Around the Town Bridge Trivia: Manchester Bridge

Building team camaraderie while distanced is a challenge. As part of the Neighborhood’s regular online meetings, Project Manager DJ Vaglia started a weekly trivia competition to see who knows the most about Pittsburgh’s many historical and iconic bridges. The Manchester Bridge is one of the storied structures from our neighborly trivia game.

The Manchester Bridge was the second bridge in Pittsburgh’s history to connect the North Shore to the Point. It was in use from 1915 to 1969 and was replaced by the Fort Duquesne Bridge. The demolition of this bridge was one of the final projects in the completion of Point State Park. The 530-foot long, two truss bridge was adorned by bronze ornamental reliefs on both North and South entrance portals.

Each relief had two sculptures of local heroes and historical figures. Bronze figures on the North Side were of a steel worker and a coal miner. They are typically referred to as the local heroes, Joe Magarac and Jan Volkanik. However, these bronze reliefs predate both of those Pittsburgh icons. The portal at the Point featured Christopher Gist, the pioneer, and Guyasuta, a local Indian chief.

What Remains:

While you may not know it, if you’ve been downtown, you have probably seen part of this bridge. The northern stone pier the bridge rested on is still standing next to the river. In 2009 it was converted to an observation deck and a memorial to Mr. Rogers. The bronze figures are also on the North Shore near Heinz field. We recommend you go for a walk and try to find them!