Dr. Jack K. Brown, author of The Eads Bridge: A Daring Achievement of a Remarkable Man, talks about the Eads Bridge
This illustrated talk explores an improbable tale out of Gilded Age America. In 1867, James Eads proposed to build the first bridge over the Mississippi River at St Louis, then the leading city of the West. Completed in 1874, it was the first structure of any kind—anywhere in the world—to use structural steel.
To place its stone piers on bedrock, Eads pioneered daring innovations that allowed excavators to work, more or less safely, 100 feet beneath the river. Before beginning his own great bridge in Brooklyn, Washington Roebling came to St. Louis, descended to the caisson on bedrock, and studied every detail.
To finance the project, Eads raised funds in New York and London by offering a 400-percent return to 55 investors, including the bankers at J.P. Morgan & Company. This was not investment banking for the timid. The length of the bridge’s steel spans and the depth of its stone piers broke world records. And Eads had never built a bridge before. His graceful double-decked design remains in daily use after 150 years.
This talk draws from Professor Brown’s new book, Spanning the Gilded Age: James Eads and the Great Steel Bridge. He will follow the talk with a book signing.
Fees
Free to attend book talk event
Location
Arch Education Classroom at the Gateway Arch
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Contact Information
Jennifer King
(314) 655-1705
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- Partner Program
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