July 4th Dunlap Creek Bridge Celebration!

Hi All!

Here is a video of the speech I gave at the commemoration of the first cast iron bridge in the United States built in Brownsville, Pennsylvania. I want to correct right from the start two mistakes I made while speaking up there. Call it nerves or adrenaline, but I miss spoke when I said that the date of the first cast iron bridge in the world at Coalbrookdale England was 1791-- in fact it is 1779. The second oversight was when I said that no other cast iron bridges were built until the Dunlap Creek Bridge in 1836-39! Of course there were! Many cast iron bridges were built after Coalbrookdale throughout Europe, just none in the United States. I even say in the talk that the bridge over the river Seine, Pont du Carrousel, was built in 1834. Anyhow, watch the video, feel free to comment.

170th Anniversary of the First Cast Iron Bridge in the United States.

Hi everyone,

Here is a newspaper article about the first cast iron bridge in the United States. Located in Brownsville PA, the Dunlap Creek Bridge is a marvel of early 19th century architecture. I was interviewed by the Observer Reporter newspaper out of Washington, PA. Read about its history, and examine the photograph attached to this posting! I will be a guest expert speaker at the celebration occurring July 4th, 2009 so if you're in the Brownsville/Pittsburgh area, stop by and enjoy the celebration!

http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/Story/06-19-A1-Brownsville-Bridge