Bridges are unquestionably one of the most captivating structures found on our planet in that they symbolize our world’s advancement in design, take years to build, are engineered with architectural genius at the helm and offer a voyage across an otherwise geological blockage from point A to point B in half the time it would take to row, climb or kick it into four wheel drive over rough terrain. Bridges are simply fascinating and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has the honor of having more bridges than any other city in the world and has thus been dubbed “The City of Bridges”. Many of Pittsburgh’s bridges fall under the category of first rate architectural eye candy because they offer sleek arches with purpose and the only thing that is more intriguing then the pretty bridges are the rare ones that offer paranormal activity and other strange anomalies. These deviations from the common rule plant them firmly on the list of haunted bridges and are documented as such due to hundreds of eye witness accounts from people who have seen ghosts and other unexplained phenomenon when traveling over some of the cities most historical and elevated structures.
The Haunted & Cursed Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway-Bridge
Pittsburgh has more than its share of haunted bridges possibly due to their deep history that dates them back to the 1880’s, and many of them have had tragic events bestowed upon their steely transverse platform. One of the greatest documented disasters to involve the eerie remnants of a cursed bridge was once a part of Pittsburgh’s famous skyline. The catastrophe occurred during an average chilly workday on a railway dubbed “the hard luck bridge”. Dravosburg, Pennsylvania is now home to the former Wabash Bridge that once straddled the Monongahela River in Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but before the massive bridge could be melted down and transferred to nearby Dravosburg its collapse in October 1903 took the lives of eleven bridge workers when the structure tossed the men 109-feet below into the cold river and onto two steel barges sitting beneath the bridge.
The Wabash bridge-railway project was never a stranger to hard luck and severe circumstances with workers inflicted by the smallpox epidemic and other ailments. Landslides, fire and floods prevented the men from finishing a day’s work and riots were often the forefront of an unpreventable bad workday. 1946 witnessed the death of the terminal when a fire completely destroyed every piece of wood within the inferno’s reach. The remaining segments of the charred bridge loomed heavily in the air across the skyline with sickening reminders of what was never to be, and it was a sad reminder of the lives that were lost during the cursed bridge’s construction.
Many different plans were discussed as to where the thousands of tons of metal bridge parts would be used in the future and after much thought the cursed bridge was scrapped, the steel melted down and used in the 1948 construction of the W.D. Mansfield Memorial Bridge/Dravosburg Bridge, just 10 miles from downtown Pittsburgh on route 837. Hundreds of accounts from eye witnesses claim that they have seen ghost workmen from the early part of the twentieth century working on and walking across the bridge in dirty overalls and heavy black boots. The haunting faces of the ghost workers appear distraught as they stare a hole right through you when driving by as if they knew their fate, but purged forward despite the grim outcome. It is believed that the bridge is cursed by the crew just as the bridge had cursed them and forced them to meet their death before their time.
Location: Crosses over Route 837 in Dravosburg, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Paranormal Activity, Ghosts and the Unexplained
Imagination is a powerful thing and there is often a fine line between what is real and what we presume as real as solid proof sometimes refuses to manifest itself into evidence in those moments when we need it to. Walking down the path to days gone by and revisiting those people that once existed in that world can at times be a scary place to venture into, but it can also be a rewarding experience filled with life lessons that teach us about our capabilities of just how much we can handle during those times that extreme fear of the unknown presents themselves.
The Green Man of the Panther Hollow Bridge and Lake
The green man has long been a legend in Pittsburgh and it involves an eerie and unexplainable mystery on the Panther Hollow Bridge. The eye witnesses claim that the mysterious circumstances and questions to the events that unfolded during a chilly evening in 1964 may never be answered. Upon entering the bridge you are immediately struck by the sight of beautiful marble panthers, made by Italian sculpture Giuseppe Moretti, the powerful felines embellish the four corners of the bridge. However on one particular evening the cats gave no clues as to an accident involving one Army truck lying on its side and wedge into the guardrail. The driver of the truck was missing and his body was never found, and below in the lake were strange gurgling noises with no visible evidence as to what was causing it other then the possibility that the driver of the truck was drowning.
The black hollow below offered no clues to what had unfolded just shortly after midnight and a crowd of spectators were becoming restless. A group of people with flashlights spotted green goo traveling down the hillside leading into the lake from the bridge, but other then that nothing else was telling the story of what had happened. Splashes and waves can be seen and heard coming from the lake and a green spot appears and slowly opens up. Bubbles appear from the center of the green spot and then an image of a man appears and grows taller and taller from the green spot. Everyone believes that this mystery creature has eaten the missing soldier. Eventually soldiers are everywhere cleaning up the area and everyone is escorted off of the bridge. Ambulance and fire crews were ordered to leave and the entire event was covered up and everyone was ordered to just forget about what they had seen. Residents believe that the green creature is still living in the lake and late night drivers heading across the bridge have witnessed what looks like a ghost man with a tortured expression on his face wearing an Army uniform, and some people have seen what appears to be green goo on his arms and neck.
Location: Panther Hollow Road, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
George Westinghouse Bridge
The George Westinghouse Bridge is nothing short of stunning, but it is considered haunted due to the spirited activity that occurs after dark on the bridge. Sightings of ghosts and other strange events go hand in hand with this bridge as it is considered one of the most favored bridges for committing suicide and the ease of access is partly to blame. The open-spandrel arch bridge features five spans and four extreme pylons that make up the majestic memorial to the famous George Westinghouse. The ghost-riddled bridge was constructed to avoid the heavily congested area known as Turtle Creek over a three year period from 1929 to 1932 and has a 200-foot drop. Many people have accidentally fallen from the bridge to their deaths as well and vehicle accidents are higher on this bridge then other well travelled Pittsburgh bridges. A construction worker fell from a beam in early 1931 and reportedly haunts the bridge. He has been seen walking along and has caused drivers to suddenly brake to avoid hitting him and then he just disappears. In 1954 two small children were rescued from the arches where they had climbed in order to get a better look below. Up until 1983 the bridge had one of the highest suicide rates in the county when construction became necessary to make jumping off of the bridge almost impossible.
Location: Route 30, Lincoln Highway, East Pittsburgh, Allegheny County
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh_bridges
http://pghbridges.com/termsBrg.htm
http://marketsquarepgh.blogspot.com/2012/06/mysteries-of-downtown-pittsburgh.html
http://www.clpgh.org/exhibit/neighborhoods/downtown/downb1.html
http://pghbridges.com/braddock/0598-4471/westinghouse.htm
http://scarytruestory.blogspot.com/2011/05/midnighters-green-man.html
http://www.popularpittsburgh.com/pittsburgh-info/pittsburgh-aroundtown/bridges.aspx
http://www.brooklineconnection.com/history/Facts/Smithfield.html
http://pghbridges.com/pittsburghE/0589-4476/pantherhollow.htm
http://brooklineconnection.com/history/Facts/WabashBridge.html
http://www3.gendisasters.com/pennsylvania/754/pittsburgh%2C-pa-wabash-bridge-collapse%2C-oct-1903
Reference:
- scarytruestory.blogspot.com/2011/05/midnighters-green-man.html
- www3.gendisasters.com/pennsylvania/754/pittsburgh%2C-pa-wabash-bridge-collapse%2C-oct
- marketsquarepgh.blogspot.com/2012/06/mysteries-of-downtown-pittsburgh.html
