Grand Avenue Bridge (AKA Dragon Bridge), New Haven, Connecticut

Grand Avenue Bridge

My best friend texted me this morning, asking what bridge I was going to hunt today. I wasn't planning on hunting any bridges today, because the day was gray, I have so many bridges in my backlog, blahblahblahblahblah. Well, there's this swing bridge down in New Haven I hadn't ever gotten, and it's just 45 minutes away, so I figured I'd just pop down and grab it. Better than wasting the day away doing laundry.

Note to self: still need to do laundry.

The Grand Avenue Bridge connects the Fair Haven and Fair Haven Heights neighborhoods across the Quinnipiac River. It swings upon signal during the day except for the morning and evening rush, and at night by calling at least an hour ahead and getting someone to come out to the bridge house there in the center and open the bridge manually. No boats were in the vicinity of the bridge while I was there. It would have been fun to figure out how to transmit the signal and make the bridge open.... I wonder if people do that.

Detail of the bridge house

I've read rumors that this bridge is due to close permanently. I'm thinking that's a little bit of hyperbole. There are some articles in the local paper on closing the bridge temporarily for repairs, but a bridge with this many moving parts is going to need maintenance. This bridge isn't going anywhere. Except 90 degrees clockwise, sometimes.

The Fair Haven neighborhood was once known as "Dragon", and the original bridge that crossed the Quinnipiac at this point, was the "Dragon Bridge". That bridge was replaced in the late 19th century with this more modern one by the famous Berlin Iron Bridge Company that built iron bridges throughout the northeast. This is an astonishingly intact example of a bridge from that era, and I'm certain it's had extensive reconstruction. A little bit of living history. One source says the old bridge was replaced by a newer bridge of the same design back in the 1980s. This account is confirmed by the documents on file with the National Register of Historic Places, which says:

On the east bank of the river there are fewer open spaces due to demolition. The major losses have been confined to the commercial buildings on the south side of East Grand Avenue near the bridge. The bridge itself was dismantled, but is now in the process of being rebuilt on the original location and according to the same design as the turn-of-the-century bridge. 

Pre-reconstruction Grand Avenue Bridge
The New Haven Colony Historical Society Photo by William K. Sacco

As you can see from the picture above, the new bridge is an exact recreation of the old one. The city of New Haven wanted to make it wider and more modern, but popular outcry forced them to keep it the way it was. Whether people were complaining because they liked the old bridge, or because a newer bridge would have meant the destruction of more property, I don't know. But I'll take any Berlin Iron Bridge I can get. These bridges don't only signify New England to the world, they mark Connecticut in particular. Like the Town lattice bridges before it, Berlin Iron Bridges are living examples of Connecticut's historic leadership in civil engineering.

Grand Avenue Bridge from the other bank

Portal to the Grand Avenue Bridge

Talcottville Iron Bridge, Talcottville, CT... again

Talcottville Main Street Bridge

I wasn't all that happy with my recent post about the Talcottville Main Street Bridge. First, I'd cleverly timed my photos just before leaves started opening, making a rather barren picture. Secondly, because I didn't even go on the bridge. I was already on the mill grounds and just shot it from there.

If I'd gone on the bridge and past it, I'd have come to the Talcott Ravine trails that connect to Vernon's branch of the Rails-to-Trails project. And I'd have seen the pond and gotten a much better view of the bridge -- with the water tower from the mill standing behind it, and the dam just past the bridge allowing the foliage on the banks of the Tankerhoosen River to show.

I'd have had the picture above.

The old bridge railing

This iron railing must once have been on the inside of the bridge, where steel guardrails now keep cars from slipping off the edge of the bridge. It was likely fastened on the outside to cover up the steel reinforcements that keep the bridge together. This bridge could really use a complete renovation. I'm not sure Talcottville is enough of a tourist draw to get Vernon to spend the million bucks or so to rebuild the bridge (I have no idea how much it would cost). Maybe if they find someone to buy the mill and do something fun with it, the bridge would get some love. Not while the mill slides forgotten into ruin, though.

First house built in Talcottville (1802)

So, if you want to see an incredibly historic bridge fixed up, come visit historic Talcottville. You can see the whole place in half an hour -- an hour and a half if you want to go down the ravine trails. There were some guys fishing in the pond, too, so bring your fishing stuff!

It's all about the Tankerhoosen, you know.

Talcottville Iron Bridge, Talcottville, CT

Talcottville Iron Bridge

This one's a local bridge -- it's right down the road, yet I'd never heard of it until today, when I ran across it while photographing the Talcottville Mill. It crosses the Tankerhoosen River just above a dam on Talcottville's Main Street. It's a pony truss bridge made, presumably, of iron.

The historic bridge site says this bridge was built by the famous Berlin Iron Bridge Company, and is the only pony truss bridge where the truss members actually bear the weight of cars crossing the bridge. A pony truss bridge, by the way, is one with no trusses connecting the sides along the top.

I was in my car, since I was coming back from a photography trip up in Shenipsit State Park, but this is a bridge that needs my bicycle on it.

Talcottville Mill

This mill was the center of Talcottville for decades. The Talcott brothers had bought the mill and the surrounding lands from Nathaniel Kellogg, who had named the area Kelloggville. No shortage of ego on either side, there. The Talcott brothers built twin homes across the street on hills, overlooking the mill. The mill remained active in some form through the 20th century, though it is all entirely abandoned now.

Just about time to recondition it into luxury apartments...

You can (and should!) read more about Talcottville's historic legacy, as the story it tells is repeated, with minor variations, throughout the northeast. Talcottville today is a historic district within Vernon, CT, and signs along the few roads point out and explain the historic significance of the mill and other relics of an elder age.

Town Bridge, Canton, CT

Town Bridge

This bridge was totally off my radar -- not surprising, since it's more than a little off the beaten path. I found word of it entirely by accident while reading another bridge blog (yes, there's more than just this one). The author of that blog was stunned by the historical importance of the bridge. It's a truss bridge constructed by the famous Berlin Iron Bridge Company which made dozens of bridges in the 19th century around Connecticut and elsewhere in the Northeast. He also got a much nicer picture of the bridge than I did.

Not making excuses. It snowed recently, and I thought it would make a nice picture. I took my chances on a rainy day. What the heck, it was a nice drive through foggy mountain passes.

The real star here is the Farmington River. The river is a recreation center in Hartford County; a long system of well-maintained trails and paved paths follows the river through some of the most beautiful scenery in New England. Not far from the Town Bridge is a huge parking lot that forms the springboard for boating, bicycling, hiking and fishing. The parking lot on even a rainy late winter day was far from empty.

We Yankees love the outdoors. When you live someplace like Connecticut, who can blame us?