to be pedantic: those bridges are largely made of cast iron rather than steel, as steel was far more expensive when they were made.
ha, no, that’s awesome! so much fun to learn about
things like the Phoenix Column ... here’s a pic of
the Gualala Bridge that kind of shows the four piece,
riveted construction ...
... learned that it’s named after the
Phoenix Iron Works
back in my part of the world...
(neat to read about the
Calhoun Street Bridge, a
Phoenix Bridge Company span in Trenton, New Jersey,
part of the Lincoln Hwy and my old home town ...)
The Phoenix Column, patented by Samuel Reeves in 1862, was a hollow cylinder composed of four, six, or eight wrought iron segments riveted together. The resulting column was much lighter and stronger than the solid cast iron columns of the day. They allowed the construction of massive structures without brutally heavy load-bearing walls. Taller and taller buildings could now be built on narrow urban plots, helping facilitate the creation of the skyscraper and high-stress-load-bearing bridges.
... here’s Bridgehunter.com links to the
Gualala Bridge, the
Geysers Road Bridge and
the Philo
Greenwood Road Bridge where
we had lunch on Saturday ... was able to use the google street-view
on the Geyers Rd link and get a pretty good look
at its Phoenix Columns ... the Gualala link
has the best comments at the bottom ...
Haupt Creek has an entry as does
the funny little bridge on
Usal Road ...
... can’t wait to see one of the California
Phoenix Column bridges again so
I can take a good look ... :thumbup
... and what a treasure that
Bridgehunter.com site is ... :ride
... thanks for the post! :hail