Construction
The Rainbow Bridge was built near the site of the earlier Honeymoon Bridge, which had collapsed on January 27, 1938, due to an ice jam in the river. A joint Canadian and American commission had already been considering a new bridge to replace it, and the collapse added urgency to the project.
A design by architect Richard (Su Min) Lee was chosen (and later used again for the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge, approximately 10 kilometres (6 mi) downriver). King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, during their visit to Niagara Falls as part of the 1939 royal tour of Canada, dedicated the site of the Rainbow Bridge; a monument was erected to commemorate the occasion. Construction began in May 1940. The bridge was officially opened on November 1, 1941.
The origins of the name are speculative, with one possible origin being McQuesten, and another a delivery boy who had forgotten the name of the city. It was likely inspired by Genesis 9:12–17. Irrespective of its origins, the name was in use by the NRBC as early as March 1939.
Read more about this topic: Rainbow Bridge (Niagara Falls)
Famous quotes containing the word construction:
“There’s no art
To find the mind’s construction in the face:
He was a gentleman on whom I built
An absolute trust.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“No real “vital” character in fiction is altogether a conscious construction of the author. On the contrary, it may be a sort of parasitic growth upon the author’s personality, developing by internal necessity as much as by external addition.”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“No construction stiff working overtime takes more stress and straining than we did just to stay high.”
—Gus Van Sant, U.S. screenwriter and director, and Dan Yost. Bob Hughes (Matt Dillon)