Hennepin

First Hennepin Avenue Wood Tower Suspension Bridge (1854/55 - 1876)

Engineering for this bridge type

The first permanent bridge to span the Mississippi at any point along its length was built not by a governmental entity but by a group of speculators who saw an opportunity to link the fledgling cross-river towns of St. Anthony and Minneapolis and thus increase the value of their land holdings and waterpower rights. In 1852, before either town had been officially incorporated, these speculators, led by Franklin Steele, formed the Mississippi Bridge Company and hired engineer Thomas Griffith to design the proposed Hennepin Avenue bridge. Griffith was fresh from helping to build a major suspension bridge across Niagara Falls, completed in 1850.

Construction was completed by late 1854, and the bridge was opened in a gala celebration on January 23, 1855. Minnesota Governor Willis A. Gorman described it as “a wonderful enterprize” and shared his vision that “this mighty structure may yet bear … the commerce of the Pacific, as it mingles with that of the Atlantic!” The “mighty structure” was 620 feet long and 17 feet wide, with wire suspension cables running over wood-shingled towers on stone bases and anchored by cast iron moorings placed below the limestone bedrock. These anchors were the first large iron castings made in Minnesota. The stone bases of the towers on the west side of the river were excavated and stabilized in 2001-2002 by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and are now visible as part of First Bridge Park. A resident who attended the opening celebration reported that the cost of the bridge was $36,000.

As the property of a private corporation, the facility was operated as a private toll bridge until purchased by Hennepin County in 1869. The toll was five cents for pedestrians, twenty-five cents for horse-drawn wagons, and two cents for “swine or sheep.” Despite the hyperbolic sentiments expressed at the opening of the bridge, its condition quickly deteriorated to the point where replacement was needed. The new bridge was built directly adjacent to the old, so, for a brief period during construction, both bridges coexisted. The old bridge was demolished in 1876 when the new bridge was complete.

This highly functional bridge lasted for nearly a century, until it was demolished in 1988-89 for construction of the present bridge. Portions of its sandstone abutments have been incorporated into the new bridge, and other portions are visible along the riveredge at First Bridge Park. The footings of the pier which supported the mid-river touchdown of the arches also remain.