Yesterday, the children and I took the MetroLink down to the Eads bridge to take part in a celebration marking the completion of a renovation project which will hopefully allow the 142-year-old bridge to continue to serve the St. Louis area for at least another 50 years.

The event took place on the top deck of the bridge, which was closed to traffic for the day. There were marching bands from area high schools, food trucks, and examples of the hardware used in the original construction of the bridge, the first steel bridge to be built, as well as pieces used for the renovation. Mostly, though, we enjoyed seeing St. Louis from a perspective we don’t usually get:

While this was a fun and unusual activity, which gave us an excuse to walk the full length of the bridge from Illinois into St. Louis, it also gave us an opportunity to learn about the history of the bridge and how it was built. I love any event that helps connect us to local history and learn about where we live!