Driving Park Avenue Bridge, Spanning Genesee River Gorge, Rochester, Monroe County, NY

Significance: The Driving Park Avenue Bridge was constructed in two years, from 1889 to 1890, by the Rochester Bridge and Iron Works, based on design plans by Leffert L. Buck. The bridge is 717 feet long, spanning the 200-foot-deep Genesee River Gorge. The design employed spandrel bracing, a technique specifically used for traversing gorges. The Driving Park Avenue Bridge is considered to be the first spandrel-braced arch truss bridge near the end of the iron bridge era when steel was beginning to come into use and was one of the last wrought-iron bridges constructed.
Survey number: HAER NY-150
Building/structure dates: 1890 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1938 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1952 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1965 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1970 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1979 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1976 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1979 Subsequent Work