Andy Warhol Bridge

Andy Warhol Bridge
From north bank of the Allegheny River, looking southwest, downtown Pittsburgh in background, Roberto Clemente Bridge at right. Shows main plate girder (bearing compressive forces) and sidewalk support.
Coordinates	40°26′46″N 80°00′05″W / 40.44611°N 80.00139°W / 40.44611; -80.00139
Carries	Seventh Street
Crosses	Allegheny River
Official name	Andy Warhol Bridge
Named for	Andy Warhol
Maintained by	Allegheny County
Characteristics
Design	Suspension bridge
Total length	1,061 ft (323 m)
Width	62 ft (19 m) Vertical clearance above 78 ft towers
Height	83.5 ft (25.5 m)
History
Constructed by	American Bridge Company
Construction start	1925
Construction end	1926
Opened	June 17, 1926
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Pittsburgh Landmark – PHLF
NRHP reference No.	86000018
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	January 7, 1986
Designated PHLF	1988[1]
Location

Andy Warhol Bridge, also known as the Seventh Street Bridge, spans the Allegheny River in Downtown Pittsburgh. It is the only bridge in the United States named for a visual artist. It was opened at a cost of $1.5 million^[2] on June 17, 1926, in a ceremony attended by 2,000.^[3]

History and architectural features

Named for the artist Andy Warhol, a Pittsburgh native, this structure is one of three parallel bridges called The Three Sisters, the others being the Roberto Clemente Bridge and the Rachel Carson Bridge. The Three Sisters are self-anchored suspension bridges and are historically significant because they are the only trio of nearly identical bridges — as well as the first self-anchored suspension spans — built in the United States.

The bridge was renamed for Warhol on March 18, 2005, as part of the tenth-anniversary celebration for the Andy Warhol Museum. The museum is nearby at 117 Sandusky Street, a street which leads to the bridge from the north side of the river on Pittsburgh's North Shore.

On August 11, 2013, the Andy Warhol Bridge was covered with 580 knitted and crocheted panels in a yarn bombing project known as Knit the Bridge that lasted for four weeks.^[4]

This is the third bridge on the site, the first having been demolished in early 1884. Construction of its replacement began in 1884,^[5] opening to traffic in 1887.^[6]

Gallery

• 
  Western side of the bridge
• 
  Facing north on the bridge
• 
  Banner for the bridge's namesake, Andy Warhol
• 
  "Knit the Bridge" yarn bombing event on the bridge in August 2013
• 
  Historic plaque for Seventh Street Bridge
• 
  Duquesne Wharf, circa 1912, showing the second Seventh Street Bridge

See also

• List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Pennsylvania
• List of crossings of the Allegheny River

References

• Pohla Smith (2005). Warhol Bridge Dedication: story by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 23, 2006.

External links

• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. PA-490-B, "Three Sisters Bridges, Seventh Street Bridge, Spanning Allegheny River at Seventh Street, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, PA", 3 photos, 1 color transparency, 1 photo caption page
• Seventh Street Bridge at Structurae

This page was last edited on 4 January 2024, at 14:40