Source: https://historicbridgefoundation.com/bridge-resources/bridge-bibliographies/
Timestamp: 2019-04-26 13:48:05+00:00

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The Historic Bridge Foundation has compiled the below listing of books and other publications relating to bridges. Brief annotations are included. A combination of contemporary publications and historical publications are included in these listings. The contemporary listings can often be purchased new and/or used through Amazon or similar sources, while many of the historical (pre-1923) publications can be viewed online for free. Links are included to aid in the viewing or purchasing of the books. The bibliography is categorized as shown below. Click on a category to go to the listings.
This category focuses on books discussing engineering topics on bridges. Despite this fact, many of the texts will contain overviews and discussions of bridges that may be of great interest to non-engineers and historians researching bridges. Titles in this category include many historical texts written by well-known bridge engineers.
Publications not fitting into any other category are included here. Historical discussions of general bridge types are included in this category, as are discussions on non-engineering topics such as aesthetics and architectural elements of bridges.
This category includes government studies, reports, historic contexts, and research papers on topics relating to bridges.
This category includes biographies and other publications that focus on bridges built by a particular person or discuss engineers and other prominent people in the world of bridges.
This category focuses on publications that tell the history and story of individual bridges, or groups of bridges in a particular area or state.
Publications primarily intended for instructional, training, and other classroom uses are included in this category.
1903 Graphic Statics ; Stresses in Bridge Trusses ; Bridge Members and Details ; Bridge Tables. Edited by International Correspondence Schools: International Textbook Company.
While much of this book may be more advanced than the casual reader is looking for, there are some portions that may be of interest. There are tables at the end of the book that include information on weights and sizes of truss bridge parts, and a key to drawings showing the different types of rivets that may be shown on original bridge plans.
1999 The Creation of Bridges: From Vision to Reality, the Ultimate Challenge of Architecture, Design and Distance. Chartwell Books.
The Creation of Bridges describes the wonders of bridge building, the record breakers, the great bridges of the past, and the failures and catastrophic disasters. It explains how they were built, how they work, and examines the common forms of bridges that can be seen in the world today. The story is told of those celebrated engineers who pioneered new ideas, and their fantastic building achievements are illustrated with photographs, drawings, and diagrams.
2012 Bridges: The Science and Art of the World’s Most Inspiring Structures. OUP Oxford.
David Blockley explains how to read a bridge, in all its different forms, design, and construction, and the way the forces flow through arches and beams. He combines the engineering of how bridges stand up with the cultural, aesthetic, and historical importance they hold. Drawing on examples of particular bridges from around the world, he also looks in detail at the risk engineers take when building bridges, and examines why things sometimes go wrong.
1890 Practical Treatise on the Construction of Iron Highway Bridges: For the Use of Town Committees ; Together with a Short Essay Upon the Application of the Principles of the Lever to a Ready Analysis of the Strains Upon the More Customary Forms of Beams and Trusses. J. Wiley & sons.
This book was published in a period when the method of building bridges involved bridge companies coming up with their own design and selling it to cities, counties, and other owners. These bridge owners often did not have enough understanding of bridge design to be able to prevent bridge companies from taking advantage of them by selling bridges that did not meet the needs or desires of the owner. This book is one engineer’s attempt to shed light on these issues and help guide bridge owners and engineers toward responsible bridge construction.
1905 The Design and Construction of Metallic Bridges. J. Wiley.
This casual engineering text is more of a discussion of metal bridges, their history, current (in 1905) achievements, and notable bridges of the period.
1999 Bridge Engineering Handbook. CRC Press.
This extensive collection provides detailed information on bridge engineering, and thoroughly explains the concepts and practical applications surrounding the subject, and also highlights bridges from around the world.
1915 Structural Steel Drafting and Elementary Design. John Wiley & Sons.
This book provides period instruction in drafting engineering drawings. To the modern reader the various example drawings, taken from actual bridges of the period, may be of interest as well in their own right.
1908 The theory and practice of bridge construction, in timber, iron and steel. Macmillan and co., limited.
Using plentiful drawings within the text, this book describes the methods behind the design and construction of metal truss and girder bridges. Even non-structural details such as railings are looked at here.
1887 A Practical Treatise on Bridge-construction: Being a Text-book on the Design and Construction of Bridges in Iron and Steel. C. Griffin & Company.
This text is very technical in nature and has no photos. As such it will mainly be of interest to engineers researching the details behind engineering practice in the 1880s.
2011 Cable Supported Bridges: Concept and Design. Wiley.
1863 General theory of bridge construction: containing demonstrations of the principles of the art and their application to practice: With practical illustrations. Trubner.
This is an early engineering text including discussion of iron bridge design. Noted engineer Herman Haupt published this book on bridge engineering in general, followed by a more specific discussion of bridges he was involved with, particularly on the Pennsylvania Railroad. Several drawings of Haupt type truss bridges are shown at the end.
1916 Reinforced Concrete Construction …: Prepared in the Extension Division of the University of Wisconsin. v. 3. McGraw-Hill Book Company.
Although an engineering text, this book will be of interest to historians and researchers for its numerous photos and drawings of specific concrete bridges.
1918 Concrete Engineers Handbook, Data for the Design Snd Construction of Plain and Reinforced Concrete Structures. McGraw-Hill book Company.
This very large book covers all manner of design and construction details for concrete bridges. The 1918 publication date is worth noting as this is around the time that unusual patented methods of concrete bridge construction (such as Melan arches) were falling from favor and rebar-reinforced concrete was quicky becoming the standard for concrete bridges. At this time the use of the metal truss bridge in construction dropped significantly for many applications. This book includes detailed engineering data, but also includes numerous drawings and a few historical photos that may be of interest to non-engineer researchers as well.
1926 Movable Bridges: Volume 1, Superstructures. v. 1. J. Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, New York.
This impressive text offers a wealth of information on the various types of movable bridges, and includes photos and drawings. One of the best historical texts for researching movable bridges, although due to the 1926 publication date, a lesser focus is given to swing bridges which were losing popularity in favor of bascule and lift bridges.
1927 Movable Bridges: Volume 2, Machinery. v. 2. J. Wiley & Sons, inc., New York.
This impressive text offers a wealth on movable bridges, and includes photos and drawings. One of the best historical texts for researching movable bridges, this second volume explores the intricate machinery which powered movable bridges of the period.
1879 Girder-making and the Practice of Bridge Building in Wrought Iron: Illustrated by Examples of Bridges, Pier, and Girder-work, &c. Constructed at the Skerne Iron Works, Darlington. E. & F.N. Spon.
This English text offers discussion and images of period iron bridges, with a focus on bridges built by the Skerne Iron Works.
1898 On Some Common Errors in Iron Bridge Design. Ford & Son.
This relatively short and highly techinical book offers a critique on the design methods of iron bridges, in the context of Australia.
1918 Structural Engineers’ Handbook Data For the Design and Construction of Steel Bridges and Buildings.
A number of interesting drawings are included in this engineering text. Among those is the specific measurements of standard lacing bars found on truss bridges, which may be of use in present-day replication of these elements on historic bridges.
1920 The Design of Highway Bridges of Steel, Timber and Concrete. McGraw-Hill book Company, Incorporated.
Despite the title, this book tends to focus mostly on metal bridges. While this engineering text has a lot of advanced, technical engineering information, there are historical photos that may be of interest to non-engineer readers. A number of bridge drawings in the book were taken from real-world bridges and standard design plans, which may also be of interest to researchers.
2003 Movable Bridge Engineering. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken.
Although a modern textbook about movable bridges, this book does not neglect to discuss old and historic movable bridge types as well.
1915 Design of Steel Bridges: Theory and Practice for the Use of Civil Engineers and Students. v. 1. McGraw-Hill book Company, Incorporated.
This is a rather technical engineering text that may be more detailed than the typical researcher is looking for. The end of this book included a number of fold-out engineering drawings of real-world bridges, but the Google scanners did not unfold these pages, meaning they are unavailable online.
1884 Report on Observations on Railways, and Other Subjects: Made During a Tour in 1883, Under the Direction of the Government of South Australia. Government Print..
This text is essentially the result of an Australian railway engineer visiting other countries and seeing how their railways and bridges compared to those in Australia. A number of photos of bridges are included at the end of the text.
1911 Framed Structures and Girders: Theory and Practice. Volume I, Stresses, |. McGraw-Hill Book Company.
Overall, this is a large and detailed engineering text. Patient researchers may find some non-technical information of interest buried in the technical information, such as the design and dimensions of real-world bridges.
1877 Works in Iron: Bridge and Roof Structures. E. & F. N. Spon.
This is a detailed engineering text, with a few bridge drawings and images of general interest as well. It is written from the perspective of England, and with a bias toward bridges built by Andrew Handyside and Company.
1919 A Text-book on Roofs and Bridges, Part 4, Higher Bridges. v. 4. Wiley.
This book is one volume of a textbook series that was updated periodically for over 20 years. While much of the material is instructional and technical in nature, researchers and historians may find the drawings and photos of real-world bridges in these texts to be of interest.
1920 American Civil Engineers’ Handbook. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, New York.
As a handbook, this text was written to be a reference guide for working engineers. As such, it has many detailed calculation tables and other technical information. There is some general bridge information buried in this book as well, such as a discussion of cantilever truss bridges on page 935.
1894 A Text-book on Roofs and Bridges, Part 3, Bridge Design. v. 3. John Wiley.
1920 A Text-book on Roofs and Bridges, Part 1, Stresses in simple trusses. pt. 1. John Wiley.
1930 American civil engineers’ handbook. v. 1. J. Wiley & Sons, inc., New York.
As a handbook, this text was written to be a reference guide for working engineers. As such, it has many detailed calculation tables and other technical information. See also the 1920 edition which is available for free online viewing.
1992 To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design.
The moral of this book is that behind every great engineering success is a trail of often ignored (but frequently spectacular) engineering failures. Petroski covers many of the best known examples of well-intentioned but ultimately failed design in action including the galloping Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
1882 Strength of Wrought-iron Bridge Members. pts. 1-2. Van Nostrand.
This very detailed and technical text will mainly be of interest to engineers seeking to better understand period engineering theory.
1993 Bridge Inspection and Rehabilitation: A Practical Guide. Wiley.
A guide to practical aspects of bridge inspection and rehabilitation. Comprising contributions from a group of seasoned professionals from around the nation, it provides insights into every element of bridge structure, including broad coverage of materials and design types.
1904 Types and Details of Bridge Construction: Arch spans. McGraw publishing Company.
This book is richly supplemented by many drawings and photos of real-world bridges. As such, this engineering text should be of interest to non-engineer researchers as well.
1906 Types and Details of Bridge Construction: Plate girders. McGraw publishing Company.
This book includes many bridge detail drawings alongside the text. One of a series of similar books by Skinner, this book is somewhat unusual for an exclusive focus on plate girder bridges.
1908 Types and Details of Bridge Construction: Specifications and standards for short railroad spans. McGraw publishing Company.
One of a series of similar books by Skinner, this book focuses on short railroad spans, and details such as bearings, rivets, etc.
1922 A Practical Treatise on Suspension Bridges: Their Design, Construction and Erection. Wiley, New York.
Most of the well-known suspension bridges designed by David Steinman were built after this book was published. As such, this book may be a look into the underlying engineering background upon which Steinman went on to design many record-breaking bridges.
1906 The Civil Engineers Pocket-book. J.Wiley & sons.
This is a detailed engineering handbook that would have been intended as a reference for practicing engineers. This text covers all fields of civil engineering, including bridges.
2003 Bridge Engineering: A Global Perspective. Thomas Telford.
A comprehensive review of how we create and maintain bridges one of the most vital yet vulnerable parts of our infrastructure and how we got where we are today. A reference for practitioners, researchers and students alike on the state-of-the-art of bridge engineering world-wide, from local community footbridges to vast multi-modal crossings between nations.
1909 Concrete Bridges and Culverts: For Both Railroads and Highways. M.C. Clark Publishing Company.
Engineers will find this detailed discussion of concrete bridge design in the earlier, developmental period of concrete bridge construction to be of interest. Non-engineer researchers may still find this text of interest for its numerous drawings and photos of real-world bridges.
1911 History of Bridge Engineering. Published by the author, Chicago.
This book offers one engineer’s early 20th century perspective on the history of bridges. Many drawings and photos supplement the text.
1912 The design of simple steel bridges. Constable & Co..
While this book may focus on simple steel bridges, the text is anything but simple, with a focus on tecnnical engineering data.
1885 A System of Iron Railroad Bridges for Japan. v. 1. T.
Although famous engineer J.A.L. Waddell is mostly known for his work in the United States, a notable portion of his career involved Japan where he spent time as a professor and advisor. This text touches on this part of Waddell’s career. This book is both a personal reflection of his time in Japan, and his recomendations for changes in bridge design and construction in Japan.
1886 American Versus English Methods of Bridge Designing.
This text is more of a compilation of editorial letters and commentaries. Beyond its comparison between engineering practices in England and America, this text also sheds light on the bickering that sometimes went on among engineers of the period.
1889 General Specifications for Highway Bridges of Iron and Steel. S.G. Spencer.
Here, famous engineer J.A.L. Waddell offers a critical look at existing bridges in the United States, describing many bridges as “infernal traps,” and bridges waiting to make a “respectable catastrophe.” More an editorial discussion than an engineering reference, this book also reveals its author as someone who does not hold back his opinion, and often provides his commentary with an almost humorous wording.
1889 Iron Viaducts for Highways. Selden G. Spencer.
This short editorial text is essentially a condemnation of bridge design by cities and bridge builders. Being as J.A.L. Waddell was a consulting engineer, this text could be seen as somewhat self-serving, encouraging governments to seek the services of a consulting engineer, rather than rely on in-house engineering, or engineering by the bridge builder.
1889 The Designing of Ordinary Iron Highway Bridges. J. Wiley.
This engineering handbook provides technical tables and information, with a focus on Pratt and Whipple truss bridges.
1898 De Pontibus: A Pocket-book for Bridge Engineers. J. Wiley & sons.
This book is a predecessor to the larger and more well-known “Bridge Engineering” by the same author.
1912 Specifications for Steel Bridges. J. Wiley & sons.
This book is, as described by its author, a shortened version of his earlier book “De Pontibus.” Its focus is on the technical information and tables that engineers wanted to be able to reference during the course of their work.
1916 Bridge Engineering, First Edition. v. 1 & 2. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York.
1928 Memoirs and addresses of two decades. Mack Printing Company.
This is a compilation of speeches and writings by noted engineer J.A.L. Waddell.
1907 Specifications and Contracts: A Series of Lectures Delivered by J.A.L. Waddell … Including Examples for Practice in Specifications Writing, Together with Notes on the Law of Contracts. Engineering News Publishing Company.
This compilation of lectures discusses the purpose and content of contract plans and specifications. At the time this was published, these topics would have been at the forefront of the industry, as there was a shift away from the traditional approach where bridge companies were designing and selling bridges to owners, to having bridge owners hire engineers to design a bridge, and then hiring a contractor to construct the bridge.
2017 Bridge Engineering: Classifications, Design Loading, and Analysis Methods. Elsevier Science & Technology Books.
This book begins with a clear and concise exposition of theory and practice of bridge engineering, design and planning, materials and construction, loads and load distribution, and deck systems. This is followed by chapters concerning applications for bridges, such as: Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete Bridges, Steel Bridges, Truss Bridges, Arch Bridges, Cable Stayed Bridges, Suspension Bridges, Bridge Piers, and Bridge Substructures. In addition, the book addresses issues commonly found in inspection, monitoring, repair, strengthening, and replacement of bridge structures.
1913 Steel Bridge Designing. Myron C. Clark publishing Company.
This text stands out for its photos and discussion of period shop fabrication of steel bridges.
1869 Bridge-building. D. Van Nostrand, publisher, 23 Murray and 27 Warren streets..
Squire Whipple is sometimes called the father of the iron bridge. He invented the Whipple truss, as well as introducting the first iron bowstring bridge design built in notable quantities in America. In 1847 he published a book with engineering theory behind timber and iron bridges. This important, early text on iron bridge design was republished with some changes several times over the remainder of the 1800s. This is one of the subsequent publications.
1883 An Elementary and Practical Treatise on Bridge Building: An Enlarged and Improved Edition of the Author’s Original Work. Van Nostrand.
1893 Treatise on the Theory of the Construction of Bridges and Roads. Wiley.
Although much of this book focuses on technical engineering discussion, there also are drawings and discussions about various truss configurations that may be of interest to researchers a well.
1897 The designing of draw-spans. J. Wiley & sons.
This engineering text (two volumes) was published in 1897-1898 and as such the focus is on swing bridges. Its date of publication is noteworthy since at this time, bascule and vertical lift bridges were just starting to steal the spotlight from swing bridges, which up until that time had enjoyed being the most popular movable bridge type.
1898 The designing of draw-spans. Part Second: Plate-girder draws. Riveted-truss and pin-connected long-span draws. v. 2. J. Wiley & Sons.
2012 Bridge Engineering, Third Edition. McGraw-Hill Education.
1999 Historic Highway Bridge Preservation Practices. National Academy Press.
1968 American Building Art: Materials and Techniques from the Beginning of the Colonial Settlements to the Present. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois.
2012 How to Read Bridges: A Crash Course in Engineering and Architecture. Universe Publishing.
This book is a great resource for anyone interested in bridges who is looking to expand their understanding of how they function and the terms used to describe them. Numerous photos and diagrams illustrate the material.
2010 Michigan’s Unique Concrete Camelback Bridges. HistoricBridges.org.
This book offers a historical overview of Michigan’s concrete camelback bridges.
1989 “The Fabric of Historic Bridges.” IA: The Journal of the Society of Industrial Archeology. 15(2). 22 pages.
This article gives a brief history and description of the design of historic bridge types, including covered bridges, metal truss bridges, suspension bridges, and masonry arch bridges.
2008 A Bridge Worth Saving: A Community Guide to Historic Bridge Preservation. Michigan State University Press, East Lansing, MI.
Unlike some calls to action that leave their readers at the starting line, this book shows the layperson and the professional, in a step-by-step way, how to save an old metal-truss bridge. Use it as a tool kit, a map, a handbook, or an operations manual.
1912 Artistic bridge design: a systematic treatise on the design of modern bridges according to aesthetic principles. The Myron C. Clark Pub. Co..
This book offers one engineer’s perspective on bridge aesthetics in the early 20th Centiry. The second half of the book is richly illustrated with photos of bridges.
2005 ” A Context for Common Historic Bridge Types, NCHRP Project 25-25, Task 15.” National Cooperative Highway Research Program. Edited by Parsons Brinckerhoff and Engineering and Industrial Heritage: Transportation Research Council, National Research Council..
This study was commissioned and published by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). The purpose of the study is to provide a basic national historical context for historic bridges within which to evaluate bridges for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C. The first chapter describes the research methodology, the second chapter describes the evolution of bridge development in the United States, the third chapter identifies the forty-six most common bridge types constructed in the United States up until 1955, and the fourth chapter is a table summarizing significance assessments. The report provides a description of each type and some basic contextual information to evaluate the design significance of historic bridges.
1977 “Bridge Truss Types: A Guide to Dating and Identifying.” Technical Leaflet 95. American Association for State and Local History, Nashville, TN.
This technical leaflet provides basic information on common truss bridge forms, including wooden and Pratt and Warren truss types. It includes photos of historic truss bridges and diagrams of truss designs. The authors of the article were both staff of the Historic American Engineering Record program.
2013 A Guide to the Research and Documentation of Local Texas Bridges. Prepared by K. Associates. Texas Department of Transportation, Kyle, Texas.
This report was commissioned and published by the Texas Department of Transportation. The intended audience is non-professionals with an interest in the research and preservation of historic bridges. The report begins with a history of bridge-building in Texas up to the introduction of the interstate system. It identifies the kinds of common research questions to apply to research of historic bridges and common sources of information regarding historic bridges. Specific resources are also listed by county. The report describes how to provide a description of a historic bridge, gives an overview of the major metal truss bridge types and concrete bridge types, and provides a glossary of words used to describe bridge construction.
1991 Bridge Aesthetics Around the World. Transportation Research Board, National Research Council.
This publication presents the perspectives and insights of the world’s present-day authorities on bridge aesthetics and design. Bridge engineers and architects representing 16 nations examine and highlight the aesthetic appearance of existing bridges with the goal of improving tomorrow’s bridge design. Supplementing the individual papers is a comprehensive bibliography on bridge aesthetics, containing annotated references to more than 250 books, papers, and articles.
1979 Robert Maillart’s Bridges: The Art of Engineering. Princeton University Press.
The Swiss engineer Robert Maillart (1872-1940) built bridges and industrial buildings of startling originality. His innovative use of concrete, especially in the design of thin arch structures, and his introduction of a wide range of new engineering forms, make him a seminal figure in the history of modern engineering. This bridge explores his bridges and the engineering design behind them.
1985 The Tower and the Bridge: The New Art of Structural Engineering. Princeton University Press.
This book offers an overview of a number of important bridge engineers. In discussing these engineers, discussion of their aesthetic contributions to engineering is included.
2006 Brunel: The Man Who Built the World. Phoenix.
One of the great minds of the 19th century, Isambard Kingdom Brunel was responsible for some of the most impressive engineering feats of his day. By the age of 26, he had been appointed chief engineer of the Great Western Railway, linking Bristol to London. His love of steamships led him to build a series of revolutionary vessels, including the Great Britain, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic. Illustrated with a wealth of blueprints, drawings, and rare photographs, this biography tracks the life and achievements of this Victorian-era engineer who also designed many famous bridges.
1870 The Life of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Civil Engineer. Longmans, Green, and Company.
This historical biography of one of the most famous bridge engineers in history was written by his son. The book includes several drawings and illustrations as well.
2002 A Man who Spanned Two Eras: The Story of Bridge Engineer Ralph Modjeski. Kosciuszko Foundation, Philadelphia Chap..
This book is a biography of one of the most famous engineers in American history.
2017 Man of Iron: Thomas Telford and the Building of Britain. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Thomas Telford’s name is familiar; his story less so. This is a biography of the shepherd boy who changed the world with his revolutionary engineering and whose genius we still benefit from today. Telford designed a number of impressive bridges.
2008 Thomas Telford: An Illustrated Life. Bloomsbury USA.
Thomas Telford’s genius is reflected in the variety and great technical skill of his constructions, most of which are still in use today. The ‘colossus of roads’ built or improved hundreds of miles of durable, fast roads in Scotland, England, and Wales, but it is perhaps Telford’s work on canals in Britain that attracts most attention now. Telford also is noted for the design of a number of significant bridges.
2007 Thomas Telford. History Press Limited.
1867 The Life of Thomas Telford, Civil Engineer: With an Introductory History of Roads and Travelling in Great Britain. J. Murray.
This historical text provides a detailed look at Thomas Telford, a well-known and noteworthy engineer in Scotland. The book includes a number of illustrations.
2017 Chief Engineer: Washington Roebling, The Man Who Built the Brooklyn Bridge. Bloomsbury USA.
This book is a comprehensive biography of Washington Roebling, best known for his role as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge.
2004 Covered Bridges of the Northeast. Dover Publications.
An account of bridge builders, the tools they used, and their finished masterpieces, this illustrated work describes foot bridges, latticework and double-decked structures, drawbridges, and more.
2005 Conveniences Sorely Needed: Montana’s Historic Highway Bridges, 1860-1956. Montana Historical Society Press.
Many of Montana”s historic highway bridges are symbols of the cooperative spirit that led to economic and social stability throughout the Big Sky Country for over a century. Other bridges, such as those built during the Great Depression, are physical reminders of significant periods in American history and tell stories about the breadth of Montana”s transportation past. In addition, these bridges reflect both the best and worst in engineering techniques and serve as testaments to the science of practical bridge design, ranging from the aesthetically delightful Fort Benton Bridge to the more mundane Fred Robinson Bridge in the Missouri Breaks country.
1894 The Tower Bridge: A Lecture. Boot, Son and Carpenter.
This book describes the design and construction of the Tower Bridge in London. This book includes engineering drawings, photos of proposed (and rejected) designs for the Tower Bridge, and construction photos of the current bridge.
2003 Covered Bridges of New York State: A Guide. Syracuse University Press.
A guide to the design, evolution, and romance of historic covered bridges extant in New York State. Once 250 covered bridges dotted New York State. But natural disaster and destructive human progress exacted a price, leaving only twenty-four historic bridges. Completed between 1823 and 1912, they represent a wide variety of designs.
2007 Bridges of Portland. Arcadia Publishing.
This book documents the remarkable collection of bridges in Portland, Oregon. As Portland grew during the 20th century, and well-known bridge engineers Ralph Modjeski, J.A.L. Waddell, Gustav Lindenthal, David Steinman, and Joseph Strauss each contributed to Portland’s world-class collection of bridges.
2006 Bridges of the Oregon Coast. ARCADIA LIB ED.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Oregon’s legendary bridge engineer Conde B. McCullough designed a first-rate collection of aesthetic bridges on the Oregon Coast Highway to enhance an already dramatic and beautiful landscape. This photo-oriented book explores these stunning bridges.
2008 Knox County Bridges. Arcadia Pub..
This pictorial history of the spanning of area waterways is mostly a story of disasters. Many of the photographs are of the wreckage of failed bridges and what is left of the vehicles that brought them down. They depict a county highway department that was only reactive. The practice was to send the crews out to pick up the pieces and then figure out how to repair or replace the bridge.
2015 Bridges of Downtown Los Angeles. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated.
This book is an exploration of the bridges in Los Angeles, past, present, and future.
2001 Bridges: Three Thousand Years of Defying Nature. MBI Pub..
This book explores the history of bridges in a world-wide context from ancient times through to the 21st century.
1998 Bridges: Masterpieces of Architecture. Todtri.
A tribute to engineering feats that blend beauty and utility, with numerous photos of the world’s most spectacular bridges.
2012 The Silver Bridge Disaster of 1967. ARCADIA PUB (SC).
While the tragic collapse of the Silver Bridge at Point Pleasant, WV is one of the most infamous events in bridge history, very few photos can be found online of this event. The authors of this book reveal an impressive collection of photos documenting the bridge and its collapse.
2010 Massachusetts Covered Bridges. Arcadia Pub..
From hidden valleys in the Berkshire Hills to the North Shore, 275 documented highway and railroad covered bridges have been constructed in Massachusetts from the early 19th century onward. All but a small handful of these are long gone, lost to modern replacements, fires, wear, and the region’s notorious weather, especially the devastating storms of the late 1930s.
2007 Hudson River Bridges. Arcadia Pub..
Through historical photographs from sources including the New York State Bridge Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Hudson River Bridges documents how the impressive bridges over this large river remain beautiful testaments to cooperative efforts during trying times in America’s history.
2011 Connecticut and Rhode Island Covered Bridges. Arcadia Pub..
During their heyday in the mid- to late 1800s, more than 150 covered bridges dotted the landscape of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Since that time, floods, fires, and progress have claimed all but three of the historic structures.
2008 Oregon’s Covered Bridges. Arcadia Publishing.
Rugged individuals armed with hand tools, sweat, and ambition began building covered bridges in Oregon during the mid-1850s. In the early 20th century, the state provided standard bridge and truss designs to each county, and most of the resulting structures incorporated the Howe truss. With the abundance of Douglas fir and the shortage of steel during the world wars, the construction of wooden covered bridges continued well into the 1950s, mainly in the Willamette Valley. During the 1920s, Oregon boasted more than 350 covered bridges.
1988 Historic Highway Bridges in Pennsylvania. Univ Publ Assn.
Compiled as part of Pennsylvania’s first state historic bridge inventory by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, many of the bridges that existing when this photo-intensive book was published have since been demolished, making this book a rare look at some of the fascinating bridges that used to grace the Keystone State.
2003 Maine’s Covered Bridges. Arcadia.
Maine once had more than one hundred covered bridges. Only seven of these bridges remain today, but the photographic record of the others is surprisingly complete. Maine’s Covered Bridges offers views of these structures that once graced the state’s roads and railroads, many of them in the Oxford Hills and Western Mountains regions.
2004 Vermont Covered Bridges. Arcadia.
Vermont Covered Bridges offers views of the most interesting and beautiful of bygone covered bridges, as well as old photographs of existing structures. The images are drawn from the archives of the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges (NSPCB), including the incomparable Richard Sanders Allen Collection and the work of noted photographers Henry A. Gibson, Raymond Brainerd, and others.
1997 Artistry and Ingenuity in Artificial Stone: Indiana’s Concrete Bridges, 1900-1942. J.L. Cooper.
This book offers a comprehensive overview and history of Indiana’s concrete bridges. The book also includes a detailed discussion of noted engineer Daniel Luten and his associated bridge work.
2013 Bridges of Spokane. ARCADIA PUB (SC).
Spokane has a diverse collection of bridges, ranging from small crossings to large viaducts that cross expansive valleys.
1983 Discovering Heritage Bridges on Ontario’s Roads. Boston Mills Press.
This book is one of the few printed books about historic bridges in Ontario. Published in 1983, many of the bridges shown in this book no longer exist today.
2003 Bridges Over the Delaware River: A History of Crossings. Rutgers University Press.
A book chronicling thirty-five of the most historic bridges crossing the Delaware, some of which have served the residents of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York for almost two centuries.
1993 Landmark American Bridges. American Society of Civil Engineers.
Authored by one of the foremost bridge historians in America. Organized chronologically, Landmark American Bridges includes five sections: Turnpike, Canal, and Railroad Bridges of the pre-Civil War Era; Civil War Era Metal Truss Bridges; Era of the American Standard Bridge; Great River Crossings; and Modern Developments. The photographs have been selected from more than 900 bridges documented in the collection of the Historic American Engineering Record. Also included are a listing of historic bridges and a time line which highlights significant events in the evolution of world bridge building.
2013 Skyway: The True Story of Tampa Bay’s Signature Bridge and the Man who Brought it Down. University Press of Florida.
The Sunshine Skyway was a large bridge that met an untimely demise when it was partly collapsed when a boat hit it. This book tells the entire story of this horrific event, from the circumstances that led up to it through the years-long legal proceedings that followed.
2012 The Photographer’s Guide to the Golden Gate Bridge. Pearson Education.
If you plan to visit and photograph the Golden Gate Bridge, this book will help you find all the places to see the bridge. This book has detailed descriptions of over 15 locations, with tips on technique, lens choices, best times to shoot and how to deal with weather.
2015 The Brooklyn Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge: The History of Americas Most Famous Bridges. Createspace Independent Pub.
2017 Historic Bridges of Milam County. ARCADIA PUB (SC).
Milam County, located in the heart of Central Texas, is home to 18 historic bridges that were constructed through the years to accommodate the growth of the county.
2012 New England’s Covered Bridges: A Complete Guide. University Press of New England.
During the nineteenth and the early part of the twentieth centuries, the erection of nearly one thousand covered bridges was recorded in New England’s archives. However, the ravages of time, storms, floods, neglect, and vandals have reduced the remaining historic, authentic covered bridges to fewer than two hundred. While the majority of these bridges are in the states of Vermont and New Hampshire, wonderful examples of covered bridges can be found in all six of the New England states.
2001 Pennsylvania’s Covered Bridges: A Complete Guide. University of Pittsburgh Press.
Historically, bridges were covered to protect their wooden surfaces from the weather. Today, covered bridges are viewed as charming but rare artifacts of our past. Pennsylvania, the site of the first covered bridge in the United States (over the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia), is the state with the most surviving structures.
2014 The Covered Bridges of Ashtabula County, Ohio. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated.
Ashtabula County is noted for its collection of covered bridges, including the construction of modern covered bridges as well. This book explores these bridges.
2007 Mackinac Bridge. Arcadia Publishing.
Part of the Images of America series, this book tells the story of the Mackinac Bridge through photos.
2008 Wood, Concrete, Stone, and Steel: Minnesota’s Historic Bridges. University of Minnesota Press.
Like never before we are aware of the crucial place of bridges in our lives. The spans that warranted little notice are now at the forefront of public and political debate and we are reminded of the rich history-and the uncertain future-of bridging in Minnesota.
2014 New Jersey’s Covered Bridges. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, covered bridges dotted the landscape of New Jersey, providing safe passage to travelers. Forty-five covered bridges once crossed waterways in all corners of the state. This book showcases the rich transportation history of these structures and pictorially honors the lost ones.
1990 Bridging the Narrows. Peninsula Historical Society, Gig Harbor, WA.
The author of this book is a man who built the substructure of ther 1940 Tacoma Narrows “Galloping Gertie Bridge” that collapsed soon after it was built, and then returned to the Narrows to construct the deck for the second 1950 Tacoma Narrows Bridge. From this unique perspective the story of two Tacoma Narrows bridges are told with numerous supporting photos.
2001 Elegant Arches, Soaring Spans: C.B. McCullough, Oregon’s Master Bridge Builder. Oregon State University Press.
Conde Balcom McCullough ranks as a modern bridge builder of national and international acclaim. This study of McCullough traces the professional life of an engineer and builder renowned for his elegant, cost-efficient, custom-designed spans. McCullough’s legacy lies in the nearly six hundred bridges he designed and built in Oregon during the years between the two world wars, most notably several beautiful bridges along the Oregon Coast Hightway.
2005 Spanning Washington: Historic Highway Bridges of the Evergreen State. Washington State University Press.
In their quest to compile the first comprehensive history of the state’s highway bridges, the authors poured through the extensive records at the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), collecting definitive documentation and photographs from across the state. This book, including more than 100 illustrations, represents the culmination of years of study by many individuals associated with WSDOT and the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (Olympia).
2013 Chicago’s Bridges. Bloomsbury Publishing.
This book is a compact, photo-intensive guide to all the the movable bridges in Chicago. Includes an overview of the bridges, followed by a bridge-by-bridge exploration of Chicago.
1943 Movable and Long-span Steel Bridges; Compiled by a Staff of Specialists; Editors-in-chief, George A. Hool … and W.S. Kinne. McGraw-Hill book Company, Incorporated.
Illustrated with real-world bridge photos and drawings, this book provides both a general overview and detailed engineering information about movable bridges. The book also discusses large fixed bridges including continuous, cantilever, suspension, and arch bridges.
2009 The Benjamin Franklin Bridge. Arcadia Pub.
This book contains many rarely seen images of the bridge’s planning and construction, the individuals who helped make the concept of the bridge a reality, and the workers who built it. The bridge has undergone many changes in the decades since its opening, and these vintage photographs trace its evolution, illustrating the bridge’s endurance as a symbol of the Philadelphia-Camden metropolitan area.
1993 Historic Highway Bridges of Michigan. Wayne State University Press.
Michigan’s historic highway bridges are rapidly being torn down and replaced as they deteriorate or become unable to support increased traffic volumes and loads. While the state has the responsibility of providing safe bridges, historian Charles K. Hyde maintains that the state must also preserve many of these remaining historic structures to insure that future generations will have them to view and appreciate. In Historic Highway Bridges of Michigan, Hyde identifies Michigan’s historically significant highway bridges within the broader contexts of American bridge design and construction in the 19th and 20th centuries.
1988 Great American Bridges and Dams. Preservation Press.
Among the 330 feats of engineering genius documented here are bridges found all over the United States, from Brooklyn to the Golden Gate and landmark dams such as the Hoover, Grand Coulee, Norris and Shasta. The introduction presents an overview of bridge and dam history, while special sections outline preservation issues and demonstrate the significance of these structures in America’s history.
2014 New York State’s Covered Bridges. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated.
At one time, New York State had over 300 covered bridges, but over the years, floods, fires, and modernization have claimed all but 32 of them. Both the Hyde Hall Covered Bridge and the Old Blenheim Bridge are proud record holders. Located in Glimmerglass State Park, the Hyde Hall Covered Bridge is the oldest existing covered bridge in the United States. The Old Blenheim Bridge was the longest single-span covered bridge in the world until it was washed away by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011 when the Schoharie Creek flooded.
2012 Historic Iron and Steel Bridges in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers.
2002 New Hampshire Covered Bridges. Arcadia.
New Hampshire once had nearly four hundred covered bridges, most of which unfortunately are no longer in existence. Some of them were railroad bridges and, although often viewed as charming relics of the past, all of these bridges were actually vital links in New Hampshire’s transportation system. New Hampshire Covered Bridges is a photographic study of the state’s enclosed wooden spans that date from as far back as 1827.
2001 Le pont de Qu. Septentrion.
This French language book offers a detailed history of the tragic collapse of the first bridge and the construction of the second bridge.
2007 Kentucky’s Covered Bridges. Arcadia.
Many of Kentucky’s covered bridges were built by such men as Wernwag, Bower, Carothers, Day, Stone, and Long, but many of the names were never recorded or have been lost to time. Kentucky once was home to the longest single-span wooden bridge in the world and to a covered bridge through which a Civil War battle was fought. Time, arson, progress, neglect, and misguided maintenance have spelled the demise of the majority of these structures. Readers of this volume might be surprised to learn that Kentucky once claimed more than 700 timbered tunnels and that over 50 of these survived well into the 1950s. Equally surprising, the commonwealth is still home to 13 of these structures.
2002 Historic Bridges of Maryland. Maryland Historical Trust Press.
This book about historic bridges in Maryland was compiled in association with the development of the states official historic bridge inventory.
2008 Golden Gate Bridge: History and Design of an Icon. Chronicle Books.
Illustrated with color sketches, this book tells the explores this famous bridge.
2013 Huey P. Long Bridge. ARCADIA PUB (SC).
This book explores this impressive cantilever truss bridge near New Orleans in Jefferson Parish. The combination railroad and highway bridge was widened for highway traffic starting in 2006.
1987 The Ambassador Bridge: A Monument to Progress. Wayne State University Press.
Men of courage, faith, and ingenuity made the dream of a Detroit/Windsor bridge a reality. Author Philip Mason traces the history of the Ambassador Bridge from an early proposal for a seasonal bridge to be erected each winter to the construction of the present structure. Documented with historic illustrations and photographs, the book highlights the lives of the men who guided the fortunes of the bridge through the Great Depression, World War II, and numerous other crises.
2013 Chicago River Bridges. University of Illinois Press.
In this book, author Patrick T. McBriarty shows how generations of Chicagoans built (and rebuilt) the thriving city trisected by the Chicago River and linked by its many crossings. This comprehensive guidebook chronicles more than 175 bridges spanning 55 locations along the Main Channel, South Branch, and North Branch of the Chicago River. With new full-color photography of existing bridges and more than one hundred black and white images of bridges past, the book unearths the rich history of Chicago’s downtown bridges from the Michigan Avenue Bridge to the often forgotten bridges that once connected thoroughfares such as Rush, Erie, Taylor, and Polk Streets.
2001 The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge. Simon & Schuster.
First published in 1972, The Great Bridge is the classic account of one of the greatest engineering feats of all time. Winning acclaim for its comprehensive look at the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, this book helped cement David McCullough’s reputation as America’s preeminent social historian.
1997 Historic American Covered Bridges. ASCE Press.
This book offers a photographic record of 138 historic covered bridges found in the United States and Canada and also includes detailed truss diagrams, basic construction details, and information about the locale, including where to find the bridge.
2001 The Bridge at Qu. Indiana University Press.
1990 Historic Highway Bridges Of California. California Department of Transportation.
This book results from an effort by Caltrans and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to plan for the future without losing sight of the past; to build new bridges that will serve the public into the twenty-first century, while preserving bridges from years, generations, or centuries part. This book contains photos and historical background of California bridges dating back as early as 1860.
1974 The First 50 Years, 1918-1968: Austin Bridge Company and Associated Companies. Taylor Publishing Company.
This publication discusses the history of a notable bridge company.
2014 America’s Covered Bridges: Practical Crossings Nostalgic Icons. Tuttle Publishing.
The history of North America is in many ways encapsulated in the history of her covered bridges. The early 1800s saw a tremendous boom in the construction of these bridges, and in the years that followed as many as 15,000 covered bridges were built. Today, fewer than a thousand remain.
2012 Indiana Covered Bridges. Indiana University Press.
A symbol of Indiana’s past, the covered bridge still evokes feelings of nostalgia, romance, and even mystery. During the 19th century, over 500 of these handsome structures spanned the streams, rivers, and ravines of Indiana. Plagued by floods, fire, storms, neglect, and arson, today fewer than 100 remain.
2012 Pennsylvania’s Covered Bridges. Arcadia Publishing.
Starting in the early 1800s, Pennsylvania’s rich forests provided natural material for the construction of more than 1,500 covered bridges across the state. The first covered bridge was built in 1805. Pennsylvania’s Covered Bridges looks at the earliest covered bridges as well as those that have survived modern progress.
2007 Pennsylvania’s Historic Bridges. Arcadia Pub..
This book examines the development of different types of bridge structures across Pennsylvania through the world of postcards, many of which are from the early 1900s. The structures featured are constructed from various materials and in a multitude of styles. Also found within these pages are several postcards of pedestrian bridges, canal bridges, trolley bridges, railroad bridges, and an aqueduct.
2015 Arizona’s Historic Bridges. Arcadia Publishing (SC).
In the 1880s, the railroads first booted their way across the landscape, following historic trails before the highways were built. The Grand Canyon and Colorado River were obvious challenges, but there were also seasonal waterways that needed crossings. The history of the state unfolds with this book, profiling the bridges that define these historic transportation routes. Many of them have been proudly restored by their communities or the state, while others are gone or are in a sad state of decline.
2011 The City, the River, the Bridge: Before and After the Minneapolis Bridge Collapse. University of Minnesota Press.
Stemming from a 2008 University of Minnesota symposium on the 2007 I-35W Bridge collapse and the building of a new bridge, it addresses the ramifications of the disaster from the perspectives of history, engineering, architecture, water science, community-based journalism, and geography. Contributors examine the factors that led to the collapse, the lessons learned from the disaster and the response, the policy and planning changes that have occurred or are likely to occur, and the impact on the city and the Mississippi River.
1990 100 Years of the Forth Bridge. Thomas Telford.
The fascinating story of the Forth Bridge is related here. The bridge is a functional monument, now transporting 200 trains a day and three million passengers a year, a symbol of Scotland and of human ingenuity, a pinnacle of Victorian enterprise and engineering, and a memorial to the men who died in its creation. As part of their contribution to the centenary of the Forth Bridge, a group of eminent engineers reassessed the bridge from the standpoint of current engineering knowledge.
1877 The Ashtabula Disaster. J. S. Goodman.
Published a year after the infamous Ashtabula River Bridge disaster, this book provides a detailed period account of this tragic bridge collapse.
2010 Engineers of Dreams: Great Bridge Builders and the Spanning of America. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Henry Petroski’s lyrical history of bridge builders in America is organized around five engineers: James Eads (Eads Bridge, St. Louis); Theodore Cooper (railroad bridge engineer and designer of the ill-fated 1907 Quebec Bridge); Gustav Lindenthal (Hell Gate Bridge, Sciotoville Bridge); Othmar Ammann (George Washington and Verrazano-Narrows bridges); and David Steinman (Mackinac Bridge, St. Johns Bridge).
1890 The Forth Railway Bridge: Being the Expanded Edition of The Giant’s Anatomy. R. Grant & Son.
This historical text includes photos at the end, and documents the construction of what was the greatest cantilever truss bridge in the world when completed, and even today is only surpassed by the Quebec Bridge.
2002 Bridges: The Spans of North America. Norton.
This is a well-known book exploring bridges in North America. This book explores in depth how, when, where, and by whom the most important North American bridges were built.
2004 Indiana’s Covered Bridges. Arcadia Pub..
Once there were hundreds of 19th-century and very early 20th-century covered bridges in Indiana–so many in fact, that the state ranked third in the nation in the number of structures still standing. By the early 1930s and 1940s, a movement was afoot to preserve those magnificent structures that had not already disappeared due to desertion and deterioration. Some were saved, but many were not.
2012 The Bridges of New York. Dover Publications.
From the Gothic stone arches and gossamer steel webbing of the Brooklyn Bridge (perhaps the greatest engineering achievement of the 19th century), to the Verrazano-Narrows (the world’s longest suspension bridge when completed in 1964) this book explores the impressive bridges spanning the New York City’s waterways.
2005 The Bridges of New Jersey: Portraits of Garden State Crossings. Rutgers University Press.
A rare photographic and poetic journey across sixty of the state’s bridges, ranging from impressive suspension spans such as the Ben Franklin and George Washington Bridges, to the small wrought iron and stone bridges that are cherished by local citizens. The book provides a rich diversity of stories that place the bridges in the context of New Jersey history and culture. Richman also explores the contribution New Jersey bridges have made to engineering-some of the most prominent engineers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries either lived or established businesses in the Garden State or designed its bridges.
2005 Al Zampa And the Bay Area Bridges. Arcadia Pub..
This book provides a history of major bridges in the San Francisco area, while also telling the story of Alfred Zampa, an ironworker who was involved with several bridges in the area.
2016 Carquinez Bridge, 1927-2007. ARCADIA PUB (SC).
This book documents the now-demolished Carquinez Bridge over the San Francisco Bay. Designed by the great engineer David Steinman, the Carquinez was built using new construction techniques and was the first bridge to use earthquake buffers in the design.
2008 The George Washington Bridge: Poetry in Steel. Rivergate Books.
Since opening in 1931, the George Washington Bridge, linking New York and New Jersey, has become the busiest bridge in the world, with 108 million vehicles crossing it in 2007. This book explores the history of this important and massive historic bridge.
2016 Route 66 Crossings: Historic Bridges of the Mother Road. University of Oklahoma Press.
Route 66 is a beloved and much studied symbol of twentieth-century America. However, the bridges on this route are often overlooked, a problem that this book seeks to address. Featuring hundreds of Ross’s own photographs, this book showcases bridges ranging in design from timber to steel and concrete, and provides schematics, maps, and global coordinates to help readers identify and locate them.
1958 Mighty Mac: The Official Picture History of the Mackinac Bridge. Wayne State University Press.
Every phase of construction of the Mackinac Bridge was photographed. The pictures in this book, selected from 3,000 black-and-white photos, document important stages of the monumental undertaking. Captions detail the procedures used during construction. The result is a volume which captures the struggles and the hardships, as well as the determination and the pride of the men who labored to build Mighty Mac.
1985 Bridging the Straits: The Story of Mighty Mac. Wayne State University Press.
Lawrence A. Rubin, executive secretary of the Mackinac Bridge Authority from 1950 to 1983, pulls no punches with this lively and absorbing account of who tried to torpedo the project and who was responsible for its success.
2015 Building the Golden Gate Bridge: A Workers’ Oral History. University of Washington Press.
2001 In the Wake of Tacoma: Suspension Bridges and the Quest for Aerodynamic Stability. ASCE Press.
In the Wake of Tacoma is the first comprehensive treatment of the changes that the 1940 collapse of the first Tacoma Narrows Bridge has imposed on the design of suspension bridges. Written as a historical narrative, this heavily illustrated book describes design trends before the collapse, the collapse itself, and the investigations to determine its cause. The book then examines subsequent aerodynamic and other design developments and their application in suspension bridges worldwide in the decades following the collapse.
1997 Historic Bridges of Pennsylvania. American Canal & Transportation Center.
Since the first covered bridge in America was built across the Schuykill River in Philadelphia in 1805, Pennsylvania has been the testing ground for some of the world’s most unusual and interesting bridges. Shank delves into the lives and works of Burr, Wernwag, Town, Howe, Ellet, Roebling and Modjeski and others who revolutionized bridge-building of the past 5000 years.
2000 Historic Highway Bridges of Oregon. Oregon Historical Society Press.
First published in 1986 by the Oregon Department of Transportation, it was revised with a second edition in 1989 and copyrighted by the Oregon Historical Society. It has been again revised in 2000. llustrations and photographs supplement this review of Oregon’s rich collection of historic bridges. Bridges include those in and around Portland, along the scenic Columbia River Highway, many magnificent Conde B. McCullough-designed coastal arch bridges, rural covered bridges, and more.
2008 The Queensboro Bridge. Arcadia Pub..
Opened in 1909, the Queensboro Bridge is the longest bridge spanning the East River. The bridge had an immediate and profound effect on the development of Queens from a largely rural area into a bedroom and working community. With its graceful symmetry, the bridge has long been a source of inspiration for artists, songwriters, and authors. It is also an early and large example of a cantilever truss bridge in America.
0 North American Railroad Bridges. Voyageur Press.
This book provides photos and information about a variety of railroad bridges.
2010 Golden Gate: The Life and Times of America’s Greatest Bridge. Bloomsbury USA.
This book tells the history of the bridge, and the rich and peculiar history of the California experience. The Golden Gate is a grand public work, a symbol and a very real bridge, a magnet for both postcard photographs and suicides. In this compact but comprehensive narrative, Starr unfolds the hidden-in-plain-sight meaning of the Golden Gate, putting it in its place among classic works of art.
1957 Miracle bridge at Mackinac. Eerdmans.
David Steinman, the engineer for the Mackinac Bridge, was a nationally recognized bridge engineer who had designed many landmark bridges leading up to his design of the Mackinac Bridge. In 1957, Steinman wrote this detailed book documenting the planning, design, and construction of the bridge. While it is perhaps somewhat biased in favor of the bridge, having been written by the designer of the bridge, the book provides unparalleled insight into the bridge and perhaps the greatest level of detail and discussion of the design of the bridge available. As such, it is a remarkable resource for documenting the bridge.
1941 Bridges and Their Builders. Putnam.
This history of notable bridges and bridge engineers was first published in 1941 and is notable because it was authored by David Steinman, himself one of the greatest bridge engineers in American history. As such, the book is a unique opportunity to see what bridges and engineers Steinman appreciated and perhaps drew inspiration from.
2014 The Bridge: The Building of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Toward the end of 1964, the Verrazano Narrows Bridge-linking the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island with New Jersey-was completed. Fifty years later, it remains an engineering marvel. At 13,700 feet (more than two and a half miles), it is still the longest suspension bridge in the United States and the sixth longest in the world.
1920 The Development of Bridges.
This short historical text on bridges in Great Britain includes a number of photos.
2004 Boston’s Bridges. Arcadia Publishers.
Boston’s Bridges surveys the city’s spans, telling the story of their construction and tracking the evolution in design, materials, and construction techniques from the 1700s to the present. Drawing on previously unpublished images from the Massachusetts Department of Public Works, the city of Boston archives, and numerous other sources, Boston’s Bridges is a vivid document of the city’s bridges past and present. Written by an engineer-historian, Boston’s Bridges will appeal not only to those fascinated by Boston’s history but also to those with an interest in construction, civil engineering, and urban architecture.
1894 The Tower Bridge: Its History and Construction from the Date of the Earliest Project to the Present Time. Office of “The Engineer”.
This period text is filled with drawings and photos that document the design and construction of the Tower Bridge in London.
2015 Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated.
1894 History of the Tower Bridge and of Other Bridges Over the Thames Built by the Corporation of London: Including an Account of the Bridge House Trust from the Twelfth Century, Based on the Records of the Bridge House Estates Committee. Smith, Elder and Company.
This book includes a history of the famous Tower Bridge in London. It also discusses other Thames bridges in London, such as the Blackfriars Bridge. This book includes photos and drawings.
2015 Pittsburgh’s Bridges. ARCADIA LIB ED.
Pittsburgh’s Bridges takes a comprehensive look at the design, construction, and, sometimes, demolition of the bridges that shaped Pittsburgh, ranging from the covered bridges of yesterday to those that define the skyline today.
2006 The Portland Bridge Book. Urban Adventure Press.
The Portland Bridge Book, now in its third edition, is a richly detailed history of the bridges spanning the Willamette and Columbia Rivers in Portland, Oregon. It includes historic and large format photos, annotated drawings showing Portland’s movable bridges in operation, glossary of bridge terms, and Portland’s transportation history timeline.
2013 Bridging Saint John Harbour. Arcadia Publishing.
St. John, New Brunkswick has been home to several noteworthy bridges, past and present, which this book explores.
2004 Bridge Inspector’s Reference Manual. v. 1-2. U.S. Government Printing Office.
Intended to assist in the training of certified bridge inspectors, this large publication is also a great reference for anyone wanting to better understand different bridge types and the parts that make them up. It is also a good tool to educate bridge historians and preservationists into the underlying problems that bridges can develop.
2000 The Manual of Bridge Engineering. Thomas Telford, London.
This publication brings together all topics which are of interest to bridge engineers around the world in one comprehensive manual.

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