Steel Bridge over the willamette
— — a working bridge that still lifts for the river.
Not only on a wall.
“The Steel Bridge has been carrying Portland across the Willamette since 1912. Two decks, one over the other, and the rare trick of being able to lift each independently. Trains run the lower deck. Cars, MAX trains, pedestrians, and cyclists share the upper. When a tall ship comes upriver the lower deck rises by itself; when the river runs high both go up together. It is the only telescoping double-deck vertical-lift bridge in regular service in the world. From the studio.
Steel Bridge over the willamette, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
The Steel Bridge crosses the Willamette River in downtown Portland, opened to traffic in 1912 and engineered by Waddell and Harrington for the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads. It is a through-truss double-deck vertical-lift bridge: trains on the lower deck, motor traffic, MAX light rail, pedestrians, and cyclists on the upper. It carries Amtrak Cascades and Coast Starlight services along with TriMet's MAX system. The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The mechanism is the rare part. Most lift bridges raise a single deck. The Steel Bridge can raise its lower rail deck up into the truss above without disturbing the upper roadway, a telescoping action that keeps cars and trains moving while small river traffic passes underneath. For a tall ship both decks lift together to a clearance of about 163 feet. It is the only telescoping double-deck vertical-lift bridge of its kind still operating in the world.
The upper deck is open continuously. The east-side approach connects to the Eastbank Esplanade and the west-side approach drops onto Tom McCall Waterfront Park, so the bridge sits inside Portland's central river loop. Walking the upper deck end-to-end is roughly a quarter-mile crossing. The lift schedule is not posted, but the river-side viewpoints at the foot of the Esplanade are the standard places locals stop to watch the rail deck rise.