The Eads Bridge is an architectural masterpiece. Built over the Mississippi River to connect Missouri and Illinois, it boasts a list of "firsts": It was the first bridge in St. Louis, the first to use steel and the first in the U.S. to use caissons for its piers.
The iconic bridge turns 150 years old this July, and a new exhibit at the Missouri History Museum celebrates its distinct design and place in the region’s history and culture.
“Our region is so fractioned off. We think in terms of city and county and … Metro East,” said Amanda Clark, the Missouri Historical Society’s public historian who served as the exhibit’s content lead. “[Eads] is another great example, a great chance to connect all of those things and think of one St. Louis.”
The “Eads Bridge at 150” exhibit features flashy people and big historic moments related to the bridge. It also highlights individuals like Charlie Immethun, a tollbooth operator who told jokes to commuters crossing the bridge.
Charlie on the Bridge, as he was known, also kept scrapbooks documenting his experiences on the bridge, including the tissue he cried into on his last day of the job in 1989.
“His story just perfectly encapsulated how something so big and so historic can be turned into an everyday moment,” Clark said. “He just loved what he did, you could tell that he really took it seriously what his job was."
The bridge’s namesake, James Buchanan Eads, is also a prominent part of the exhibit. Eads, who was a self-taught innovator and engineer, received political pushback and criticism for his bridge design plans.
That soon changed when the bridge opened to the public and he became a local and national figure.
“He's just such a great example of someone who has big ideas only,” Clark said. “Like just everything he does is massive. Yes, he makes a fortune, but everything is about furthering our city.”
Related Event
What: “Eads at 150” exhibit
When: April 2024-May 2025
Where: Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63112
For the full conversation with public historian Amanda Clark and to learn more about the design, construction and political challenges the Eads Bridge faced, listen to the full St. Louis on the Air conversation on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or by clicking the play button below.
St. Louis on the Air is produced by Alex Heuer, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Miya Norfleet, Ulaa Kuziez and Elaine Cha. Our engineer is Aaron Doerr. Our intern is Roshae Hemmings.
