Blackfriars Station is another unique bridge along the Thames. It is a bridge…and it’s a station for the underground. When I was there in May 2012, it was under construction, or rather extensive renovation to extend the platforms along the bridge and add solar panels above. The Guardian heralded it as the “world’s largest solar power bridge” when it opened in 2014. And over a decade later, it seems to retain hold of that title, suggesting an opportunity for more solar bridges to step up to the challenge.
The Hungerford Bridge is unique among London bridges. It is a truss bridge, instead of the more typical deck arch bridges up and down the river. Also, it has a pedestrian bridge hanging off each side of it, collectively know as the Jubilee Bridges, that nearly hide the Hungerford Bridge from view, begging the question: how many is one bridge?
Grosvenor Bridge is the second of the railroad bridges across the Thames that I encountered. Four bridges downriver from the Battersea Railroad Bridge, it is substantially wider to accommodate a higher volume of train traffic. As with most of the Thames River bridges I encountered in 2012, Grosvenor Bridge is a deck arch bridge. However, unlike the others that feature ornate coloring and ornamentation, here the arches and spandrels are left to speak, simply, for themselves.
Just upriver from the Battersea Bridge – technically the first bridge I traipsed – is the Battersea Railroad Bridge. It mimics the deck arch style, and echoes the gold contrasted against a dark tone color-scheme, of the Battersea Bridge. The railroad bridge also has a similarly narrow road bed, making it the skinniest of the railroad bridges I encountered in my bridge walking of London in 2012.
This is the closest I got to the Battersea Railroad Bridge. My paper map ended about there – I refused to get a smartphone for several more years – and I had no idea there was another bridge just beyond that bend in the Thames that I could have walked. However, my motivating goal in walking bridges was to capture different views of the city. I took numerous photos from and near each of the bridges I walked, usually including at least one upriver and one downriver view, which enabled me to capture views of bridges that weren’t pedestrian accessible, such as the Battersea Railroad Bridge.
GoFish! was a fundraiser in Erie, PA, in 2001. I can’t find a match for this one in the “offishial” GoFish! book and the plaque underneath is too faded to read after 22 years in the sun and rain. Amy H.’s FourSquare map identified this one as “Goldfish.” Unfortunately, since FourSquare folded, I can no longer access her map. However, I have created my own which you can view on my new Public Art Maps page.
GoFish! was a fundraiser in Erie, PA, in 2001. “Lilly the Lip” by Rick & Susan James was the first of the fish and frogs that Shelly and I took photos of on our trip in 2023 armed with Amy H.’s maps. As it was after sunset, we were carded to enter the bar even though we only wanted a picture of a fish.
LeapFrog! was a fundraiser in Erie, PA, in 2004. For our final stop in our July 2023 search for frogs, we paused to reflect with “Leap into your Reflection” by Chary L. Robbins. Amy H.’s map was “toadally” helpful in aiding Shelly and I to find 12 more frogs to add to my collection started in 2012 and to revisit 2 frogs from that first trip.
Chicago first drew my attention to how we layer our cities. I wasn’t thinking of this theme when I was in Buffalo, but when I reviewed my photos, this bridge-walking photo caught my eye as another iteration of city layering. Buffalo’s layering is more subtle than Chicago’s, but like Chicago, there are a variety of uses/activities at each level.
Underground
The underground layer in this photo is the railroad tracks, which appear to be the tracks the Amtrak uses as the station is nearby. At a similar elevation and a few blocks to the right, the Erie Canal and Lake Erie are other uses at this layer’s level. Part of the canal has been converted into a paved recreation area with skating rink. At the point where this picture is taken, the light rail system is at street level and immediately behind me, but toward the northern end of downtown, it slips underground. Exploration of other potential underground uses such as tunnels, parking garages, or businesses was beyond the scope of this trip.
Street Level
Again, where this photo was taken, the street level includes pedestrian, vehicular, and light transit activity. Although, when I was passing on a Sunday in the late afternoon approaching dinnertime, there was very little of any activity at this location. I had encountered a fair number of people enjoying the indoor and outdoor amenities at Canalside and once back in the heart of downtown there was some activity at street level. This point along the “barrier” to the waterfront felt a little like a no-man’s land.
Pie in the Sky
In this picture, the upper layer of the city is the overpass (or bridge) for I-190. Just on the other side of the overpass the upper layer changes into the Seneca One office and apartment tower that straddles Main Street and has beautiful street-level murals. Downtown has many skyscrapers and other large buildings that contribute to the upper layer of the city, but the outstanding feature for me of Buffalo’s upper layer is the web of overpasses.
LeapFrog! was a fundraiser in Erie, PA, in 2004. In 2023, I never would have thought to look here for a frog without Amy H.’s map. “Toadally Eriesistible” by Jeff Yonkers no longer has his/her/their map of Erie, but has gained a few more accessories.
There are several pedestrian-only bridges at Canalside, Buffalo. They pass over the end of the Erie Canal, a portion of which has been paved over with a skating rink. When I was there, one of these bridges was closed due to construction and I couldn’t figure out how to get to another one. I did walk over two others of these pedestrian bridges – one over the paved portion and one over the water portion.
urbantraipsing 