Wheeling’s Steel Bridge was opened in October 1891. The bridge originally served as a way for trolley cars to service residents on Wheeling Island and it was a great benefit for those citizens because it was free of tolls for pedestrians.
The Suspension Bridge at that time was a toll bridge and it was the route for National Road, or U.S. Route 40, a fact that made it a very busy route, and the Fort Henry Bridge was completed in the mid-1950s for Interstate 70.
The Steel Bridge served the purpose for a growing city like Wheeling, but was demolished in 1962.
Following are some great images of the bridge through the years.
It has been a passion of mine to showcase and preserve Wheeling’s rich history with this series of historic photographs that briefly highlight a business or building that is “Gone Forever” from the fabric of Wheeling life and the Ohio Valley.
I hope with this series, I am able to show a large amount of industry and businesses that thrived here in the early 1930’s and 1940’s, attracting people from many countries and all walks of life who all helped make Wheeling the greatest city in West Virginia.
If you have suggestions on a favorite business or location that is gone please submit that to me at cre8m@comcast.net I will do my best to search out and tell that story.
James Thornton has published several volumes of history on the city of Wheeling, and those interested in purchasing one of them can do so by contacting him at cre8m@comcast.net or visit the Creative Impressions website. The books can be purchased at the Wheeling Heritage Center, Kroger on Mount de Chantal Road, Miklas Meat Market, Nail City Records, the UPS Store in the Washington Avenue Plaza, VC Wares at Centre Market, Bower’s Decorating at The Highlands, and on the website www.wheelinghistory.net.
