Covered Bridges: A Close-Up Look: A Tour of America's Iconic Architecture Through Historic Photos and Detailed Drawings (Built in America)
As a symbol of America's rural landscape, covered bridges have inspired the passion of painters and poets, sparked the curiosity of historians, and obliged the logic of structural engineers. However, since the late-nineteenth century, when as many as 10,000 bridges dotted our nation's back roads, these wooden structures have slowly disappeared and today fewer than 900 remain scattered across 29 states. Fortunately, through the collections of the Historic American Building Survey (HABS) and the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), the legends of these iconic structures have been preserved through historic photographs and architectural drawings. In Covered Bridges: A Close-Up Look, you'll take an in-depth tour of a variety of bridges through stunning photos and precise architectural plans culled from the HABS/HAER website. In addition, you'll enjoy an inspiring forward by Thomas E. Walczak, National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges, learn a brief history of each bridge, and discover the handy GPS coordinates that make each location easy to find. Covered Bridges: A Close Up Look provides a tour like no other of America's most iconic architecture, some still proudly in use while others endure through treasured photos and drawings.