City - Buffalo NY - The original Michigan Ave Bridge 1900
by Mike Savad
Title
City - Buffalo NY - The original Michigan Ave Bridge 1900
Artist
Mike Savad
Medium
Photograph - Colorized Photo
Description
Colorized photo from 1900
Original title: Jack-knife bridge
Photographer: Detroit Publishing
Location: Michigan ave bridge, Buffalo, NY
What a charming bridge, it came from the Victorian period, built in 1895. Designed by Benard Fores De Beldor, naming the bridge after him, the official name for this is the Beldo Bascule bridge.
It's a rolling counterweight bascule bridge, which rolls down the counterweight to raise the drawspan. Did I mention its also steam powered?
This is the original bridge to appear on Michigan ave, it was a very industrial area, and still is today. On the right is the Kellogg elevator, from what I understand they process linseed oil there. This whole area was very smokey. Everything produced either steam or copious amounts of black smoke. They say that the smokier the area, the more industrious it is, being full steam ahead and all. The more smoke the more prosperous it is.
Sadly this bridge is gone, it was destroyed in a terrible accident. On Jan 21, 1959, the river was frozen, but partly thawed due to an unusual warm spell. It was a chain reaction of ships. First a very large boat (foot ball field sized), broke free, this was the MacGilvray Shira, it was a freighter, and the ice seemed to have made it break free. It floated down river on its own, and some how got around the bends.
Then it ran into the ship called the Michael K Tewksbury, it then smashed into the bridge, leaving nothing but scrap metal. It was known as the tewksbury accident, and it was in court for years. No one knew who to blame.
The new bridge was built in 1960, and its the bridge you use today.
Uploaded
July 8th, 2019
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