Bridges have always fascinated me with their beauty and symbology. And bridge photography, thanks to the Internet, is now providing inspiration for anyone who cares to take a look. Listed here are the 10 Most Photographed Bridges.
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The Golden Gate Bridge
The famous Golden Gate Bridge has probably been photographed more than any other bridge in the world, and it’s easy to see why.
Designed by engineer Joseph Strauss, Golden Gate Bridge was built to connect San Francisco with Marin County across the 1600 meter (+5000ft) wide strait which links the San Francisco Bay with the Pacific Ocean. When the bridge was completed in 1937 it was the world’s longest and tallest suspension bridge.
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Firth of Forth
The Forth Bridge is an icon of Victorian engineering excellence and a symbol of Scotland. It is a cantilever railway bridge in the east of Scotland, 9 miles west of Edinburgh City Centre.
When it was opened on 4 March 1890 by the then Prince of Wales, the Forth Bridge was the longest cantilever bridge in the world and the first major crossing made entirely of steel. -
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge, an iconic symbol of London, is a combined bascule and suspension bridge over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, from which it takes its name.
Plans for the Tower Bridge were devised around 1876 when the east of London became extremely crowded and a bridge across the Thames in that area of the city seemed a necessity. The proximity of the harbor and its location in the direction of the sea required for the bridge to allow the passage of large vessels. Hence the decision to create a moveable bridge which can be opened to accommodate boat traffic.
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Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge looms majestically over New York City’s East River, linking Manhattan and Brooklyn. Since 1883, its granite towers and steel cables have offered a safe and scenic passage to millions of commuters and tourists, trains and bicycles, pushcarts and cars.
The bridge’s construction took 14 years, involved 600 workers and cost $15 million (more than $320 million in today’s dollars). At least two dozen people died in the process, including its original designer, John Augustus Roebling. Now more than 125 years old, this iconic feature of the New York City skyline still carries roughly 150,000 vehicles and pedestrians every day.
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St. Johns Bridge
Designed by David B. Steinman and Holton D. Robinson, the St. Johns was the longest suspension-type bridge west of the Mississippi River at the time of construction. It is the only major highway suspension bridge in the Willamette Valley and one of only three major highway suspension bridges in Oregon.
The construction of the bridge began a month before the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and provided many county residents with employment during the Great Depression. It was built within 21 months and one million dollars under budget.
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The Erasmusbrug
One of Holland’s most famous bridges, the ‘Erasmusbrug’ (Erasmus Bridge) is the landmark of Rotterdam. It is an important connection between the Northern and Southern parts of Rotterdam.
Designed by Ben van Berkel, the cable-stayed bridge section has a single 139-metre-high (456 ft) asymmetrical pale blue pylon with a prominent horizontal base, earning the bridge its nickname “The Swan”.
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Pythonbrug (The Python Bridge)
Python Bridge, officially known as High Bridge, is an award-winning footbridge designed by Adriaan Geuze of the architectural firm West 8.
The red snake-like bridge which was built in 2001 links the former docks now named Sporenburg and Borneo Island in Eastern Docklands, Amsterdam.
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JK Brigde
The Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge, also known as the President JK Bridge or just the JK Bridge, crosses Lake Paranoá in Brasília, D.F. linking the eastern shore of the lake to the center of the city. The bridge was named for Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, former president of Brazil, who in the late 1950s decided to build Brasília as the new capital of the country.
JK Bridge was designed by architect Alexandre Chan and structural engineer Mário Vila Verde. Inaugurated in 2002, the bridge almost immediately became a symbol of Brasília, with its distinctive silhouette.
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Millau Viaduct
Part of the A75-A71 autoroute axis from Paris to Béziers and Montpellier, the Millau Viaduct (le Viaduc de Millau) is a cable-stayed bridge that spans the valley of the River Tarn near Millau in southern France. Designed by the French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux and British architect Norman Foster, it is the tallest bridge in the world with one mast’s summit at 343.0 metres (1,125 ft) above the base of the structure.
The cost of construction was approximately €400 million. Formally inaugurated in 2004, the bridge has been consistently ranked as one of the great engineering achievements of all time.
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Øresund Bridge
The Øresund Bridge is the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe and connects two major metropolitan areas: Copenhagen, the Danish capital city, and the Swedish city of Malmö. It runs nearly 8 kilometres (5 miles) from the Swedish coast to the artificial island of Peberholm in the middle of the strait. The crossing is completed by the 4 km (2.5-mile) Drogden Tunnel from Peberholm to the Danish island of Amager.
Øresund connects the road and rail networks of the Scandinavian Peninsula with those of Central and Western Europe. A data cable also makes the bridge the backbone of internet data transmission between central Europe and Sweden/Finland.
If you are in the mood for some more amazing pics, check out the Beautiful Bridges Photography board on Pinterest.
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