Eighth Street Bridge, bridge in Passaic & Wallington, New Jersey
The Eighth Street Bridge is a bridge in Allentown, Pennsylvania, that crosses Little Lehigh Creek and connects the city center with the south side. It features two northbound lanes, one southbound lane, two sidewalks, and an open-arch design made of reinforced concrete supported by broad arches.
The bridge opened on November 17, 1913, and was then the tallest and longest concrete bridge in the world, built by McArthur Brothers from New York. It carried streetcars on the Liberty Bell Line connecting Allentown to nearby towns, until streetcar service ended in 1951.
The bridge was renamed in 1974 after Albertus L. Meyers, a musician who led the Allentown Band for fifty years. This connection to a respected local artist shows how the bridge holds meaning beyond its role as a crossing, tied to the city's cultural identity.
The bridge is straightforward to walk across its full length and offers views of the creek and surrounding neighborhoods from its elevated position. You can still see the old streetcar wire supports on the structure, which help tell the story of its past.
The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988, recognizing it as an important piece of engineering heritage. Its open-spandrel arch design was one of the early examples of large reinforced concrete construction, showing how building technology advanced in the early 1900s.
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