Thursday, June 29, 1876: Wire ‘not fit’ for new bridge
Posted on August 3rd, 2007 – 7:48 PMBy Ben Welter
Safety was a concern during the construction of the second Hennepin Avenue suspension bridge in 1876. In this front page brief, the Tribune reported the arrival of an agent for a company that supplied cables rejected as inadequate by the project engineer, Thomas Griffith. The bridge was completed later that year, presumably with a better grade of cable.
The grand structure, which featured castle-like stone towers, outlived its usefulness rather quickly and had to be replaced just 14 years later. The bases of the towers can be seen today at First Bridge Park on the Mississippi River’s west bank, about a mile upriver from the 35W bridge that collapsed this week.
The reference to Robellings Sons is in error; the writer probably was referring to Roebling Sons, a company founded by John A. Roebling, who designed the Brooklyn Bridge, which opened in 1883.
THURSDAY, JUNE 29
We understand that the agent of the firm who furnished the wire for the suspension bridge, which Engineer Griffith has condemned, will be in the city tonight. The firm – Robellings Sons – is an old established one, and no doubt their agent will endeavor to convince the city fathers that the wire they have forwarded is all right, but we trust that the latter will sustain Engineer Griffith in the bold stand he has taken for the protection of his own reputation and the interests of the city. The wire is not fit to be used in the construction of the bridge, and the parties furnishing it should be given to understand at once that it will not be received or used.
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| The second Hennepin Avenue suspension bridge, 1889. (mnhs.org photo) |
3 Responses to "Thursday, June 29, 1876: Wire ‘not fit’ for new bridge"
My condolences to all in the city and state. I lived in metro Mpls and graduated with an MS from the U. in 1963. I worked at Honeywell at a rented old school building on Hennepin Ave. and crossed the Hennepen Ave. bridge from Central Ave coming from Columbia Heights, where I lived, and coming from the U. I don’t recall the large brick columns shown in the photo. Was this bridge the same in the ’50s and ’60s? Is there still a Hennepen Ave bridge in use?
Best wishes to all in the recovery effort,
Judson Lovingood
University of Minnesota
Class of 1963
Huntsville, Alabama
Hi, Judson. Thanks for posting. The bridge shown above was torn down and replaced just 14 years after it was built. Visit http://www.mrdbridges.com/hennepin.php for photos and background on all bridges built on this site over the years. The most recent bridge, completed in 1990, is still in service.
I was just talking to someone about this bridge today and neglected to remind him that the remnants of this bridge are under the downtown side walkway. Was this always there or was it unearthed when they built the new one? That much I do not recall.
