The Newport Southbank Bridge, popularly known as the Purple People Bridge, stretches 2,670 feet over the Ohio River, connecting

Newport, Kentucky Newport is a home rule-class city at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking rivers in Campbell County, Kentucky. The population was 15,273 at the 2010 census. Historically, it was one of four county seats of Campbell County. Newport is a majo ...

to downtown

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

History

The original bridge first opened on April 1, 1872, under the name Newport and Cincinnati Bridge, and was Cincinnati's first railroad bridge spanning the Ohio River. The bridge piers were built with stone from

Adams County, Ohio Adams County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,477. Its county seat is West Union. The county is named after John Adams, the second President of the United States. Geography According to the ...

. The present bridge, which was built on the original piers (which were widened during that work), opened in 1897 to streetcar, pedestrian and automobile traffic. In 1904, the bridge was renamed the L&N (Louisville and Nashville) Railroad Bridge, and this name remained until the bridge was rehabilitated and re-opened as a pedestrian-only bridge in May 2003. The bridge was closed to railroad traffic in 1987, and later closed to automobile traffic in October 2001 after years of neglect and deterioration. On April 17, 2001, the L&N Railroad Bridge was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. In late 2001, the city of

, and Southbank Partners, an economic development group, used $4 million in state funds to restore the bridge. When it was time to decide on what color to paint it, a variety of options were explored. Computer-generated images of the bridge were shown to participants in more than a dozen focus groups, all of whom picked the color purple as a top choice. It was soon coined the "Purple People Bridge" by area residents. The bridge provides convenient access to the " Newport on the Levee" development in Newport, Kentucky, as well as

Downtown Cincinnati Downtown Cincinnati is the central business district of Cincinnati, Ohio, as well the economic and symbiotic center of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. It also contains a number of urban neighborhoods in the low land area between the Ohio Ri ...

. In 2006, it became possible for the public to cross the bridge via its superstructure wearing appropriate safety gear. There are similar bridge climb experiences in Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Citing lack of funds and low attendance, the Purple People Bridge Climb closed on May 23, 2007. The bridge remains open to pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

Gallery

Purplepeoplebridge.jpg, The bridge as viewed from the

Carew Tower Carew Tower is a 49-story, Art Deco building completed in 1930 in the heart of downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, overlooking the Ohio River waterfront. The structure is the second-tallest building in the city, and it was added to the register of Nati ...

observation deck Newport Southbank Bridge deck 2017.jpg, Deck of the bridge File:Newport - KY-6324.jpg File:Newport - KY-6323.jpg

References

External links

*
Early bridge photograph circa 1910
from the Cincinnati Memory project

at Cincinnati Transit

at the

Cincinnati Enquirer ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the ''Enquirer'' is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, alt ...

Newport Southbank Bridge
at Bridges & Tunnels
Purple People Bridge
at Nikibone
L&N Cincinnati-Newport Railroad Bridge
at BridgeHunter {{Registered Historic Places Bridges completed in 1872 Bridges completed in 1897 Railroad bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky Railroad bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Bridges in Cincinnati Louisville and Nashville Railroad Newport, Kentucky Bridges over the Ohio River National Register of Historic Places in Campbell County, Kentucky National Register of Historic Places in Cincinnati Truss bridges in the United States Former road bridges in the United States Former railway bridges in the United States Road-rail bridges in the United States Pedestrian bridges in Kentucky Pedestrian bridges in Ohio Transportation in Campbell County, Kentucky Rail trail bridges in the United States Rail trails in Kentucky Rail trails in Ohio 1872 establishments in Ohio 1872 establishments in Kentucky 1897 establishments in Ohio 1897 establishments in Kentucky

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links