Ashtabula Harbor, Lift Bridge Lowering - Part 3 of 3

Just out for a drive and decided to stop in the Harbor of Ashtabula Ohio for this video. It was a nice day out and pretty calm without much wind along Lake Erie, not many days like this on the lakeshore. This video shows the Bascule Lift Bridge lowering.

Here is what was written on the sign at the beginning of the video:

During the Summer season, the Bascule Lift Bridge is operated 24 hours a day and is lifted on the hour and half hour for pleasure boaters making their way along the Ashtabula River to and from Lake Erie. The Bridge is operated by a bridge tender who views the bridge and river from the control room or "operation house" below the counterweight. Before the bridge opens to its jackknife position, the bridge tender signals a horn and lowers the gates to alert pedestrians and automobiles to stop. Due to its unique structure and history, the bridge was added to the National Register in 1976.

The "Bascule" Lift Bridge, a medieval term for draw bridge, works on the same counterweight system that raised and lowered drawbridges over moats and surrounded fortresses in the 15th and 16th centuries. In 1850, a pontoon bridge had been constructed to link the east and west Harbor communities adjacent to the Ashtabula River. The pontoon, or floating bridge, had to be pulled with long ropes and pulleys, which made it very unstable. In 1889, the need to widen the river channel to accommodate larger ships became apparent and a swing bridge replaced the cumbersome pontoon bridge.

A New York City native, Thomas E. Brown, famous for designing the original elevator in the Eiffel Tower in Paris, developed the first Bascule bridge in the 1890's. His bridge invention features overhead counterweights connected to trusswork balance beams. Wendell P. Brown of no relation to Thomas E. Brown, designed the Ashtabula Bascule Lift Bridge in 1925. Through the cooperation of the City, County, State and Federal governments, the Lift Bridge was restored in 1986 at the cost of $3.2 million. This bridge is the only one of its kind still used for automobile traffic in the State of Ohio.

Click on the link below for a very nice arial shot of this area and lots of other info on the Ashtabula Harbor and the Railyard here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashtabula

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Ashtabula
• Harbor
• River
• Point
• Park
• Northeast
• Ohio
• Bascule
• Lift
• Bridge
• Lowering
• Lake
• Erie
• Sony
• HDR-CX100
• Camcorder
• CyberLink
• PowerDirector

[chiefofstaph1]

What happened to the Anchor Inn??

[MoviesMusicNature]

@chiefofstaph1 Are you talking about the bar at the end of County Line and the Lake Road area?

[fordude60]

Enjoyed watching this. Drawbridges are becoming rarer and rarer all the time.

[MoviesMusicNature]

Thanks for stopping by and commenting! Glad you liked the video.. In the Summertime here there is so much going on its just a nice place to sit and observe everything..

[chiefofstaph1]

Anchor Inn just across the bridge near Carlson Co. Favorite stop for the Greasers from Harbor High.

[odlaw18]

Just loved it. So many places to go but ......