Job Profiles
Restoring a New York icon Allen Architectural Metals Inc. recreates pedestrian canopies for a famous Manhattan suspension bridge. The project received a gold award in the 2009 Top Job contest. n
Written by the staff at Allen Architectural Metals Inc. The Manhattan Bridge is one of three
suspension bridges that cross the East River, providing a critical link that carries high volume subway, automobile, and pedestrian traffic between Brooklyn and Manhattan. The bridge itself was designed by engineer Ralph Modjeski, who was assisted by Leon Moisseiff, the designer of the bridge’s deflection cables. On December 31, 1909, the bridge was completed and opened to traffic. Beginning in 1980 and continuing through 2007, the one-hundred year old bridge underwent an extensive restoration. Allen Architectural Metals, Inc. was selected to re-create four 20’ x 25’ cast iron and steel pedestrian canopies and four 10’ x 5’ bronze plaques, all located one-fourth of a mile from each of the bridge’s entrances. The pedestrian canopies’ original purpose was to add both an ornamental and functional element to the bridge design. The function of the canopies was to protect pedestrians crossing the bridge during inclement weather and Shown is one of four pedestrian canopies along the walkway of the massive bridge. The canopies were disassembed and shipped to the fabricator for restoration of components and recreation of missing or unstable components.
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Fabricator n September/October 2009