science · 30 March 1909 · 115 years ago
In 1909, the first significant double-deck bridge in the U.S. was opened to traffic. The Queensboro Bridge is one of the greatest cantilever bridges in the history of American bridge design. A collaboration between the famed bridge engineer Gustav Lindenthal (1850-1935) and architect Henry Hornbostel, the Queensboro's massive, silver-painted trusses span the East River between 59th Street in Manhattan and Long Island City in Queens. The opening of the Queensboro Bridge was one of, if not the, most important feature to stimulate the continuing development of Long Island City and Queens in general. Before it, Long Island City was isolated and unevenly developed.
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