1915-1970 Manchester (North Point) Bridge over Allegheny River in Pittsburgh, PA

(Bridge Hunter broke Apr 22, 2023; HAER; pghbridges; Satellite) Official name: North Side Point Bridge

This is one of the lost point bridges.

Bridges Now and Then posted
The closed Manchester Bridge, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, seen from the southeast, April, 1970. (Charles W. Shane)
Dennis DeBruler: HAER has more photos of this bridge: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/pa0064/

Significance: The Manchester Bridge replaced the old wooden Union Bridge, the first bridge erected at the Point and demolished in 1907. Botfr bridges spanned the Allegheny, connecting the Point of Pittsburgh to its North Side. The superstructure consisted of two Pennsylvania through-truss spans, each 531 feet long, with a clearance of 70 feet above harbor pool level. The designs of the bridge and the finely crafted, ornamental ironwork of the portals were executed under the direction of the Pittsburgh Department of Public Works.

[HAER_data]

"TOTAL LENGTH (including longest elevated ramp): 2840 ft (Point approach, 913 ft; river spans, 1062 ft total; Allegheny approach, 865 ft)" [pghbridges]

pitt, cropped, Public Domain

 

picryl

route22ny via pinterest
"The Manchester Bridge in Pittsburgh.  It opened in 1915 and was the second bridge that connected the Point with the North Side of Pittsburgh. It replaced the wooden, covered Union Bridge (1874-1907). The Manchester Bridge was in use until 1969 (when it was replaced by the Fort Duquesne Bridge) and was demolished in 1970 as one of the final acts in the completion of the Point State Park project.  Undated photo, and caption info, from Jackson-Township Historical Preservation."

 

A photo that also has the Fort Duquesne Bridge that replaced this one as part of the project to create Point State Park and better roads in the area.

twitter

The bridge had pin-connected trusses. [scrolller and HAER_19]

ArtsAndCulture
"Entrances to the new bridge incorporated designs by Charles Keck representing the historical figures of Guyasuta, Christopher Gist, Joe Magarac and Jan Volkanik."

BrooklineConnection, this webpage has a lot of photos of the bridge including the demolition.
"The Manchester Bridge was known for its ornamental relief sculptures adorning both portals."

The north abutment was preserved because the original plan was to mount the portal sculptures on it. Instead, a separate display was built for the sculptures that were on the southern portal. The sculptures that were on the northern portal have yet to be made public. [PittsburghOrbit, this web page has detailed photos of the sculptures.]  Historic Bridges took a lot of photos of this display.

Street View, Jun 2022

Abner87, Jan 2020, cropped

The bridge abutment became a Fred "Mister Rogers" Memorial.

20220817 1217

Digitally Zoomed

These are the sculptures that were on the northern portal.

BrooklineConnection
It features "Joe Magarac, the mythical steelworker, and Jan Volkanik, hero of coal miners."

15 decorations that were on the bridge are now displayed as decorations on the Landmarks Preservation Resource Center. [phlf via NextPittsburgh]

Street View, Aug 2017

Construction photos:

DOORS OPEN Pittsburgh posted
📸: Heinz History Center

pitt, Public Domain

pitt, cropped, Public Domain
"A view of construction on the north approach of the North Side Point Bridge [Manchester Bridge]. The image specifically shows workers and a crane building the south wall at the Pittsburgh Junction Railroad under grade crossing."

HistoricPittsburgh, cropped, Public Domain
"A view of men working on the southwest corner of span no. 1 during construction of the North Side Point Bridge. The bridge was completed in 1914 and demolished in 1970. The Western Pennsylvania Exposition Building is visible in the background."