Photographs of the Bridges
Royal Gorge Bridge, Colorado
The Royal Gorge Bridge is located in Cañon City, Colorado, about one hour south of Colorado Springs. The bridge crosses the Arkansas River, one of the longest rivers in the United States. However, what the bridge really crosses is not the river itself, but the incredibly deep, narrow chasm that the river has cut down through solid granite over millions of years. It was this gorge, with its bright pink, vertical walls, deeper than it is wide, that begged for someone to throw a suspension bridge across, just to show that they could.
The bridge was built in 1929 for one reason only, and that was to serve as an attraction for tourists. It did this quite effectively, to the extent that today, 90 years later, tourists line up each day for their chance to pay a substantial entry fee to walk across the bridge. Even today, the bridge does not carry a public road. It is wide and strong enough to carry cars and pickup trucks but, 90 years later, there is still nothing on either side that requires a road at this location.
Although the bridge was the first structure built here to attract tourists, many others have been added. A narrow-gauge inclined railway descending to the bottom of the gorge was added in 1931. The attraction was so successful that it eventually led to an entire amusement park. In addition to the bridge and inclined railway, an aerial tramway across the gorge parallel to the bridge was added, as well as normal amusement park rides, a zip line attraction, and a visitor center.
The bridge is still the main attraction. It is a small suspension bridge, with steel cables and a wood plank deck. It is not decorated and, in fact, quite plain and industrial-looking in appearance. It is small, less than 20 feet wide, and about a quarter-mile long, no longer or more technologically advanced than any other suspension bridge built in the 1920s. The difference, though, is the height. At a time when other suspension bridges were being built a hundred feet or so above their river to allow passage of ships, Royal Gorge Bridge was thrown 900 feet high across the river.
I have written a detailed description of the amusement park, and the bridge that serves as its centerpiece, in Chapter 7 of my book, Bridgespotting: A Guide to Bridges that Connect People, Places, and Times.
