When I was growing up in Charles City, Iowa, we had a phenomenon called the Swinging Bridge. When I was ten, we moved to the side of town the bridge was on, and I was, coincidentally, old enough to start finding my way around town on my own, usually riding my bike. I didn’t pay much attention to its history. The article linked above indicated it was one hundred years old in 2006, so, clearly, it was a long-time fixture of Charles City. It was also quite an engineering feat. It was a historic site (great photos at this link) and one of only a few pedestrian suspension bridges left in America. Turn to page 16 of this link and see that it should have just finished a renovation earlier this year.

I was aware of the flooding in the Midwest and Iowa in particular, so I checked the old town’s on-line newspaper last week. I saw they’d had record flooding, but everyone was ok — usual post-flood problems that have turned some people’s lives upside down, of course. Then, last night, I got an email from an old friend from junior high telling me they’d lost the Swinging Bridge late in the evening on June 8th. She had pictures and offered to send them if I was interested.

I rode (when I was feeling really daredevilish) my bike across that bridge to go to the town swimming pool and to softball practice and Junior Varsity softball games (we moved when I was in 9th grade, so I never had a real chance to make Varsity). We were supposed to walk our bikes, and I usually did. The bridge was sidewalk width, and, being a suspension bridge, very bouncy.

Here’s a beautiful photo taken by Barb DeBower and her husband about two hours before the bridge gave way on June 8th:

Normally, the water was about 20 feet below the bottom of the bridge (the bottom row of lights). Flood stage for the Cedar River here is 12 feet. This year, the water was at 25 feet! The Cedar River runs through the center of Charles City, and they have four bridges that cross the water — two walking bridges and two driving bridges. Now, they only have three bridges, and after this one let go, they closed the other three as a safety precaution until the water went down and they could be checked for safety.

This bridge was a landmark and made an indelible imprint on many people’s lives, mine included, and I mourn its loss. I hope they’ll be able to rebuild, but it will only be a reproduction of a stately original.