The MacArthur Bridge spans a channel of the

Detroit River The Detroit River is an List of international river borders, international river in North America. The river, which forms part of the border between the U.S. state of Michigan and the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ont ...

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. The bridge, which features 19 total arches across , provides main access between the city's mainland and Belle Isle. Completed in 1923 for $2.635 million (equivalent to $ in ), it replaced an iron bridge with wooden decking that accidentally caught fire and was destroyed in 1915. The bridge, popularly known as the Belle Isle Bridge, was originally named the George Washington Bridge and renamed the Douglas MacArthur Bridge after General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

in 1942. It was restored in 1986 at a cost of $11.5 million (equivalent to $ in ). In 1913, William Edmund Scripps (of the Scripps publishing family), flew a

Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company The Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909–1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by Glenn Curtiss, Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Augustus Moore Herring in Hammondsport, New York. After significant commercial success in ...

flying boat A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy. Though ...

underneath the original Belle Isle Bridge. Two sets of streetcar tracks were built into the east side of the bridge but a streetcar route was never implemented. The tracks were eventually paved over in the 1950s.

Photo gallery

File:MacArthurBridgeBelleIslesideentry.jpg, Entering Belle Isle from MacArthur Bridge File:MacArthurBridgefromBelleIsle.jpg, View of bridge from Belle Isle File:Detroit June 2024 06 (MacArthur Bridge).jpg, View of bridge from the Detroit International Riverfront

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macarthur Bridge (Detroit) Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in the United States Bridges in Detroit Bridges over the Detroit River Bridges completed in 1923 Road bridges in Michigan Concrete bridges in the United States Belle Isle Park (Michigan) 1923 establishments in Michigan