Pont Saint-Louis, Footbridge in 4th arrondissement, France
The Pont Saint-Louis is a pedestrian crossing made of steel that links the Île de la Cité to the Île Saint-Louis across the Seine. The structure stretches roughly 67 meters long and 16 meters wide, allowing people to walk directly between the two islands.
The first link, the wooden Pont Saint-Landry, was finished in 1634 and destroyed in 1710 after damage from the 1709 ice breakup. A seven-arch wooden Pont Rouge followed in 1717 and collapsed in the 1795 flood. After an 1804 oak bridge by engineer Dumoustier, a suspension bridge (1842) and a single 64 m metal arch (1861) came; the latter sank on 22 December 1939 when a 1,200-tonne motor vessel struck it, killing three people. A cage-like footbridge served from 1941, and the present steel beam bridge, designed by architects Jabouille and Creuzot and engineers Long-Depaquit and Coste, was begun in 1968 or 1969 and inaugurated in 1970.
The bridge takes its name from the nearby rue Saint-Louis-en-l'Île, itself named after the church of Saint-Louis-en-l'Île. In fine weather street artists often perform on the deck, and since 2014 the crossing has been closed to motor traffic and reserved for pedestrians and cyclists.
The bridge is easy to reach, with nearby Metro stations like Pont-Marie on Line 7 or Cite on Line 4 within walking distance. The wide pedestrian path allows comfortable crossing even when crowded.
The 1941 replacement was a "pont-cage" bought second-hand from a Neuilly building site; it appears in the opening scene of Blake Edwards's La Panthère rose. The present steel beam bridge, designed by architects Jabouille and Creuzot and engineers Long-Depaquit and Coste, was begun in 1968 or 1969 and inaugurated in 1970.
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