Honeymoon Bridge Collapse of 1938 - Niagara

Historical Connections Saved by Photo Digitization.

A dramatic image of a bridge collapse surely captures the imagination, but without context it's just that, a historically latent image.

On January 23rd, 1938, a strong wind storm on Lake Erie caused a large amount of ice to flow down the river and over the Falls. In just twelve hours, the river below the Falls became blocked with a massive amount of ice, which created significant pressure against the bridge abutments and hinge supports. It was only a matter of time until the bridge would collapse.

The end of the Honeymoon Bridge came at 4:20 p.m. on January 27th 1938, when the span broke free and fell into the gorge below.

The Honeymoon Bridge (also known as the Upper Steel Arch Bridge or the Falls View Bridge) was replaced by today's Rainbow Bridge, several hundred feet to the north where future ice would be less impactful.

Even more poignant, this image was found at the bottom of an old cardboard box belonging to a client. It was taken by their grandfather when he was Great Lakes boat crew during the 1930's.

These files are a valuable visual reference to history and family, however without the accompanying who, what, when, where, why and how, it's just a picture.

Digitizing saves old photos and documents for future generations.