The Bridges of Vancouver, BC - A Sampling

Four favorites:

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.

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.

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

GFDL, Free Art License

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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B = Bridges of Paris - A to Z Blog Challenge

Seine River Bridges at Dusk from Eiffel Tower - by DG Hudson



Bridges in Paris cross the Seine River some 37 times if you count pedestrian, rail and auto traffic bridges. Each is unique in design, size, and age, but all connect the two sides of Paris, the Right and Left Banks of the river.  A few connect the two main islands in the Seine, the Île de la Cité and the Île Saint-Louis and one or two have rail lines. 

Paris bridges seem to draw visitors to the Seine River, especially the Pont Neuf, the Pont D’Iena and the Pont Alexander III.   (A pont = bridge)



Grotesques line the overhang on the Pont Neuf, Paris  - by DG Hudson


Pont Neuf

It was the New Bridge when it was built in 1607.  Now, it's the oldest bridge.  It was the first stone bridge in Paris that did not support houses in addition to a thoroughfare, and it had curved bastions* so pedestrians could step aside to let a carriage pass. The decision not to include houses on the bridge can be traced back directly to Henry IV, who didn't want to impede his view of the Louvre. The bridge connects the left bank with the right bank over the western tip of the Île de la Cité.

*Bastions on the bridge deck are the curved places shown above. You can just see the small grotesques lining the edge.





Detail on Pont Alexander III - Paris, by DG Hudson



Pont Alexandre III

The most sumptuous bridge of Paris opened just in time for the Universal Exposition of 1900. It is named after Tsar Alexander III of Russia. The bridge is decorated with lampposts and sculptures of cherubs and nymphs. Tall pillars on either side of the bridge are topped with large gilded statues.

Under the Eiffel, Pont D'Iena, Paris - by DG Hudson

Pont d'Iéna


This bridge which leads from the Trocadéro to the Eiffel Tower, was built between 1808 and 1814. It was named after the German city of Jena (Iéna in French) where Napoléon had defeated the Prussian army in 1806.


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A few other notables:


Pont Notre Dame


In Roman times, this was known as the Grand Pont (large bridge) and connected the Ile de la Cite' with the Right bank. The current bridge was originally built in 1853 with five small spans, but had to be redesigned in 1919 after many accidents. At that time, the middle three spans were replaced by a single span.


Pont Marie

Pont Marie, the next oldest bridge in Paris after the Pont Neuf, was built between 1614 and 1635.  The Pont Marie connects the Île St. Louis with the right bank of the Seine River.


Passerelle Simone de Beauvoir

A recently completed pedestrian bridge, the Passerelle Simone de Beauvoir leads from the Bibliotheque Nationale towards the Bercy Park.  Named after Simone de Beauvoir, a famous French author, philosopher, feminist, and companion of Jean-Paul Sartre.

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This post shows a token number of the bridges that cross the Seine River in Paris.  I've included links for those that might want to know more.

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DG's A to Z Challenge Theme:  Paris, Etc.   (Art, Film, People and Places)

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References:
http://www.pariswater.com/ponts/  Paris Bridges

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bridges_in_Paris   List of bridges in Paris

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seine  Seine River

http://www.aparisguide.com/seine/index.html  Seine River


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Is there any special type of bridge that you like? (old wooden, wrought iron, suspension/cable design, or stone old-style)

Any writing memories associated with bridges?  Please share in the comments. 

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