
Spanning the Gilded Age
James Eads and the Great Steel Bridge
John K. Brown(Author)
Johns Hopkins University Press
Published on 16. July 2024
Book
Hardback
392 pages
978-1-4214-4862-6 (ISBN)
Description
The fascinating history of the St. Louis Bridge, the first steel structure in the world.
Winner of the 2025 Captain Donald T. Wright Award for Maritime Journalism and Literature by the Herman T. Pott National Inland Waterways Library
In Spanning the Gilded Age, John K. Brown tells the daring, improbable story of the construction of the St. Louis Bridge, known popularly as the Eads Bridge. Completed in 1874, it was the first structure of any kind-anywhere in the world-built of steel. This history details the origins, design, construction, and enduring impact of a unique feat of engineering, and it illustrates how Americans built their urban infrastructure during the nineteenth century.
With three graceful arches spanning the Mississippi River, the Eads Bridge's twin decks carried a broad boulevard above a dual-track railroad. To place its stone piers on bedrock, engineer James Eads pioneered daring innovations that allowed excavators to work one hundred feet beneath the river. With construction scarcely begun, Eads circulated a prospectus-offering a 400 percent return on investment-that attracted wealthy investors, including J. Pierpont Morgan in New York and his father, Junius, in London. This record-breaking design, which employed a novel method to lay its foundations and an untried metal for its arches, was projected by a steamboat man who had never before designed a bridge.
By detailing influential figures such as James Eads, the Morgans, Andrew Carnegie, and Jay Gould, Spanning the Gilded Age offers new perspectives on an era that saw profound changes in business, engineering, governance, and society. Beyond the bridge itself, Brown explores a broader story: how America became urban, industrial, and interconnected. This triumph of engineering reflects the Gilded Age's grand ambitions, and the bridge remains a vital transportation artery today.
Winner of the 2025 Captain Donald T. Wright Award for Maritime Journalism and Literature by the Herman T. Pott National Inland Waterways Library
In Spanning the Gilded Age, John K. Brown tells the daring, improbable story of the construction of the St. Louis Bridge, known popularly as the Eads Bridge. Completed in 1874, it was the first structure of any kind-anywhere in the world-built of steel. This history details the origins, design, construction, and enduring impact of a unique feat of engineering, and it illustrates how Americans built their urban infrastructure during the nineteenth century.
With three graceful arches spanning the Mississippi River, the Eads Bridge's twin decks carried a broad boulevard above a dual-track railroad. To place its stone piers on bedrock, engineer James Eads pioneered daring innovations that allowed excavators to work one hundred feet beneath the river. With construction scarcely begun, Eads circulated a prospectus-offering a 400 percent return on investment-that attracted wealthy investors, including J. Pierpont Morgan in New York and his father, Junius, in London. This record-breaking design, which employed a novel method to lay its foundations and an untried metal for its arches, was projected by a steamboat man who had never before designed a bridge.
By detailing influential figures such as James Eads, the Morgans, Andrew Carnegie, and Jay Gould, Spanning the Gilded Age offers new perspectives on an era that saw profound changes in business, engineering, governance, and society. Beyond the bridge itself, Brown explores a broader story: how America became urban, industrial, and interconnected. This triumph of engineering reflects the Gilded Age's grand ambitions, and the bridge remains a vital transportation artery today.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Baltimore, MD
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
73 s/w Photographien bzw. Rasterbilder, 12 s/w Zeichnungen
12 Line drawings, black and white; 73 Halftones, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 160 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
658 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4214-4862-6 (9781421448626)
DOI
10.56021/9781421448626
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
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E-Book
07/2024
Johns Hopkins University Press
€35.49
Available for download
Person
John K. Brown is the author of The Baldwin Locomotive Works, 1831-1915: A Study in American Industrial Practice. He taught history, applied ethics, and writing in the Department of Science, Technology, and Society at the University of Virginia.
Content
Preface
Money Then and Now
Leading Figures
Prologue: The Celebration
1. Captain Eads
2. Advances from War
3. Conventional or Radical
4. The Art of a Promoter
5. To Bedrock
6. London and Real Money
7. Troubles with Steel
8. Arches Over the River
9. Foreclosure and a Pool
10. Successes Across Time
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Money Then and Now
Leading Figures
Prologue: The Celebration
1. Captain Eads
2. Advances from War
3. Conventional or Radical
4. The Art of a Promoter
5. To Bedrock
6. London and Real Money
7. Troubles with Steel
8. Arches Over the River
9. Foreclosure and a Pool
10. Successes Across Time
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index