Issue date: 3/2/07 Section: Campus News

"The North River Bridge Co. Ground Broke June 8th 1895. First Foundation Laid June 18th 1895." These words are carved into a stone located in front of the Samuel C. Williams Library. Walking past this monument to a long-forgotten construction project, one is forced to wonder what the story behind the stone might be. This stone was, in fact, once intended to be the cornerstone of the North River Bridge, an ambitious project launched near the end of the nineteenth century.
The North River Bridge was supposed to revolutionize transcontinental travel by extending those transcontinental tracks that had previously stopped in New Jersey. The bridge being planned would have been over 7,000 feet in length with 12 railroad tracks, 16 lanes for automobile traffic and four trolley tracks.
In 1885, officials from the Pennsylvania Railroad, the main proponent of building this bridge, approached Gustav Lindenthal, a bridge engineer. Lindenthal had projected that the project would cost at least $37 million. Realizing that the cost to produce this bridge would be greater than a single railroad could absorb, Lindenthal created the North River Bridge Company, which would raise funds from several railroads.
As the cornerstone reads, ground was broken for the bridge on June 8, 1895. The cornerstone that now lies in front of the library was once part of that foundation lain ten days later.
Economic depression struck three years after construction began, making the funds to continue construction very difficult to secure. Before long, many local resources were being devoted to the First World War. Though Lindenthal remained committed to his project until the day he died, he had to admit that "the financings of the bridge far exceed in difficulty the engineering problems presented."
The construction started in 1895 was never completed. Eventually the property upon which the bridge was being built was sold as residential housing. For quite some time, the foundation and cornerstone of the bridge that never was, could be found in the backyard of 1200 Garden Street. At some point, the residences of 1200 Garden Street grew tire of the cornerstone and had it removed.
Unfortunately, how the stone came to be at Stevens is unclear. The last recorded mention of the stone tells of it being destroyed.
The bridge itself has faded away into history. By the time building such a structure was once again feasible, advances in locomotive technology had already permitted train tunnels to be built under the Hudson without being flooded by fumes from the trains. These tunnels now facilitate the PATH Train system.
These tunnels and other bridges connecting New York to New Jersey have made the envisioned North River Bridge almost obsolete. Now it is little more than an interesting story.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools