New Suspension Bridge at Fairmount Philadelphia

Historical Images of Philadelphia Philadelphiana
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New Suspension Bridge at Fairmount Philadelphia

Item Info

Item No: pdcp00790
Title: New Suspension Bridge at Fairmount Philadelphia
Media Type: Engravings
Source: Print and Picture Collection
Notes:

William Croome (1790-1860)
William Croome trained in Boston under Abel Bowen and lived in Southeastern Pennsylvania.  In the 1840s Croome was a mature artist and one of America's most busy, designing banknotes, creating covers for Crockett's Alamanacs, and producing illustrations for books. 


Notes:

Also known as the Upper Ferry Bridge, this bridge carried Callowhill Street over the Schuylkill River (even though the current bridge at this location carried Spring Garden Street over the river).


Notes:

Steel engraving by Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Smillie for Graham's Magazine, published in Philadelphia, 1844. 


Notes:

To replace "The Colossus," after it burned in 1838, Charles Ellet, Jr. designed the first major wire-cable suspension bridge in the United States.  The 358-foot-long bridge opened to traffic on January 2, 1842.  It had no toll, and stood for over 30 years. 


Notes: This bridge was in existence from 1842 - 1874.
Creation Year: ca. 1842
Geocode Latitude: Geocode Longitude:-75.183492
Geocode Latitude:39.965811

Creator Name: Croome, William, 1790-1860 - Artist
Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Smillie - Engraver