Sunday, December 2, 2007

Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge


The Shelby Street Pedestrian bridge opened to traffic in 1909. The first bridge in North American to have trusses, it connected east Nashville with the downtown area. Over the years, the bridge underwent repairs to alleviate erosion of surface concrete. In 1998, the city closed the bridge to vehicular traffic due to the poor condition it was in. The Korean War Memorial Bridge replaced this bridge it.

Shelby Street Bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 because of the truss design, and officials saved it from demolition by deciding to make it a pedestrian bridge. The bridge, which is part of the Metro Nashville Greenway system, opened as a pedestrian bridge in 2003. The new additions include elevators, ramps, a bike lane down the center, and pedestrian overlooks. (I took yesterday's photo of the Korean War Memorial Bridge from one of them.) The eastern end of the bridge is close to LP Field, home to the Tennessee Titans. The western end is close to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

If you are a fan of the country duo Big & Rich, you might recognize the bridge from their Save a Horse, Ride A Cowboy music video which was shot on the bridge.

5 comments:

Wayne said...

That really is a great shot Chris. I love that bridge. And the idea of the overlooks is awesome. Thanks for another great post and great information.
Wayne

Steve Buser said...

Chris, I have been out the loop for the last couple of days so I wanted to stop by and check out your Theme Day bridge post. Glad I did. You have some real spectactular shots here.

New Orleans Daily Photo

quintarantino said...

Uma fotografia muito bonita.
Mesmo muito bonita.

Gostei de saber e ouvir sobre o resto...
(I liked knowing about the rest...)

NorthBayPhoto said...

Another great bridge shot. Great info about the bridge as well.

Denton said...

Wonderful photo Chris. I especially like the lighting. That and I love any photo which shows depth. The bridge seems pull the viewing into the photo and across the river.