Eads Bridge Tornado

Little bit of St. Louis history here for my fellow history buffs out there.

I learned something new about one of my favorite bridges.

1896:  Once the tornado made it to the Mississippi, it decimated the steamboats and other vessels in the harbor, breaking them to pieces and scattering them from the Missouri shore to the Illinois shore. Even the Eads Bridge, which was considered “tornado proof” as the first major bridge constructed by making use of true steel, was damaged by the powerful tornado with nearly 300 feet of its eastern approach being torn away. Much of the central portion of St. Louis was also destroyed, as were factories, saloons, hospitals, mills, railroad yards, and churches throughout the city.

(https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/news/month-climate-history-may-27-1896-st-louis-tornado)


Look at this:


Based on the description above, I think we're looking north-northwest here - basically where the Casino Queen is today.


More on the tornado that killed 200+:

https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/great-st-louis-tornado-1896

https://cdm17210.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p17210coll3


Grace & Peace & Love to you all -

Matt



p.s. while under construction, the Eads Bridge got hit by a tornado in 1871 as well:
https://www.nps.gov/jeff/learn/historyculture/upload/eads.pdf

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