
Niagara Arch bridge footings on American side crushed by ice flow in early 1938 – courtesy Gibson Library, Brock University
Toronto. Editor Bob Lansdale received an email from England and began a search for a mysterious bridge.
Bob writes, “The monster footings to the Steel Arch Bridge at Niagara Falls, built in 1897-98, proved to be the down fall of the structure when in January 1938 a build-up of ice swept away the footing on the American side.
“Starting on page 15 we have a story by John Marriage, editor of Photographica World – journal of the Photographic Collectors Club in Great Britain, who purchased a mystery image in an antique shop in Devon, England. Unable to identify the bridge, Marriage turned to members of the PHSC for assistance to trace the history of the bridge.”
Image collectors well know the value of photography to record earthly disasters – iconic or mundane – and strive to discover the stories behind their photographs. If you have one in your collection, drop me a line (info@phsc.ca) and I will let our editors know (there may well be a journal story in the photo).
It truly is a small world! Issue 37-2 with the full story was mailed to all paid members back then (more recent members can read the story on their DVD (covers Photographic Canadiana volumes 1 – 40). Not yet a member? It’s easy – just follow the steps to the right, or view the MEMBERSHIP menu item above.
Note: The post title is from a song penned by one of my favourite Canadian singers – Stompin’ Tom Conn0rs. The song is a memorial to the 19 souls who died out in Vancouver when the bridge at Berard Inlet collapsed in a wind storm in 1958 during its construction. Here’s Tom singing his song.