1851+1960 Lewiston-Queenston Bridges over Niagara Gorge (River)

1851: (Archived Bridge Hunter) Queenston-Lewiston Bridge

1960: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; 3D Satellite) Lewiston-Queenston Bridge

Note that the order of the cities in the name is different.

1851 Suspension Bridge

"Begun in 1850, opened March 20, 1851" [BridgeHunter-1851]

"On February 1st 1864, a storm with gale force winds caused the center span of the bridge to fall to the river below. Long guy wires which extended from the bridge to the shoreline used to stabilize the bridge deck had been disconnected to prevent damage from the ice on the river below." [NiagaraFrontier]

Photo via HistoricBridges

RightInNiagara via BridgeHunter-1851, RightInNiagara has several photos before and after the collapse

A second suspension bridge

Mike Cushman posted, cropped
Original Queenston/Lewiston Bridge.

Andrew Riddel commented on Mike's post
Brock’s monument in right corner.
[The comments contain more photos, but I believe some of them are of the 1851 bridge.]

Antonio Medina posted three photos with the comment: "Old Queenston-Lewiston Bridge 1950's. These are photo's of the second Queenston-Lewiston Bridge. The bridge was in operation from 1899-1962. This bridge was built to replace the first Queenston-Lewiston Bridge that had fallen during a wind storm in 1854."

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Karen Limardi commented on Antonio's post

John Dahl posted seven photos with the comment: "Explored the remnants of the second Queenston - Lewiston Suspension Bridge on the U.S. side at Lewiston. It stood from 1899 - 1962 and was replaced by the present day steel arch Queenston - Lewiston bridge in 1962"

Jack Mings: If you take the lower trail there's many pieces of the cable and large pieces of steel.

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An unusual piece of art/sculpture was built in 1980 using the bridge columns as support. It is now fenced off and largely neglected and abandoned.
Karen Limardi: There was a mirror installed at the top that reflected the river and the gorge when you were up there. I would never climb that thing it would freak me out !

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The anchors which held the large steel cables.

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The stone columns have matching counterparts on the Queenston side across the river.

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Inscription on one of the columns says Lewiston Suspension Bridge, First Board of Governors,
The names underneath have largely faded away.

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Inscription on the other side of the column, largely faded except for the name Edward.

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Underneath the name Edward is this date of 1850. Is that the date of Edward's death?

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There are two abandoned roads which went to the bridge. These would have been very busy during the life of the bridge.

1960 Arch

Photo by Sloan Kelly via TripSavvy via BridgeHunter-1960, License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike (CC BY-SA)
looking north

Photo by James Neiss via LockportJournal via BridgeHunter-1960, License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike (CC BY-SA)
looking north
When imposed, the wind restrictions for this bridge are: "a crossing speed reduction to 5 mph, traffic being restricted to one lane in each direction and a ban on all empty tractor trailers or tandems from crossing."
[That is part of the Sir Adam Beck Power Station on the left.]

4 of 7 photos posted by Bill Augerman with the comment: "Fall on the niagara river    📸@billaugerman"

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Dec 2020 Photo by Josh Schmid via BridgeHunter-1960, License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike (CC BY-SA)
View from north

The falsework used bents instead of tiebacks.

Photo via HistoricBridges

Western NY Welcome Center posted
The arch of the the Lewiston-Queenston bridge about to be connected in 1961!
Credit: Daniel Miller via Vintage Western NY History FB Group
James Torgeson shared
Steelwork by Bethlehem!
Kenny Ozelie: I read something,or maybe it was a show on TV that when putting in the final piece that they have to make sure the ambient temperature, and where the sun is in the sky to have the steel that is already up is expanded or contracted to fit that final piece, ever hear anything like that?
Steve Stalter: Steel expands and contracts due to changes in temperature. The bridge structure is designed to accommodate these changes. During the erection of the steel, you don't want the sun shining on one side of the structure causing a twist in the structure while your trying to connect the arches together. The structural engineers and ironworkers know how to monitor for these concerns.

Summary

Paula McLaren posted four photos with the comment:

The Lewiston–Queenston Bridge, also known as the Queenston–Lewiston Bridge, is an arch bridge that crosses the Niagara River gorge just south of the Niagara Escarpment. The bridge was officially opened on November 1, 1962. It is an international bridge between the United States and Canada. It connects Interstate 190 in the town of Lewiston, New York to Highway 405 in the community of Queenston, Ontario. The Lewiston–Queenston Bridge is architecturally similar to the Rainbow Bridge at nearby Niagara Falls.

The first Queenston-Lewiston Bridge was built in 1851 by engineer Edward Serrell and wrecked by wind in 1864 (or 1854). Newspapers reported that bridge deck had been destroyed in February 1864 by wind which caused main deck to sway excessively due to earlier removal of stabilizing guy-wires by local authorities, however main suspension cables remained fully intact. Some of the cables were still in place as late as 1895.

A second bridge called the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge, a suspension bridge was later constructed. Located seven-tenths mile (1.1 km) north of the current bridge, this suspension bridge was originally built near the present location of the Rainbow Bridge, and was moved to Queenston in 1898 by R.S. Buck and engineer L.L. Buck, after the completion of the Rainbow Bridge's predecessor, the Upper Steel Arch Bridge. The suspension bridge was dismantled in 1963 after the current bridge was completed and opened.

Reminders of the earlier bridge are still visible in the area. First is two columns that lie within the Earl W. Brydges Artpark State Park. Second is the original plaque, now located midspan alongside the road, right at the border between the two countries. The plaque is flanked by a US and a Canadian flag.

On December 1, 1961, while the bridge was under construction, an F-100 fighter (variously reported as belonging to the United States Air Force or Air National Guard, caught fire just after taking off from a base near Niagara Falls, New York. To protect people in the city, the pilot steered it into the Niagara River gorge before safely ejecting; but this aimed it near the construction site. It passed not far over the heads of workers near the site, missed a construction crane by about 100 feet (30 m), and crashed into the gorge side about 600 feet beyond the bridge before falling into the river.

In 2005 a major overhaul took place to incorporate a 5th reversible lane in addition to the original four lanes. During this time the structure was also strengthened to seismic codes. 

Before the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge was erected, the popular ferry service that crossed the Niagara River between Queenston and Lewiston was known as the Ongiara Ferry. It operated for many years, providing a vital link between the two communities when there was no bridge. 

The ferry was in operation between 1864 and 1899, a time when no bridge connected the two locations.

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