Photographs of the Bridges
Ouaquaga Bridge, near Binghamton, New York
The Ouaquaga Bridge is a two-span lenticular truss crossing the Susquehanna River in Ouaquaga, near Binghamton, New York. The bridge was constructed in 1888 by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company of East Berlin, Connecticut. The company began business in 1870 as the Metallic Corrugated Shingle Company, and changed its name to the Corrugated Metal Company in 1873. In 1878, the company purchased the patent for the lenticular truss, and began building lenticular truss bridges. In 1885, the company name was changed to the Berlin Iron Bridge Company, and it is under this name that most of its best-known bridges were constructed during the 1880s and 1890s.
Of the hundreds built, only about 15 of the Berlin iron Bridge Company lenticular truss bridges remain, in varying states of preservation. In Chapter 2 of my book, Bridgespotting: A Guide to Bridges that Connect People, Places, and Times, I discussed ten of these unusual bridges, including Ouaquaga. Of the remaining bridges, Ouaquaga is one of the best preserved. The bridge was constructed in 1888, but was later closed to traffic and is now preserved in a small, roadside park.
The lenticular truss bridges all had very ornate decorations over the portals, including a geometric frieze and fancy constructor’s plaque. Because these decorations were made of relatively thin metal components, they were more delicate than the more robust structural parts of the bridges, and therefore they were lost on many of the bridges. These components on the Ouaquaga Bridge were either lucky enough to escape damage, or have been lovingly restored, because they are one of the best examples on any of the remaining 15 bridges.
