Illinois and St. Louis Bridge

A folio of 46 plates of drawings and photographs of the construction of a landmark American bridge. “Chief” James Eads was a famed civil engineer whose extensive experience on the Mississippi River and skills as a naval architect led to a request for him to design a bridge between Illinois and St. Louis. This was the first use of steel in a large bridge and, at the time, the longest arch bridge in the world, and the first to use the cantilever principle in bridge construction. The 140-old bridge is a major artery still heavily used for vehicle and light rail traffic.