Ramsey County History – Summer 2021: “The Aesthetics of Bridge Design: A Paean to Two of St. Paul’s Elegant Park Bridges”

The Aesthetics of Bridge Design: A Paean to Two of St. Paul’s Elegant Park Bridges
Author: Christine Podas-Larson

It is said that bridges have the power to define the character of a city. Today in St. Paul, 320 bridges carry and connect motor vehicles, trains, and bicyclists, runners, and walkers. Author Christine Podas-Larson tells the story of two of these bridges—the South Channel Bridge in Phalen Park and the Montreal Bridge in Highland Park. Thanks to the vision and tenacity of park advocates, bridge engineers, and city leaders, these exquisite, twentieth-century pedestrian structures—one spanning a waterway, the other a roadway—“draw attention from afar and enchant while crossing above and traversing below in an experience that becomes more intimate while in the hold of the structures themselves . . . These are not the bridges of commerce. They are places where those who cross tend to dwell for a time.” After reading this article, we invite you to visit these two city parks (and Como Regional Park, as well) and take a leisurely stroll across the lovely bridges yourself.
PDF of C. Podas-Larson article