About Me

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Chester Bridge Overlook


I was saddened to read that the Chester Overlook, now the Dr. David S. Pugh Memorial Overlook, has been vandalized since it reopened last year. (Read more here.) The overlook began as the southern portal of the original Chester Bridge built to connect East Liverpool with the new town of Chester in 1897. Just three days after its inauguration, a trolley carried people from Liverpool to the grand opening of Rock Springs Park on Memorial Day 1897.



The photograph above shows the Overlook as I remember seeing it during my childhood. Below, the outline reveals where a toll booth once stood before my time.


Ironically, the photograph below, from the Review’s article, reveals the Jennings Randolph Bridge in the background through the gap created when vandals “pried up large stone blocks from the top of the wall and tossed them into the river.” The original Chester Bridge marked the beginning of the life of Rock Springs Amusement Park while the truss bridge in the distance marked its end. (Photo by Nancy Tullis of the East Liverpool Review)

No comments: