Ninth Street Bridge
Why it's listed
Spanning the Allegheny River between downtown Pittsburgh and the North Side, the Ninth Street Bridge is a steel self-anchored eyebar suspension bridge, 995 feet long with a center span of 430 feet. Its two towers stand over stone-faced river piers and carry eyebar catenaries anchored at the shoreline piers, while the deck is stiffened by triple plate girders. The shoreline piers rise as stone pylons topped with lanterns. Built in 1925-26 by Allegheny County during an expanded program of bridge and highway construction, it replaced an earlier structure on the same site that had been ordered removed by the War Department as an obstruction to navigation. Its design is generally attributed to County engineer Vernon R. Covell. The bridge is regarded as one of the few important surviving examples of eyebar suspension construction in the country, and one of the first self-anchored suspension bridges in the United States. It was also one of a trio of nearly identical spans in Pittsburgh.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the bridge is one of the only important surviving examples of the eyebar suspension bridge in the country and, with the Sixth and Seventh Street Bridges, one of the first self-anchored suspension bridges in the United States. It is also described as the nation's only trio of virtually identical spans, built as part of a large county public works program of the 1920s.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 86000019, listed January 7, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Allegheny River at Ninth St., Pittsburgh |
|---|---|
| County | Allegheny County |
| Listed | January 7, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86000019 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Period of significance | 1921-1940 |
| Architect / builder | Vernon R. Covell et al.; Stanley Roush (architect/engineer); The Foundation Co.; American Bridge Co. (builder/contractor) |
| Architectural style | Suspension Bridge (self-anchored) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Engineering, Transportation, Politics/Government |
| Level of significance | National |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition recorded as good and integrity as excellent on the form. |
| Acreage | 1.5 |
| Within district | Penn-Liberty Historic District (Boundary Increase) |
| Coordinates | 40.44661, -79.99994 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 86000019.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7279183
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.