What a difference a century makes.
When it opened Nov. 10, 1910, an estimated 100,000 people came to see the McKinley Bridge. On Wednesday, only about a dozen gathered to celebrate its 100th birthday.
After a short speech by Venice History Committee President JoAnn Blumenstock Barnett most of them walked or biked up to the two-lane bridge's main span, read the dedication plaque from the original ceremony and admired the view, then went to the Venice Public Library to look at newspaper clippings and eat cake.
The last of a series of toll bridges across the Mississippi River, the steel truss McKinley reopened in 2007 as a free crossing after a $52 million rehabilitation. The Illinois Department of Transportation closed the span in October 2001 because of safety concerns.
Purchased by the city of Venice in 1958, it had been built by the Illinois Traction Railroad Co. and named after its president, William B. McKinley (not U.S. President William McKinley).
"Way back when, government didn't build infrastructure; private companies built infrastructure," said Andrew Theising, director of the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Institute for Urban Research. "They made money both in the rail traffic as well as the street traffic that went through."
For those attending Wednesday's ceremony, they shared stories in addition to walking on the bridge.
Henry Mulnik, 58, of Columbia, remembered his first streetcar ride: Christmas shopping in the "big stores" of St. Louis as a 4-year-old with his mother. It was a big day for him, Mulnik said, because he also got to see his first escalator.
"I was afraid of them," he said. His mom "was halfway up and finally turned around and realized I'm not by her side, so she started walking down the up escalator trying to get me. Eventually a customer gave me a push behind me and got me on to the thing."
Also remembered were the two outside lanes which hung out from the main span. By the time the bridge closed in 2001, large potholes had developed and the guard rail showed considerable deterioration. Now the lanes serve as a service and inspection lane and a bike/walking trail.
Margaret Gonterman Eck, 78, of Granite City, who lived in Venice until 1977, remembered how scary the crossing was. "Both hands on the wheel at all times, looking straight ahead," she quipped.
For Mayor Tyrone Echols, the past 30 years has been a "love-hate" relationship with the bridge.
Before the state closed it, the bridge took up much of the City Council's time, and Echols often referred to it as a "white elephant."
Today, he hopes the traffic on the bridge will bring economic activity and development to the city.
"We keep high hopes," Echols said.
Contact reporter Scott Cousins at 618-344-0264, ext. 113
