{"nrhp_refnum":"79001577","name":"Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Spans Hudson River","address_restricted":false,"city":"Poughkeepsie","county":"Dutchess County","state":"NY","lat":41.71068903400004,"lon":-73.95384183999994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-02-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["national","state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A steel cantilever railroad bridge spanning the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie (Dutchess County) and the Highland area (Ulster County), New York. Built 1876-1888, it is 6,767 feet long including approaches.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the bridge as one of the great bridges of the nineteenth century and a major transportation and engineering achievement. Its total length and 548-foot channel span were records for a steel structure. It also reflects the persistence of Poughkeepsie's boosters, who overcame political and financial setbacks to finish a large privately funded project. Later documentation raised the level of significance to national.","narrative":"Crossing the Hudson roughly midway between New York City and Albany, this riveted steel railroad bridge runs 6,767 feet with its approaches, linking Poughkeepsie on the east shore to the Highland area on the west. Its river crossing consists of seven deck-truss spans, including a central pair of cantilevers and a suspended span, with rails 342 feet above the foundations. Construction ran from 1876 to 1888 after repeated financial collapses, charter amendments and opposition from boatmen and rival cities. Engineers sank deep river piers through tidal water to bedrock, and the finished structure set records for total length and channel span among steel bridges. The first train crossed on December 29, 1888. Local promoters hoped to carry Pennsylvania coal to New England industry. The bridge was double-tracked at first, later gauntleted and then reduced to a single track in 1959. It has been unused since a 1974 fire damaged part of the deck.","period_of_significance":"1876-1888","architect_builder":"John F. O'Rourke, chief eng.","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Unused since May 8, 1974, when a fire caused substantial damage to part of the deck.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.663139-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/79001577.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79001577/fc0f5a8eba-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79001577/fc0f5a8eba-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Mfwills (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PokRailBridgeEast.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Mfwills (talk)</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PokRailBridgeEast.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317438","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walkway_over_the_Hudson","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2106712"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/dutchess-county/poughkeepsie-railroad-bridge-79001577/"}