Bridge in Florida, United States of America

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collins Bridge</span>

Collins Bridge

<p>The <b>Collins Bridge</b> was a bridge that crossed <a href="/en/Biscayne_Bay" title="Biscayne Bay" class="wl">Biscayne Bay</a> between <a href="/en/Miami" title="Miami" class="wl">Miami</a> and <a href="/en/Miami_Beach,_Florida" title="Miami Beach, Florida" class="wl">Miami Beach, Florida</a>.  At the time it was completed, it was the longest wooden bridge in the world. It was built by farmer and developer <a href="/en/John_S._Collins" title="John S. Collins" class="wl">John S. Collins</a> (1837–1928) with financial assistance from automotive parts and racing pioneer <a href="/en/Carl_G._Fisher" title="Carl G. Fisher" class="wl">Carl G. Fisher</a>. Fisher, an auto parts magnate, loaned Collins $50,000 in 1911 ($<span>1.5</span> million, adjusted for current inflation) to complete the bridge when Collins' money ran out.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-1"><a href="#cite_note-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[1]</span></a></span> Collins, then 75 years old, traded Fisher <span>200 acres (81</span><span>&nbsp;</span><span>ha)</span> of land on Miami Beach for the loan. </p>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Bridge in Florida, United States of America</div>
<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1066479718" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles mw:Transclusion">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-header,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-above,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-title,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-image,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-below{text-align:center}</style><div class='mobile-collapse'><header class="mobile-collapse-header mobile-collapse-btn"><b>Quick facts: Collins Bridge, Coordinates, Crosses, Locale,...</b> <span class='arrow'>▼</span></header> <table class="infobox vcard mobile-collapse-element"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above"><div style="display:inline;" class="fn org">Collins Bridge</div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span><a href="/en/File:Collins_Bridge_Miami_FL.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Collins_Bridge_Miami_FL.jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Collins_Bridge_Miami_FL.jpg/287px-Collins_Bridge_Miami_FL.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="362" data-file-type="bitmap" height="173" width="287" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Collins_Bridge_Miami_FL.jpg/431px-Collins_Bridge_Miami_FL.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Collins_Bridge_Miami_FL.jpg/574px-Collins_Bridge_Miami_FL.jpg 2x" alt="Collins_Bridge_Miami_FL.jpg"></a></span><div class="infobox-caption">The opening of Collins Bridge, circa 1913.</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/en/Geographic_coordinate_system" title="Geographic coordinate system" class="wl">Coordinates</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1073938472" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}</style><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><a rel="mw:ExtLink" href="//geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Collins_Bridge&amp;params=25_47_21.18_N_80_11_20.77_W_" class="external text" target="_blank"><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dms"><span class="latitude">25°47′21.18″N</span> <span class="longitude">80°11′20.77″W</span></span></span></a></span><span style="font-size: small;"></span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Crosses</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/Biscayne_Bay" title="Biscayne Bay" class="wl">Biscayne Bay</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Locale</th><td class="infobox-data label"><a href="/en/Miami" title="Miami" class="wl">Miami</a> to <a href="/en/Miami_Beach,_Florida" title="Miami Beach, Florida" class="wl">Miami Beach</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Followed by</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/Venetian_Causeway" title="Venetian Causeway" class="wl">Venetian Causeway</a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header notheme" style="background-color: #efefef;">Characteristics</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Design</th><td class="infobox-data category"><a href="/en/Wooden_bridge" title="Wooden bridge" class="mw-redirect wl">Wooden</a> <a href="/en/Truss_bridge" title="Truss bridge" class="wl">truss</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Total length</th><td class="infobox-data">2.5 miles (4.0<span>&nbsp;</span>km)</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header notheme" style="background-color: #efefef;">History</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Opened</th><td class="infobox-data">1913</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Closed</th><td class="infobox-data">1925</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header notheme" style="background-color: #efefef;">Location</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><a class="mw-kartographer-map mw-kartographer-container center wl" style="width: 250px; height: 200px;" data-style="osm-intl" data-width="250" data-height="200" data-zoom="10" data-lat="25.789216666667" data-lon="-80.189102777778" data-overlays="[&quot;_1b93d08bed508cf194ed1ee1476961079891f3c3&quot;]" href="/en/Special:Map/10/25.789216666667/-80.189102777778/en"><img loading="lazy"src="https://maps.wikimedia.org/img/osm-intl,10,25.789216666667,-80.189102777778,250x200.png?lang=en&amp;domain=en.wikipedia.org&amp;title=Collins+Bridge&amp;revid=1106228050&amp;groups=_1b93d08bed508cf194ed1ee1476961079891f3c3" alt="Map" width="250" height="200" decoding="async" srcset="https://maps.wikimedia.org/img/osm-intl,10,25.789216666667,-80.189102777778,250x200@2x.png?lang=en&amp;domain=en.wikipedia.org&amp;title=Collins+Bridge&amp;revid=1106228050&amp;groups=_1b93d08bed508cf194ed1ee1476961079891f3c3 2x"></a></td></tr></tbody></table> <footer class='mobile-collapse-footer mobile-collapse-btn'><b>Close</b> <span class='arrow'>▲</span></footer></div>
<p>The <span>2.5-mile (4.0</span><span>&nbsp;</span><span>km)</span> wooden <a href="/en/Toll_bridge" title="Toll bridge" class="wl">toll bridge</a> opened on June 12, 1913,<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-2"><a href="#cite_note-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[2]</span></a></span> providing a critical link to the newly established Miami Beach, formerly accessible only by a <a href="/en/Ferry" title="Ferry" class="wl">ferry</a> service. The total cost of the Collins Bridge was in excess of $150,000.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-FHN_3-0"><a href="#cite_note-FHN-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[3]</span></a></span> The middle of the bridge had a steel lattice truss design, while the ends were primarily wooden, as well as the deck being wooden for the entire length.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-4"><a href="#cite_note-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[4]</span></a></span></p>

<p>The original wooden causeway was replaced in 1925 by a series of <a href="/en/Arch_bridge" title="Arch bridge" class="wl">arch</a> <a href="/en/Drawbridge" title="Drawbridge" class="wl">drawbridges</a> and renamed the <a href="/en/Venetian_Causeway" title="Venetian Causeway" class="wl">Venetian Causeway</a>.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-FHN_3-1"><a href="#cite_note-FHN-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[3]</span></a></span></p>



The Collins Bridge was a bridge that crossed Biscayne Bay between Miami and Miami Beach, Florida.  At the time it was completed, it was the longest wooden bridge in the world. It was built by farmer and developer John S. Collins with financial assistance from automotive parts and racing pioneer Carl G. Fisher. Fisher, an auto parts magnate, loaned Collins $50,000 in 1911 to complete the bridge when Collins' money ran out. Collins, then 75 years old, traded Fisher 200 acres of land on Miami Beach for the loan.  The 2.5-mile wooden toll bridge opened on June 12, 1913, The original wooden causeway was replaced in 1925 by a series of arch drawbridges and renamed the Venetian Causeway. 