About this property
The Eads Bridge is a combined road and rail bridge over the Mississippi River connecting the cities of St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois. It is located on the St. Louis riverfront between Laclede's Landing to the north, and the grounds of the Gateway Arch to the south. The bridge is named for its designer and builder, James Buchanan Eads. Work on the bridge began in 1867, and it was completed in 1874. The Eads Bridge was the first bridge across the Mississippi south of the Missouri River. Earlier bridges were located north of the Missouri, where the Mississippi is narrower. None of the earlier bridges survived, which means that the Eads Bridge is also the oldest bridge on the river. To accommodate the massive size and strength of the Mississippi River, the Eads Bridge required a number of engineering feats. It pioneered the large-scale use of steel as a structural material, leading the shift from wrought-iron as the default material for large structures. Its foundations, more than 100 feet below water level, were the deepest underwater constructions at the time. They were installed using pneumatic caissons, a pioneering application of caisson technology in the United States and, at the time, by far the largest caissons ever built. Its 520-foot center arch was the longest rigid span ever built at the time. The arches were built suspended from temporary wooden towers, sometimes cited as the first use of the "cantilever principle" for a large bridge. These engineering principles were used for later bridges, including the Brooklyn Bridge, which began construction in 1870. The Eads Bridge became a famous image of the city of St. Louis, superseded only by the Gateway Arch, completed in 1965. The highway deck was closed to automobiles from 1991 to 2003, but has been restored and now carries both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. It connects Washington Avenue in St. Louis with Riverpark Drive and East Broadway in East St. Louis. The former railroad deck now carries the St. Louis MetroLink light rail system, connecting Missouri and Illinois stations. The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark. As of April 2014, it carries about 8,100 vehicles daily, down 3,000 since the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge opened in February 2014.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Eads Bridge
This page lists Eads Bridge. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
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Questions about this property
When was Eads Bridge listed on the National Register?
Eads Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 14, 1966.
What type of historic resource is Eads Bridge?
Eads Bridge is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.
Is Eads Bridge a National Historic Landmark?
Yes. Eads Bridge has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.
What is the period of significance for Eads Bridge?
The period of significance for Eads Bridge is recorded as the pre_contact era.
Can I research the history near Eads Bridge?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Eads Bridge will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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An Aubrey US report for an address near Eads Bridge will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.