My Bridge. That’s what I have always called the Bear Mountain Bridge. I know it is not mine, but I like to refer to it as such. Many in Peekskill do. It’s our bridge. It was specifically built just for us. I know that is not the case either, but it sounds good. I always knew I was almost home from anywhere on the other side of the Hudson from the sounds of the rumble strips on the Palisades Interstate Parkway as my mother neared the Bear Mountain Bridge Circle. I would wake up and know that I was almost home. 10 minutes from there, down the twisting and turning of the Goat Trail, and I would be out of the car and into the warm comfortable coziness of my bed.

The Bear Mountain Bridge is magnificent. It’s beautiful. It‘s a piece of art. Its towering structure demands respect. The views from anywhere around the bridge make you fall in love with it. It is one of the most photographed bridges in the Hudson Valley. And here in Peekskill, we take the Bear Mountain Bridge for granted. We take it for granted that it is so close to home and we have access to the other side of the Hudson in literally just minutes. We take for granted the fact that the bridge only has to be paid in one direction and it is not expensive. We take for granted that once we cross that bridge, we have not one, but two enormous State Parks in Bear Mountain and Harriman that we can have the freedom to hike for miles, back pack, ice skate, ski, play basketball, have a picnic, enjoy a wedding or brunch at the Inn, relax, or enjoy the view from atop Perkins Drive. We take the Bear Mountain Bridge for granted living so close to it. But this Purple Heart bridge next year, on Thanksgiving Day, will officially turn 100 years old! 

In anticipation of the Bear Mountain Bridge’s birthday, the Lincoln Depot Museum will present “The History of the Bear Mountain Bridge as it Turns 100” this Saturday, December 16th at 2:00pm. In 1924, at a cost of $2.275 million, the Bear Mountain Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world and the first Hudson River automobile crossing south of Albany. The completion of the Bear Mountain Bridge ushered in enormous changes to the Hudson Valley and New York including marking the beginning of a golden age of long span bridge building along the Hudson River and throughout the New York metropolitan area. The success of the inventive methods used to create the bridge broke new ground and paved the way for the building of other suspension bridges, such as the George Washington and the Golden Gate. Its construction would even lead to the creation of new roads and parkways throughout New York. 

To learn more about the fascinating story of how the bridge came to be built, by whom, and how it has served the Hudson Valley over the past 100 years, including rare pictures, join the Lincoln Museum and local historian Frank Goderre, for a discussion of the iconic Bear Mountain Bridge this Saturday at 2pm. The cost is free to Lincoln Museum Members and $10 per person for those who are not. 

To learn more, visit the Lincoln Depot Museum and the NYS Bridge Authority.

Please remember December is our big annual fundraising campaign at the Peekskill Herald – where every dollar we raise is matched, dollar for dollar, by major national funders through our partnership with NewsMatch. Every dollar counts and helps keep this 501c3 organization thriving. 

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