1855,1876,1891,1990 Hennepin Bridges over West Channel of Mississippi River in Minneapolis, MN

1855-1876: (Bridge Hunter)

1876-1891: (Bridge Hunter)

1891-1989: (Bridge Hunter; HAER) It was demolished in 1989 to make room for the new bridge.

1990: (Bridge Hunter; John A. Weeks III; Satellite) It is six lanes wide. That requirement stopped preservation talks of the 1891 steel arch bridge.

The full name is Father Louis Hennepin Bridge.

The day after I discovered there was a suspension bridge in Cincinnati, OH, I also discovered a suspension bridge in Minneapolis while studying the Third Avenue Bridge.

John Weeks

I'm now switching to the chronological order of the bridges.

1855

This location was the site of what is believed to be the first permanent bridge over the Mississippi River. What was once the most important bridge over the Mississippi River is now the most elegant and stylish bridge to span the mighty river. The first bridge was built in 1854 and was opened on January 23, 1855. According to the state historical society, it was proclaimed as a link between the Atlantic and Pacific, and it was called the "Gateway to the West". The bridge was 620 feet long and 17 feet wide. It was a pure suspension bridge with tall wooden towers, wire suspension cables, a stone base, and cast iron anchors. [John Weeks]

Those cables would have been made with wrought iron instead of steel. I think that means that a lot of pounding of metal was done to make those cables.

1855 Bridge Hunter, research by Jake Bronder

A better exposure and more resolution:

Bridges Now and Then posted
The Father Louis Hennepin Bridge, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1855. (Structure Magazine)

Minnesota History in 90 Seconds posted another variant of the above image with the comment: "Today in 1855… A cable suspension bridge opens between Minneapolis and Nicollet Island. The first permanent span over the main channel of the Mississippi River, it could be crossed by paying a toll of three cents (one way) or five cents (round trip) per human foot-passenger, fifteen cents per horse, and two cents per head for sheep.

from MNopedia

photo from Minnesota Historical Society"

Karen Axell Brajdich: Franklin Steele built that bridge. He was given timber rights in northern Minnesota and I imagine he floated those logs down the Rum River and Mississippi River to build this bridge and much else in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

1876

"The second bridge was another pure suspension bridge. It was 675 feet long and 32 feet wide, with towers that were slightly taller than the first bridge. Due to the importance of the river crossing, the second bridge was built parallel to the first bridge, and the first bridge was not removed until after the second bridge opened in 1876." [John Weeks]    Eads was built in 1874 using steel. But steel was bleeding edge technology back then. So these cables were also probably made with wrought iron.

1876 Bridge Hunter, research by Jake Bronder

Steve Gyurci posted

Minneapolis (1905)

Industrial Exposition Building in the background 

Photo from the Minnesota Historical Society

Ryan Coleman: This photo is much older than that the Hennepin Avenue bridge depicted was replaced in 1889? The previous steel deck bridge that predated the 1990 built bridge that is there now obviously was much older than 1905.

Bruce Barsness: Ryan Coleman The bridge in the picture was constructed in 1876 and torn down in 1891, so the correct date of the picture would be somewhere between those two. https://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/.../18551876189119...

The Minneapolis Union Depot in the picture was constructed in 1885 and was demolished soon after the Great Northern depot across the street was opened in 1914. https://www.nokohaha.com/.../20/the-minneapolis-union-depot/

That means the picture was probably taken between 1885 and 1891.

Tom Lyman shared

To the right is the Mpls. Union Depot, and train shed. It was the predecessor to the Great Northern Depot. Which was built across Hennepin Ave. from this one.

1891

"Construction of the third bridge started in 1888 and was completed in 1891. This bridge was a steel arch bridge that was designed in-house by Minneapolis bridge engineers which included Frederick Cappelen, who designed many of the large concrete arch bridges over the river in the early 1900s. The third bridge was 1160 feet long, spanning the river in two 580 foot arches. The bridge had a 56 foot wide wooden roadway and two 12-foot wide sidewalks. The historical society reports that the wooden deck was replaced with a steel grid in 1954." [John Weeks]

The City Engineer proposed a stone arch bridge with three piers in the river to replace the 1876 bridge. But the citizens didn't want a plain old stone arch bridge. (I wonder if the twin-cities is the stone arch capital of the country. In most cities, a stone arch bridge would not be considered plain.) More significantly, the Milling Company that had built around the Upper Falls did not want three piers interfering with the flow of water to their intakes. The city council ignored public input and started on the stone arch bridge. But the Milling Company obtained a temporary injunction from the district court to stop all construction. The City Engineer was forced to join a committee to reevaluate the design. City Engineer Rinker estimated that a steel arch bridge with just one pier would be "much less than the stone arch bridge." [HAER-data] (Another example of engineers choosing designs that they have used in the past rather than learning lower-cost new designs happened during the design of the I-355 Bridge over the Des Plaines River.)

HAER MINN,27-MINAP,11--6

6. VIEW FROM NORTHWEST - Steel Arch Bridge, Hennepin Avenue spanning west channel of Mississippi River, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, MN

HAER MINN,27-MINAP,11--8

8. CENTER PIER, SOUTHWEST SIDE 

HAER MINN,27-MINAP,11--12

12. STEEL ARCHES, NORTH SIDE

HAER MINN,27-MINAP,11--16

16. CROWN HINGE CONNECTION AT ARCH CROWN

[I see the hinge in the two visible beams on the right in the middle where the beams taper to a point. But the two beams on the left have a uniform width across the center. HAER-data explains that the two halves were built by different companies and one used a three-hinge design whereas the other used a two-hinge design.]

1990

City Hall wanted a signature structure and paid three times more than what a UCEB (Ugly Concrete Eyesore Bridge) like the Plymouth Avenue Bridge would have cost. This bridge is actually two spans that share center towers. The towers are about 175' above water. [John Weeks]

Street View, looking Northeast

Note the observation platform that was built around the south side of the north tower. It is nice that city planners no longer ignore pedestrian and bike traffic like they used to. John has additional photos of  a bike ramp and a stairway that connects a river trail with the bridge walkway. He also has photos of a movie set that was constructed so that the bridge depicted a border crossing between Detroit and Windsor. He also has a couple of night photos showing the lighting.

John Weeks

The bridge uses a beam for the deck stiffening rather than a truss. The handrails are quite elaborate for a modern bridge. (I assume they are made with metal instead of plastic.)

John Weeks

Mark Mclarty posted
Hennepin Avenue Suspension Bridge.
The Hennepin Avenue Bridge is the structure that carries Hennepin County State Aid Highway 52, Hennepin Avenue, across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at Nicollet Island. Officially, it is the Father Louis Hennepin Bridge, in honor of the 17th-century explorer Louis Hennepin, who was the first European to see the Saint Anthony Falls, a short distance downriver. Two of the three previous structures have been suspension bridges, while a third—which existed nearly a century—was composed of steel arch spans. The original crossing, which opened as a toll bridge on January 23, 1855, is believed to have been the first permanent span across the Mississippi at any point. Other bridges were completed in 1876, 1891, and most recently 1990. Today, the bridge's main span is 190 metres (620 ft) in length.
John Weeks: Reported to be the shortest suspension bridge in the world that carries automobile traffic (at least when it first opened). I wonder if anyone know where you could find the data to prove or disprove that assertion?

Joe Fishbein commented on Mark's post
The view during an inspection in October 2021.

Norbert Lucas posted two photos with the comment: "Hennepin Avenue Bridge crossing Mississippi River Minneapolis."

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