Virginia Street Bridge

The Virginia Street Bridge was a historic concrete double arch bridge in downtown Reno, Nevada, US, carrying Virginia Street across the Truckee River.^[2] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.^[3] The bridge is sometimes referred to as the "Wedding Ring Bridge" or the "Bridge of Sighs".^[2]

Virginia Street Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The Virginia Street Bridge
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Location	Reno, Nevada, U.S.
Coordinates	39°31′30″N 119°48′45″W
Area	0.5
Built	1905; 119 years ago (1905)
Architect	John B. Leonard
Demolished	June 8, 2015; 9 years ago (2015-06-08)
NRHP reference No.	80002471[1]
Added to NRHP	December 10, 1980; 43 years ago (1980-12-10)

In both 2002 and 2006, the bridge was listed as one of the "Eleven Most Endangered Historic Places in Nevada" by Preserve Nevada, a historic preservation organization partnered with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).^[4]

Due to structural and flood control concerns, the bridge was replaced in 2016.^[5][6]

History

The Virginia Street Bridge, c. 1910.

Built in 1905, the current Virginia Street Bridge is the fifth in a series of bridges to have been built in downtown Reno. The first was a wooden bridge built in 1860 by Charles W. Fuller and was hence called Fuller's Crossing.^[3][7] After it was destroyed by a flood, a second bridge, a toll bridge, was built and sold to Myron Lake in 1861, although in 1867 it was also destroyed by a flood.^[7] Even though it was replaced by yet another bridge, it became unneeded after the arrival of the Transcontinental Railroad.^[7] In 1877, the Washoe County authorized the creation of a new tied-arch bridge made of iron.^[3] In 1905, the iron bridge was moved and the most long-lived bridge, designed by San Francisco architect John B. Leonard, was built by Cotton Brothers and Company of Oakland, California.^[8]

Legend

Legend has it that newly divorced women would, after exiting the Washoe County Courthouse, stand on the Virginia Street Bridge and cast their wedding rings into the Truckee River below.^[3] Hence, the bridge became known as the main symbol of Reno, which was called the "Divorce Capital of the World" beginning in 1906.^[2] Over the years, salvage divers have found actual rings, according to archivist Guy Rocha.^[3]

A scene depicting this takes place in the 1939 film Reno. In the 1961 film The Misfits, Marilyn Monroe considers tossing her wedding ring from the Virginia Street Bridge, but decides against it.^[3]

See also

• List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Nevada
• Fernbridge, a similar bridge near Ferndale, California also designed by Leonard.

References

1. "Inventory Nomination Form". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. December 10, 1980. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
2. "Virginia Street Bridge". National Park Service. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
3. Bledsoe, Bruce (March 19, 2009). "Virginia Street Bridge". The Online Nevada Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
4. "The Eleven Most Endangered Historic Places in Nevada". Preserve Nevada. Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
5. DeLong, Jeff (December 24, 2014). "Work to start on 'crumbling' Virginia Street Bridge". Reno Gazette–Journal. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
6. "Virginia Street Bridge Project". Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
7. "Virginia Street Bridge". City of Reno. Archived from the original on 30 December 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
8. "Virginia Street Bridge — Reno, Washoe County". Scenic Nevada. Archived from the original on October 10, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2010.

External links

• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. NV-14, "Virginia Street Bridge, Spanning Truckee River at Virginia Street, Reno, Washoe County, NV", 16 photos, 9 data pages, 1 photo caption page