Memories of the Kinzua Bridge

I remember the first time my parents took us to see the Kinzua Bridge. It was sometime in the mid-1950s though I don't remember how old I was at the time. I remember walking across it with my Dad. My Mom wasn't quite as brave back then but she did go part of the way across before turning back. I don't blame her – as many times as I walked across it I never really got used to looking down and seeing the tops of trees so very far below.

That time Dad and I walked down to the base of it, too. He wanted to see the foundations and I remember while we were down there he ran into an old Army buddy of his and they had quite a happy time discussing it. When you are a kid things like that seem significant. The Kinzua Bridge or Viaduct was built as a railway trestle in 1888 and, at the time, it was billed as the Eighth Wonder of the world. It is outside of Mount Jewett, Pennsylvania and around 30 miles from where I grew up. I also remember there was quite an amazing ice cream store nearby.

Over the years I made a lot of visits to Kinzua Park. I went with brothers and sisters but I also remember quite a few trips while in high school or college with friends – usually late at night and, in later years, alcohol and/or romance was involved.

In the 1990s a train became available to ride across the bridge and I have memories of going there with my Dad and siblings and their young families to ride the train. It would go across the bridge and let everyone out to explore for awhile then picked us back up for the return. Somewhere in the unbelievable mess of my photos I have lots of pictures of us.

In 2003 a terrible storm destroyed the bridge and everyone was heartbroken. It seemed unbelievable that such an amazing structure that had been there for over a century could just blow down. I, like most of the people who loved that bridge, was shocked and saddened.

Unfortunately the decision was made that it would be too expensive to restore the bridge but the State of Pennsylvania came up with a reasonable alternate plan. The built an observation deck and new ramps leading up to the bridge so people could once again enjoy the fantastic views to be had there.

The videos below tell the story of the bridge and of the restoration. They are quite interesting and comforting to those of us who once loved that place. If you ever find yourself in the vicinity it is definitely worth a visit. Enjoy and thanks for reading.