Frog Bridge, Four-lane bridge in Willimantic, Connecticut, US

Frog Bridge, officially Thread City Crossing, carries South Street over the Willimantic River and a New England Central Railroad line. At each end, four patinated copper frogs with gold-leaf eyes sit on concrete thread spools; the frogs lean forward, one foreleg extended. The bridge is a compression iron arch structure, and a man-made waterfall from the former Jillson Mills lies beneath it.

The current bridge opened in September 2000, replacing an 1857 stone arch bridge that stood inside the mill complex. A replacement was already planned in 1872, and a turn-of-the-century attempt produced the Willimantic Footbridge instead. In 1986 legislator John Lescoe introduced a bill for a feasibility study; funding was approved in 1991, construction began in March 1999, and the surrounding project finished in fall 2001.

The bridge's design draws on the "Battle of the Frogs": in 1754, thousands of bullfrogs in Frog Pond, about a mile east of Windham Center, croaked so loudly that residents mistook the noise for war drums or shouted words and feared an attack by the French or Indians. The four frogs, named Manny, Willy, Windy and Swifty, carry that local story.

The bridge carries South Street (CT 661) over the Willimantic River and a New England Central Railroad line, linking to Routes 32 and 66. Pedestrians can approach the eight thread spools and four frogs from the roadway; the frogs sit at each end, so both ends are worth checking. The 1857 stone arch bridge nearby reopened in October 2006 as the Windham Garden on the Bridge pedestrian crossing.

Each of the four frogs is given its own name: Manny, Willy, Windy, and Swifty, with eyes covered in gold leaf. These personal touches make the art installation memorable for many who pass through.