Go Bridge Hunting in the USA

Ariston · Jun 19, 2019

I don't know if this is the right section to post this. This is the best site of its kind I've found - https://bridgehunter.com/

It isn't the most modern looking website, but the info is spot on. I thought it might be of interest to some. It actually has an old railroad bridge that I used to jump off of as a kid - one that was already abandoned even way back then.

Maybe you can find a fun subject to shoot.

Trail Images · Jun 20, 2019

Thanks for sharing this link. Pretty impressive outline. I reviewed a couple here in So Cal and they're documented very clearly and reviewed easily on Google maps.......

BAC1967 · Jun 20, 2019

Great site, I can see where this will be useful. There are similar sites for ghost towns in the western US that I have found useful like this one for Nevada. https://www.ghosttowns.com/states/nv/nv.html

jay moussy · Jun 20, 2019

Some years ago, a motorcyclist friend in MA build a route sheet for covered bridges in NH, and it was used for a group ride!
Interesting structures, made to stand all kinds of weather events.

Alan Edward Klein · Jun 20, 2019

Covered Bridges are great. I've been to over 100 of them in PA, VT, NY, NJ and CT.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_covered_bridges#United_States

Huss · Jun 23, 2019

Maybe not a lot of people know this, but Clint Eastwood originally was a photographer for National Geographic and had an assignment to photograph covered bridges. I think in Iowa. He used Nikon 35mm gear so this may be the wrong forum to mention this.

Sirius Glass · Jun 23, 2019

When I was working in Virginia I found an internet listing of covered bridges in the Shenandoah Valley region and into West Virginia.

Dr. no · Aug 10, 2020

Huss said:
Maybe not a lot of people know this, but Clint Eastwood originally was a photographer for National Geographic and had an assignment to photograph covered bridges. I think in Iowa. He used Nikon 35mm gear so this may be the wrong forum to mention this.

Sounds like an idea for a movie...I recall he shot a lot of them with a tripod on his 35mm, too, and met some locals...

CharlesF · Oct 30, 2020

I'm from the UK but for many years have wanted to go to the US and see and photograph covered bridges. The closest I got was as a young baby in '96 pictured in a pram by a covered bridge in Vermont (I believe). There's just something about old wooden structures and I'm very sad we don't have covered bridges here. I think the wet weather would cause longevity issues.

Kino · Oct 30, 2020

Huss said:
Maybe not a lot of people know this, but Clint Eastwood originally was a photographer for National Geographic and had an assignment to photograph covered bridges. I think in Iowa. He used Nikon 35mm gear so this may be the wrong forum to mention this.

I think you might be conflating this with the film "The Bridges of Madison County"...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bridges_of_Madison_County_(film)

Alan Edward Klein · Oct 31, 2020

CharlesF said:
I'm from the UK but for many years have wanted to go to the US and see and photograph covered bridges. The closest I got was as a young baby in '96 pictured in a pram by a covered bridge in Vermont (I believe). There's just something about old wooden structures and I'm very sad we don't have covered bridges here. I think the wet weather would cause longevity issues.

Ive visited and photographed around 100 covered bridges in Vermont, New York. New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. They are charming and very photogenic. These bridges would probably do well in the UK. The reason they're covered was to protect them from rain and snow so the main wooden supports wouldn't rot. They were also a place where romantic couples would drive their horse-drawn carriages to park and hide while exploring each other out of sight. Here's one.

Greismer Covered Bridge by Alan Klein, on Flickr
Griesemer's Mill Bridge is a historic wooden covered bridge located at Oley Township in Berks County, Pennsylvania. It is a 124-foot-long, Burr Truss bridge, constructed in 1832. It has a gable roof and stone abutments. It crosses the Manatawny Creek. It is one of five covered bridges remaining in Berks County

Deleted member 88956 · Oct 31, 2020

Penobscot Narrows Bridge in Maine, an odd looking modernity for the area.

bdial · Oct 31, 2020

In addition to one covered bridge, there are 5 historic stone bridges just a few miles/kilometers from my house. I’ve photographed a couple of the stone bridges, but not the covered bridge, which sees a fair amount of traffic. I’ve been across it many times by car, motorcycle and bicycle. Of the stone bridges, 3 of the five are easy to get to, though one is in a very built-up area, and so is not very photogenic. I believe that all but 2 are still in use.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Stone_Arch_Bridges,_Hillsborough,_New_Hampshire

fgorga · Oct 31, 2020

bdial said:
In addition to one covered bridge, there are 5 historic stone bridges just a few miles/kilometers from my house. I’ve photographed a couple of the stone bridges, but not the covered bridge, which sees a fair amount of traffic. I’ve been across it many times by car, motorcycle and bicycle. Of the stone bridges, 3 of the five are easy to get to, though one is in a very built-up area, and so is not very photogenic. I believe that all but 2 are still in use.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Stone_Arch_Bridges,_Hillsborough,_New_Hampshire

Here are photos of the three stone arch bridges mentioned by bdial...

Route 9 (Stoddard, NH)

Jones Rd. Bridge (Hillsborough, NH)

Gleason Falls Bridge (Hillsborough. NH)

The fourth bridge, which is in a very built up area (and thus not particularly photogenic) had a brief fling with fame during the 2012 presidential campaign when Mitt Romney, putting his foot in his mouth, lambasted it as the "bridge to nowhere "... see: https://www.politico.com/story/2012/05/mitt-slams-nh-bridge-to-nowhere-076500

The fifth bridge is generally submerged in the Franklin Pierce Reservoir. It can be seen occasionally when the water leve in the reservoir is particularly low.

One of the things that makes these bridges interesting is that they are "dry laid"... that is there is no mortar holding them together. Rather, it is only gravity that has kept them standing for well more than a hundred years and thus their designation as engineering landmarks.

pentaxuser · Oct 31, 2020

They were also a place where romantic couples would drive their horse-drawn carriages to park and hide while exploring each other out of sight.

Would that be Surreys with the Fringe on Top

pentaxuser

Alan Edward Klein · Oct 31, 2020

pentaxuser said:
They were also a place where romantic couples would drive their horse-drawn carriages to park and hide while exploring each other out of sight.

Would that be Surreys with the Fringe on Top

pentaxuser

Sort of like in the back seat of an old 57 Chevy.

NedL · Oct 31, 2020

I actually used that site to discover a bridge in Glen Ellen... I think I might have posted it in the MSA here... yep here: https://www.photrio.com/forum/media/stone-arch-bridge.48074/ not that great, what makes the bridge special is the brickwork arch.. maybe I'll go back and try again!

It's interesting too that even some of the more boring concrete bridges were built 100 years ago..

Go Bridge Hunting in the USA

Deleted member 88956

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