Cyanotypes of Upper Steel Arch (Honeymoon) Bridge, Sept. 29, 1897-July 16, 1898

Album of cyanotype photographs made during the construction of the Upper Steel Arch (or Honeymoon) Bridge, Sept. 29, 1897-July 16, 1898

Archives & Special Collections-10th Floor-Folio ; FC 3160.67 F35 1898

These are photographs of the Honeymoon Bridge construction created through the cyanotype process by Charles W. Dill. The Upper Steel Arch, also known as the Honeymoon Bridge, was constructed in 1897-98 by the Pencoyd Bridge Company to replace the collapsed Niagara Clifton Bridge.

The Honeymoon Bridge was built for international crossing between Niagara Falls Canada and the United States, and it became the world’s largest steel arch bridge as it spanned 840 feet. This bridge was an essential part of travel in and out of Canada and created ease of travel for visiting tourists. Unfortunately, the Honeymoon Bridge collapsed in January of 1938, after a windstorm caused large amounts of ice to push against the bridge and was later replaced by the current Rainbow Bridge.

Cyanotype is a printing process that was first created by John Herschel in 1842 as he experimented with sun printing to create blueprints. This method of printing became very popular in the 19th century due to its affordability and the impressive blue colour that develops, giving blueprints their name.

Cyanotypes are created by coating paper with iron compounds, ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide, which reacts to the UV rays from sunlight. After coating the paper, place either objects, e.g. flowers, or photo negatives on top and place the paper in direct sunlight for roughly 15 minutes. Any exposed areas of the paper will react to the sun while areas covered by the opacity of the photo or object will stay white. After printing, the paper is rinsed off to reveal a vibrant Prussian blue copy of the image.

-Text by Meagan Fairchild (VISA 2P90)

*This image is part of the “Women, Water, and Words” exhibition that students in VISA 2P90 curated in the Winter 2024 semester.

Further Reading

Album of photographs taken during construction of the Upper Steel Arch (or Honeymoon) Bridge, Sept. 29, 1897-July 16, 1898. Brock Archives & Special Collections-10th Floor-Folio (FC 3160.67 F35 1898).

Anderson, Christina. “Making the Cyanotype Print.” In Cyanotype. Taylor & Francis, 2019.

Lundy’s Lane Historical Society. Niagara Falls Through the Years. Niagara Falls: Lundy’s Lane Historical Society, 1967.

Schaaf, Larry. Sun gardens: Cyanotypes by Anna Atkins. New York: The New York Public Library, 2018.

“THE NEW STEEL ARCH AT NIAGARA.” Scientific American no.16, Vol.LXXVIII (1898): p.245.

Zavitz, Sherman. Niagara Falls, Ontario: Then & Now. St. Catharines, ON: Looking Back Press, 2005.