Eads Bridge
Bridge between Illinois and Missouri. Added to the National Register in 1966, and a National Historic Landmark.
What it is
The Eads Bridge is a combined road and rail bridge over the Mississippi River connecting the cities of St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois. It is located on the St. Louis riverfront between Laclede's Landing to the north, and the grounds of the Gateway Arch to the south. The bridge is named for its designer and builder, James Buchanan Eads. Work on the bridge began in 1867, and it was completed in 1874. The Eads Bridge was the first bridge across the Mississippi south of the Missouri River. Earlier bridges were located north of the Missouri, where the Mississippi is narrower. None of the earlier bridges survived, which means that the Eads Bridge is also the oldest bridge on the river.
Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The record
| Property type | Structure |
| Address | Spanning the Mississippi River at Washington St., St. Louis (Independent City), MO |
| Independent city | City of St. Louis |
| Listed | Oct 15, 1966 |
| Listed for | Engineering, Transportation |
| Level of significance | National |
| Reference number | 66000946 |
| Type of place | steel bridge, railway bridge, road bridge |
| Designations | National Historic Landmark, Historic Civil Engineering Landmark |
| Contributing resources | 1 structure |
The nomination form, the document that argues why this place matters, is in the National Archives: Read the nomination ↗
Visiting
| Address | Spanning the Mississippi River at Washington St., St. Louis (Independent City), MO |
| Coordinates | 38.6283° N, 90.1715° W · Directions ↗ |
| Also in St. Louis (Independent City) | 384 listed places in St. Louis (Independent City) → · walking tours → |
| Nearest national park unit | Gateway Arch National Park · 1 mile · on Park Atlas |
Explore
Drawings & photographs
Measured drawings and photographs from the Library of Congress. Public domain. All 1 record ↗
Map
Nearby in City of St. Louis
Local history books for City of St. Louis
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Gay and Lesbian St. LouisSteven Louis Brawley and St. Louis Lgbt History Project, 2016Find at Bookshop.org
Guidebooks to historic places and travel in Missouri
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.
Reference
Questions people ask
When was Eads Bridge listed on the National Register?
Oct 15, 1966. It is also a National Historic Landmark, the higher of the two designations.
Source: National Park Service
Where is Eads Bridge?
Spanning the Mississippi River at Washington St., St. Louis (Independent City), City of St. Louis, Missouri. The nearest national park unit is Gateway Arch National Park, 1 mile away.
Source: Gateway Arch National Park
Are there historic photographs or drawings of Eads Bridge?
Yes. The Historic American Buildings Survey at the Library of Congress has drawings or photographs of it.
Source: Library of Congress
Where is the nomination form for Eads Bridge?
The National Archives holds the nomination form, the document that made the case for listing.
Source: National Archives
Sources
Location, type and contributing counts come from the National Park Service's National Register spatial data. Listing dates come from the National Register office's spreadsheet where it carries the listing. Construction date, architect, style, photograph and encyclopedia link come from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, matched on reference number 66000946. Nothing here is transcribed by hand. The nomination form and photographs ↗ at NPGallery are the original nomination as filed with the National Park Service, and the form is often the best description of the place. The description under "What it is" is the opening of the Wikipedia article, CC BY-SA. Drawings and photographs are Historic American Buildings Survey records at the Library of Congress, public domain.