Description
Collection of Publications on the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge over the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio.
This collection includes the following books and views, housed in a custom red morocco clamshell. Annual Report of the Covington & Cincinnati Bridge Company (Trenton, 1867) by Amos Shinkle; Wire In Electrical Construction (Trenton, 1916); Roebling Wire Rope and Wire (Trenton, 1920); Master Bridge Builders: The Story of the Roeblings by Kathryn E. Harrod (First Edition, 1958).
In February of 1846, the Covington and Cincinnati Bridge Company was incorporated and asked John Roebling to plan a bridge. His plan was finished in September of 1846. His proposal called for one “monumental tower” in the middle of the Ohio River to support the structure, but the design would obstruct steamboat traffic. The Ohio legislature refused to support the initial plan, fearing the economic impact on river traffic. With a revised plan and a proposed 1400-foot main span, the plan was approved and construction began in 1854. The Panic of 1857 slowed construction, but the necessity of the bridge became apparent to all during the Civil War, when pontoon bridges were required to move Union troops to the south. Construction resumed in 1864, and the first pedestrians walked over the “Cincinnati-Covington Bridge” on December 1, 1866. The bridge was locally known as “The Suspension Bridge,” but was officially renamed the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge in 1983. After the completion of the Cincinnati bridge, John A. Roebling would be tasked with building the Brooklyn Bridge, his most iconic structure, in New York City.
