carrara marble ''

Medici lions The Medici lions are a pair of marble sculptures of lions: one of which is Roman, dating to the 2nd century AD, and the other a 16th-century pendant. Both were by 1598 placed at the Villa Medici, Rome. Since 1789 they have been displayed at th ...

'' statues that are copies of those found in the

Loggia dei Lanzi The Loggia dei Lanzi, also called the Loggia della Signoria, is a building on a corner of the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy, adjoining the Uffizi Gallery. It consists of wide arches open to the street. The arches rest on clustered pi ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The statues were a gift of Dr. Andrew Anderson (1839–1924), the builder of the Markland House, who spent the last decade of his life putting works of art in public places in the Ancient City. The statues were his last gift, and he did not live long enough to see them installed. He had them made by the Romanelli Studios in Florence, Italy, which a decade earlier had provided him with smaller versions which he displayed on the front steps at Markland. The Medici lions are also known for the copies placed in the Throne Room of the

Royal Palace of Madrid The Royal Palace of Madrid ( es, Palacio Real de Madrid) is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now used only for state ceremonies. The palace has of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the ...

Temporary bridge

A temporary bridge was constructed adjacent to the original bridge and traffic was diverted to this structure while the original bridge was being rehabilitated and reconstructed to look like its predecessor. After nearly 80 years of service, an official closing ceremony for the original Bridge of Lions was held on May 26, 2006. Isabella Heard, one of the young girls on the lead float in the opening of the bridge in 1927, was there, in a wheelchair, to tie the ribbon for its closing 79 years later. Several components of the original bridge were either rehabilitated or returned (as lost components) to the rehabilitated bridge. Primarily, the exterior or fascia steel girders were rehabilitated along with the bascule tower piers. Once the rehabilitation of the original bridge was completed, at a total project cost of $80 million and 4 percent over budget, the temporary bridge was removed and used as part of an artificial reef just offshore. The two lions were in safe storage for the duration of the construction.

New Bridge of Lions

Renovation work was completed on March 17, 2010 when it reopened for use. Following the removal of the temporary bridge (to an offshore reef), and landscaping, the restored Lion statues were returned after a 6-year absence, early in the morning of March 15, 2011, principally completing the bridge renovation project. The current bridge's west entrance features manicured gazebos, landscaped palm trees and a new publicly accessible dock extending partially into the bay. Currently per the

Code of Federal Regulations In the law of the United States, the ''Code of Federal Regulations'' (''CFR'') is the codification of the general and permanent regulations promulgated by the executive departments and agencies of the federal government of the United States. ...

, the bridge opens when requested by a vessel, but only on the hour and half hour between 7:00am and 6:00pm, excluding at 8:00am, 12:00pm, and 5:00pm on Monday through Friday other than

federal holidays in the United States Federal holidays in the United States are the eleven calendar dates that are designated by the U.S. government as holidays. On U.S. federal holidays, non-essential federal government offices are closed and federal government employees are paid ...

Gallery

Image:Original Bridge of Lions.jpg, The original bridge to Anastasia Island, prior to the Bridge of Lions File:Bridge of Lions opened for a replica pirate ship (2012).jpg, The bridge's bascule draw span open for a ship Image:Lion on SA Bridge of Lions.jpg, A

on the bridge, prior to renovation and relocation. Image:2007-12-31-IMG 1174.JPG, New Years fireworks at St Augustine seen through the Bridge of Lions, with the structure of the temporary bridge visible. File:Bridge of Lions.JPG, The lions restored to their original 1925 location, following completion of the bridge upgrade. Image:Bridge of Lions from west.jpg, The bridge as seen from the west bank, in downtown Saint Augustine. Image:Bridge of Lions.jpg, The bridge, with the center span open, as seen from the

Castillo de San Marcos The Castillo de San Marcos ( Spanish for "St. Mark's Castle") is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States; it is located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in the city of St. Augustine, Florida. It was designed by the Spanish ...

Notes

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridge Of Lions Bridges completed in 1927 Bascule bridges in the United States Intracoastal Waterway Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida National Register of Historic Places in St. Johns County, Florida Buildings and structures in St. Augustine, Florida Transportation buildings and structures in St. Johns County, Florida Drawbridges on the National Register of Historic Places Former toll bridges in Florida 1927 establishments in Florida Steel bridges in the United States Sculptures of lions