History
The bridge is at least the third bridge over the Don River at this location, the first operated by the Scadding family in the early 1800s. The previous bridges were closer to the level of the river bank below.
The current steel Truss bridge was built in 1911. It was higher in elevation than previous bridges at the location and streets on each side of the river were graded higher to meet the level of the bridge. The construction of this bridge eliminated a grade-level railway crossing on the west bank of the river.
The bridge was renovated in the 1990s and public art was added. At the top of the western side of the bridge is a piece of public art created in 1996 by Eldon Garnet. It consisted of a clock, which ceased to work and the mechanism and hands were removed in 2010, with the phrase "this river I step in is not the river I stand in" written in large letters. There are also three metal "banners."
The bridge is one of a few steel Truss bridges in the city:
- Old Eastern Avenue Bridge – unused bridge crossing the Don River
- Bathurst Street Bridge – recycled bridge used on the Lakeshore
- Tywn River Drive Bridge – a minor bridge crossing the Rouge River
- Lawrence Avenue Bridge – former bridge that took traffic over Don River replaced by current overpass in the 1960s
Read more about this topic: Queen Street Viaduct
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Those who weep for the happy periods which they encounter in history acknowledge what they want; not the alleviation but the silencing of misery.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)
“I believe my ardour for invention springs from his loins. I can’t say that the brassiere will ever take as great a place in history as the steamboat, but I did invent it.”
—Caresse Crosby (1892–1970)
“Every generation rewrites the past. In easy times history is more or less of an ornamental art, but in times of danger we are driven to the written record by a pressing need to find answers to the riddles of today.... In times of change and danger when there is a quicksand of fear under men’s reasoning, a sense of continuity with generations gone before can stretch like a lifeline across the scary present and get us past that idiot delusion of the exceptional Now that blocks good thinking.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)