For years it was the main transportation link in Trail, drawing together both sides of the Silver City into one cohesive community.
Although it is now decommissioned, Visac Gallery and the Trail Historical Society are acknowledging the contributions and the importance of the “Old Bridge,” 100 years after it was first built.
In a “Tribute to Crossing the Bridge in Trail,” that opens today in the gallery (1501 Cedar), an exhibition of historical photographs, bridge related items, and a copy of the original blueprint will be on display alongside guest artist interpretations of the Old Bridge.
The Old Bridge exhibition pays tribute to a heritage structure that once exemplified the Trail community as a modern industrial town of great potential and advanced growth, said new Visac Gallery executive director and curator Kevin Johnson.
The bridge was opened July 1, 1912.
“Although it’s not usable anymore, it was still worthy of a tribute considering what it meant to the city,” said Johnson.
The show encompasses how the bridge was built, some of the history attached to it, and the devastating flooding in the 1940s. A grant from Kootenay Savings helped foot the bill for the show.
Renay Jansonius’ photographs appear in the show (as well as the centre piece on the poster), along with works by Catherine Wetmore, Johnson, Barb Pistak and Wilma Hughes.
The gallery is open Monday to Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Thursday to Friday, from 2-6 p.m.