The Burrard Bridge, the Granville Street Bridge, Lions Gate Bridge and the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge. There are several more in the city and in outlying municipalities crossing rivers.
Burrard Bridge
Built in the years 1930-1932, and also called the Burrard Street Bridge, this Art Deco style steel construction in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, is distinctive and reminds me of castles. It's a great place to watch fireworks and is one of the best viewpoints in the city. It crosses False Creek, connecting the downtown core with Kitsilano. |
| Burrard Bridge Vancouver BC Canada - WC |
Busts of Captain George Vancouver and Sir Harry Burrard-Neale in stylized prows of ships form part of the design on the bridge's structure. Both men played a part in Vancouver's exploration and history.
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Granville Street Bridge
Another bridge spanning False Creek is the Granville Street Bridge, a modern styled bridge which also rises above Granville Island, a crafters market and unique location in Vancouver, very near the downtown area. The first bridge, a timber trestle, was completed in 1889, and included a swing span. It was designed mostly by the CPR, and later included streetcar tracks. The bridge went through three transitions, as updates were made to facilitate traffic flow into the city. |
| Granville Street Bridge, Vancouver, BC Canada - WC |
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Lions Gate Bridge
The Lions Gate Bridge, officially called the First Narrows Bridge, is one of the most picturesque bridges in Vancouver, especially when lights illuminate the suspension cables at night. Opening in 1938, the bridge crosses Burrard Inlet and connects Vancouver to the North Shore, the City of North Vancouver and West Vancouver. The name 'Lions Gate' references The Lions, a pair of mountain peaks north of Vancouver which can be seen from the city..jpg) |
| Lions Gate Bridge - WC* (taken from a floatplane) Vancouver, BC Canada |
In 2005, the Lions Gate Bridge was named a National Historic Site of Canada. A pair of cast concrete lions are placed on either side of the approach to the bridge and also on the road in Stanley Park which passes over the causeway of the Lions Gate Bridge.
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IronWorkers Memorial Bridge (Second Narrows)
The Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, alternately called the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge, or the Second Narrows (original name) is the second bridge that crosses the Burrard Inlet in Vancouver, BC. This bridge connects Vancouver to the north shore of Burrard Inlet, North Vancouver, and West Vancouver, just as the Lions Gate Bridge does.
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| Ironworkers Memorial/Second Narrows, Vancouver, BC, Canada - WC |
On June 17, 1958, several spans collapsed as a crane attempted to join the two chords of the arch. Seventy-nine workers fell 100 feet (30 meters) into the water. Eighteen workers were killed instantly or died soon after. In a Royal Commission inquiry, the collapse was attributed to an engineering miscalculation.
In total, nineteen died in the collapse, along with four other workers during construction. Stomping Tom Connors paid a tribute to the fallen ironworkers with the song, The Bridge Came Tumbling Down on his 1972 album. In addition, Jimmy Dean in 1962, a country singer, sang Steel Men, a ballad about the Second Narrows bridge disaster.
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Are you a person who loves bridges? Do you have any favorites where you live? or in other cities? Do you know of any other bridges associated with songs?
Please leave a comment to let me know you were here, and I'll respond. Thanks for dropping by and I apologize for my absence but I am hovering and checking out other blogs when I can!
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References:
Image of Burrard Street Bridge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrard_Bridge
Burrard Bridge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrard_Bridge
Image of the Granville Street Bridge
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;...A copy of the license is included in the section entitled GNU Free Documentation License
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granville_Street_Bridge
Lions Gate Bridge Image
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; ...A copy of the license is included in the section entitled GNU Free Documentation License.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lions_Gate_Bridge
Image of Ironworkers Memorial Bridge
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironworkers_Memorial_Second_Narrows_Crossing
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Bridges of Vancouver, BC, Canada
https://www.google.ca/?gfe_rd=ctrl&ei=iwH9Ur-MBMrP8geJnIGADQ&gws_rd=cr#q=The+bridges+of+Vancouver+BC
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