On a recent journey, I saw a great painting of a bridge and a bridge builder. My wife suggested I do a bridge builder piece. After a little research, I decided to do it about John Augustus Roebling and the Suspension Bridge that crosses the Ohio River in Cincinnati, my birthplace. The painting is taken from a photo taken around the turn of the 20th century, and I set our hero off to one side so you could see more of it. The blue on top is the color the bridge has been painted for about 100 years. I think there is some discussion to repaint it brown or beige, which, I think, is a huge mistake.

Multimedia Movie #1 "Roebling" in action. 1.84 MB, QuickTime Movie #2 Close-up of Roebling in action. 1.47 MB, QuickTime Need the plugin?

Additional Pictures

Pieces before painting Close up of Roebling's head View of the bridge and Ohio River Top of the piece, designed to match bridge

Bridge statistics and fares, from side of piece