| The first bridge across the Mississippi River at St. Louis, now officially known as the Eads Bridge, shattered engineering precedents at the time of its completion in 1874. It featured the first extensive use of steel in any major structure, the deepest and largest subaqueous pneumatic caissons, and the longest arch spans of any bridge in the world. It was, however, initially a failure as a source of revenue generation, and it also failed to reverse the decline of St Louis relative to Chicago as chief economic entrepot of the Middle West. This dissertation examines the function of the bridge as a product of corporate enterprise, and reexamines certain myths concerning the bridge and its chief engineer, James B. Eads. |
