The bridge was designed
by the McClintic-Marshall
Company of Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania in 1927.
Its design is a combination
of Art Deco and Modern
Streamline architecture,
with some Gothic
architecture mixed in.
It’s made up of close to
21,000 tons (42 million
pounds) of steel and
steel-silicon alloys.
At the time of its
completion, in 1929, it was
named the longest
suspended central
spanned bridge in the
world stretching 1.75 miles
between the American and
Canadian checkpoints.
It held this title until 1931,
when it was surpassed by
the George Washington
Bridge, which crosses the
Hudson River.
remembers when his parents and sibling crossed the border to buy
new clothes for school. He said they would throw away their old
clothes and put layers of new clothes on to cross back across the
border. When they arrived at Customs, he said, they wouldn’t declare
the new purchases and continue across the border.
“Times were a little simpler,” said Gervais.
If the presence of the Ambassador Bridge has served as a social
and economic backdrop to life in Windsor, it’s also been a very
visual one. Photos and memories of times spent at the riverfront
usually include at least a glimpse of the bridge, its tower peeking
over the treetops, or its span stretching across the water in the
background.
Instagram and Twitter, popular venues for photos of iconic
landmarks, feature numerous shots of the Ambassador Bridge. The
bridge has several different hashtags on Instagram. People from
across the globe have tagged more than 11,900 photos with
#ambassadorbridge.
Kati Panasiuk knows why the Ambassador Bridge is such a
popular spot for photography. As a photographer she often shoots
the there. “The bridge in my opinion is a strong identification of not
only Windsor but Detroit as well.”
“Buildings and city landscapes often change repeatedly within
each decade but the bridge is one of those structures that has been a
landmark most of the people in North America can recognize
without question,” said Panasiuk. “I love to include it for night shots
as the light reflects beautifully off of the Detroit River. The
Ambassador Bridge is a statement of our home and the connection
we have with our American neighbours.”
As popular as the bridge is for pictures it is also an important
landmark featured in American and Canadian pop culture. It’s been
featured in several films throughout the past 87 years, such as 8 Mile
(2002), Crossing the Bridge (1992), Sicko (2007), Grosse Pointe Blank
(1997) and Bowling for Columbine (2002). It has also been the
backdrop for several television shows, music videos and works of
literature.
Some even consider it a piece of of historic art.
According to architecture student Gary Burke, the design makes the
bridge look forever modern, however old it actually is. “It adds a
physical connection and an aesthetic connection between the two
cities,” said Burke.
Bit by bit, and little by little, our early community leaders
worked hard, not just to create a link between Canada and the United
States, or Windsor and Detroit, but to create opportunity and
productivity. Now almost 90 years later the Ambassador Bridge still
stands tall, weathered with age and painting the skyline with its
recognizable figure and its sense of belonging.