Old Leonard Street Bridge in Grand Rapids

Old Leonard Street Bridge, by Peter Oosse

When I was researching last week’s post on Michigan’s longest covered bridge, I found a neat feature about the historic bridges of Grand Rapids. It looks at three bridges, the Bridge Street Bridge, the Pearl Street Bridge and the Leonard Street Bridge:

In 1879, at a time when other bridges were being replaced by wrought iron spans, a new covered bridge was erected by City Engineer William Seckel at the Leonard Street crossing. This bridge, at a length of 832 feet, earned the distinction of being the longest covered bridge ever built in the State of Michigan. This ornately portaled, lattice truss bridge served the city’s traffic until 1913.

Click through for more and also see another view of Leonard Street Bridge.

The photo reads Old Leonard Street Bridge, Grand Rapids, Mich. Oldest Bridge in Grand Rapids, Built 1879. It’s from early 1900s by photographer Peter Oosse and you can see more shots from turn of the century Grand Rapids in the collection of William Blik at WellWooster.com. There’s a lot more Grand Rapids history there too!

Much more Michigan history on Michigan in Pictures.