Central Bridge and L&N Bridge over Ohio River

Dated ca. 1935-1940, this photograph shows Broadway Bridge over the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio. The bridge in the foreground, called the Central Bridge or Cincinnati & Newport Bridge, was finished in 1890 and was the first “standard” cantilever truss bridge built. Located next to the L&N Bridge in the background, the Central Bridge had a similar type and length of approach to that of the L&N bridge, with the piers built from identical stone. Demolished in 1992, the bridge was replaced by the Taylor-Southgate Bridge in 1995. The bridge in the background, called the L&N Bridge or Louisville & Nashville RR Bridge, opened in 1872 as the Newport & Cincinnati Bridge and was the first railroad bridge to cross the Ohio River in Cincinnati. The bridge was modified in 1897 to include street car and horse and cart traffic. In 1904, the cart path was paved for automobiles and the bridge renamed as the L&N Bridge after its new owners. By the late 1940s street car service was removed and in 1987 railroad traffic ceased. By the 1990s the bridge was lightly used by automobile traffic, and was officially renamed the CSX Bridge after new owners. On April 17, 2001 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, closed to automobiles in 2002, and reopened in 2003 after a $4 million renovation as a pedestrian only bridge. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939