16th Street Bridge, Pittsburgh

 Is it unacceptably dorky to have a favorite bridge in a provincial city like Pittsburgh?  My favorite by far is the 16th Street Bridge, which spans the Allegheny River from the Strip District to a nondescript area on the North Side.  I've never really known why Pittsburgh built its most glorious bridge between two such unglamorous neighborhoods.  These shots are taken from a kayak in the river.  I didn't think to photograph the whole bridge from a greater distance.  

And yet, it is a fine bridge with four grand stone pillars, each topped with a copper statue of four horses rising out of waves beneath a stylized globe.  Pittsburgh's second best bridge is the Smithfield.  It's not nearly as beautifully designed, but the Smithfield Bridge has the added dignity of bearing folks across the Monongahela River from downtown to one of the old former railway stations in the South Side area now known as "Station Square."  

There are three identical yellow suspension bridges known as "The Three Sisters."  These are parallel bridges that run across the Allegheny from downtown to the North Side: The Rachel Carson Bridge, the Roberto Clemente, and the Andy Warhol.  They're attractive--if simple--and deserve an honorable mention.