Photographs of the Bridges
Chain Bridge, Washington, DC
Chain Bridge crosses the C&O Canal and Potomac River approximately three miles northwest of Georgetown. The location of Chain Bridge was the first bridge crossing the Potomac, in 1797. The current bridge is a hybrid. The stone piers were constructed in the 1850s, as the support for the sixth bridge at the location, while the deck is the eighth generation of the bridge, constructed in 1937. The third generation of the bridge was completed in 1810. This bridge was a wooden truss, suspended by chains from a stone tower on each shore, giving the name “Chain Bridge” to the road and to all future bridges at the location.
The bridge can be accessed by parking in a small lot along Canal Road on the eastern end, or in a small lot serving as a trailhead at the end of Glebe Road on the western end. In addition to the history of the bridge, the placards discuss the history of the C&O Canal, which is crossed by the bridge, and the industrial developments at the mouth of Pimmit Run on the Virginia end of the bridge.
Even though thousands drive by the end of the bridge where it intersects Canal Road every day, the setting seems relatively remote and rustic, with both banks of the Potomac lined with woods and bedrock cliffs. The bridge has a sidewalk on its northern side, facing Little Falls, making it a good place to view the Potomac Gorge.
There is a detailed discussion of the history of the location, and the various bridges that have been constructed here, in my new book, Bridges of Washington, DC: A History and Guide.
