TIMELINE
Main Street area Bridges
1812
-
Buffalo Street Bridge, was a $12,000 wood structure paid for by
Ontario and Genesee Counties. This was the first crossing north of Avon.
There was violent opposition to this bridge, as it was felt that there
was no need for it. The bridge was rebuilt on the same piers in 1824, and
again in 1834 when the wooden bridge burnt. The present stone bridge was
built in 1857 when a flood washed away the buildings attached to the north
side of the structure.. Both sides of this bridge were completely lined
with three and four story buildings, and until an urban renewal project
on the late 1960's removed them, most residents did not even realize that
they were on a bridge.
.
1819
-
The second bridge to cross the river, was a toll bridge built by Samuel
Andrews near the brink of the Upper Falls. This bridge was 22 feet wide
with 3 inch thick planks. By 1838 it had fallen into serious disrepair,
and was not even safe for foot travel.
-
Original Court Street Bridge built of planks. A bow-string truss
bridge on stone piers replaced it in 1858. On Feb. 18, 1887 a gale wind
put sufficient pressure on the poles and telegraph wires that two spans
on the north side of the west end were torn lose. Anna Graham, caught in
the wreckage was thrown into the river and drowned. The bridge was repaired
and in use until replaced by a stone arch bridge in 1892
.
1826
-
The first Andrews Street Bridge is built in 1826. It was a wooden
truss bridge, low to the water, and painted white. In 1857 a iron bridge
replaced the original structure. Pedestrians crossed on the wooden planks
used by the bridge builders, until Nathan Newhafer fell into the river
and was carried over the falls. Searchers looking for his body found that
of Charles Littles, murdered the same day that Newhafer fell. The present
stone bridge bridge was built in 1893.
Other Bridges in the Area
-
Expansion of the city and the opening of Mt. Hope Cemetery in 1838 prompted
the construction of the Clarissa St. Bridge in 1844. This
was a wooden truss bridge on stone piers. There were two carriage ways
and two walkways with a tall divider between that blocked the opposing
traffic from view. In 1862 an iron bridge was built at the same site, and
this in turn was replaced in 1892 with an iron truss bridge. The present
bridge was built in 1918 to allow canal traffic to pass underneath. The
new Barge Canal utilized the river from the canal crossing to the Court
Street Dam.
-
The Elmwood Avenue Bridge was a wrought iron truss built in 1888.
The bridge was later raised to allow use of the river as a Rochester harbor
for the Barge Canal.
-
In 1873 the Vincent Place Bridge was erected. In 1882 a boy fell
through the decking of the bridge, falling 110 feet to the river below,
and lived. The continuous riveted truss was in use until 1892 when it was
closed as unsafe by the Commissioner of Public Works. A second truss
was added, doubling the strength of the bridge and it was reopened, and
renamed, the Smith Street Bridge. It was replaced by the steel Bausch St.
Bridge in 1930.
-
The Stutson St. Bridge was built in Charlotte in 1916. It is the
only lift bridge in the city. The design is a two-leaf bascule bridge of
the Strauss design, 178 feet between pins. The flood of 1916, during construction
lowered the river bed nearly to the bottom of the piles under the piers.
It was decided to place the foundation of the east abutment on bedrock,
over 100 feet below the water level.
-
The Broad Street Bridge was built on top of the second Erie Canal
Aqueduct. The canal was re-routed around the city in 1919, and in the early
20's the canal bed was sold to the city and reused for the new subway.
Tracks for the subway cars were laid in the original canal bed, and a seventeen
inch thick concrete roof was built over top and became Broad Street. Where
the canal crossed the river on the Aqueduct, a second set of arches were
added over top of the canal bed and a road bed was built for cars.
-
Veterans Memorial Bridge opens in 1931, it is 980 feet long, 171
feet above the river, at the site of Carthage Landing on the east. This
concrete arch bridge cost $2,494,012.
Bridges at the Lower Falls
In total, six bridges have crossed the Genesee at the Lower Falls.
1819
-
Cartage Bridge was at the approximate site of the Driving Park Bridge.
This bridge was the highest wooden arch ever built, 718' long 30' wide
and 196' above the river, and was described as one of the wonders
of the world. Built between May 1818 and February 16, 1819 it required
the labor of 22 men, and weighed 200 tons (69,513 feet of pine timber)
using 800 iron bolts. It was built in two stages; first, cantilevered frameworks
were built from each shore, meeting in a pointed over the center of the
gorge. When this was completed, it was used as the supporting structure
during the construction of the actual bridge. When the great Roman arch
was finished, the supporting gothic arch was dismantled. The Cartage
Bridge was guaranteed to stand for a year, and it fell after fifteen months
on May 22, 1820.
.
1827
-
A second wooden bridge is built, but it is located above the falls, at
the bottom of the gorge. This bridge is destroyed by flood.
.
1835
-
The third bridge, also wooden and above the falls, is built, and swept
away by the Great Flood of 1835.
.
1856
-
The fourth was a suspension bridge, 755 feet long, 19 feet wide and
208 feet above the river, was located just north of the original Carthage
Bridge. Built at a cost of $17,000, it opened in July of 1857. It closed
in August so that additional stays could be attached to stop its sideways
motion, and was reopened the following month. The city worried about the
bridge, and passed an ordnance forbidding speeds faster than a walk, this
included fire engines. Sometime during the night of April 21, 1857, it
fell unheard, from the weight of snow. The bridge was designed to carry
a load of 1000 tons, and estimates of the snow load varied from 50 to 150
tons. Failure of the bridge was attributed to poor construction, and the
use of cast iron columns.
.
1919
-
The next was a $125,000 wrought iron bridge with a central span of 428
feet. Three additional spans, one on the east, and two on the west, give
a total bridge length of 717 feet, and a weight of 900 tons. General neglect
of the structure lead to speed restrictions in the 1960's and occasional
closings during bad weather.
.
1989
-
The wrought iron bridge was demolished, and the current bridge built to
replace it.
. 
GENESEE RIVER
BRIDGES
POST
CARDS
Erie Canal Aqueduct
Erie Canal Aqueduct
over Genesee River, Rochester, NY
Erie Canal Aqueduct
and Court St. Bridge, Rochester, NY
Aqueduct Over Genesee
River & Court Street Bridge, Rochester, NY
Broad Street Bridge
New Subway and
Bridge across Genesee River, Rochester, NY
The Genesee River and
Aqueduct, Rochester, N. Y.
Court Street Bridge
Court Street Bridge
on a quiet summer day, Rochester, NY
Court Street Bridge
at night, Rochester, NY
Court St. Bridge from
Lehigh Station, Rochester, N. Y.
Court St. Bridge from
Erie Station, Rochester, N. Y.
Court Street Bridge
and the Barge Canal Terminal from Chamber of Commerce, Rochester, NY
Court and Broad Street
Bridges over Genesee River, Rochester, N. Y.
Driving Park Avenue Bridge
Driving
Park Ave. Bridge, Rochester, NY
Genesee River View below
Lower Falls, Rochester, NY
Driving
Park Avenue Bridge, Lower Falls in distance, Rochester, NY
Lower
Gorge of Genesee, and Driving Park Ave. Bridge, Rochester, NY
The Genesee River Gorge
and Driving Park Avenue Bridge, Rochester, N. Y.
Veterans Memorial Bridge
New Ridge Road
Highway Bridge Spanning the Genesee River, Rochester, NY
Veterans Memorial
Bridge, Rochester, NY
Aerial view Veterans
Memorial Bridge over Picturesque Genesee River, Rochester, NY
Vincent Street Bridge
Vincent Street Bridge,
Rochester, NY
R. W. & O. R. R. Bridge
R. W. & O. R. R.
Bridge, Rochester, NY
Bridge and Upper Falls
of Genesee River, Rochester, N. Y.
R. W. & O. Swing Bridge
R. W. & O. Swing
Bridge
Other bridges on the Genesee
The Old Wooden
Bridge, Portage NY. Destroyed by Fire in 1875
.
