Bridge  of the Month

             I had intended to terminate the Bridge of the Month feature; but I came across two sketches that I could not ignore - two designs for the George Washington Bridge that, thankfully, were never built. Both were designed by Gustav Lindenthal, who had become famous for his designs for the Smithfield Bridge in Pittsburgh, and the Queensboro and Hell Gate Bridges in New York. The sketch on the left was proposed in 1891, the sketch on the right was proposed in 1921. Both were intended to carry six to twelve heavily loaded railroad trains at the same time; both terminated in midtown Manhattan, and both were too big and expensive for their time. It took Othmar Ammann to recognize the age of the train had given way to the age of the automobile. In 1931 he designed the much lighter Washington Bridge that we know and love, and he placed it way uptown, away from the congestion of midtown.
            These sketches gave me an idea for a new feature, designs that were never built. I'll do it if I can find a reasonable number of sketches for interesting unbuilt structures.