Name/Title
Ribbon Cutting, Main Street Bridge, 1961Entry/Object ID
2020.55.1Scope and Content
Framed photograph of the ribbon cutting to open the Main Street Bridge, October 4, 1961Context
A photograph of the ribbon cutting at the official opening of the new Main Street Bridge, on Highway 92 at Wasaga Beach in 1961. Main Street, as known today, was originally referred to as Highway 92. The first bridge in Wasaga Beach was a wooden bridge, known as the Van Vlack Bridge, built in 1872 and located a few hundred feet east of the current Main Street bridge. The Van Vlack bridge was operational until 1909 when a new steel bridge was built to replace the deteriorating wooden bridge. The steel bridge, mounted on concrete piers, cost an estimated $15 000. It had two narrow lanes and a pedestrian walkway. The bridge was operational into the late 1950s, when continued deterioration, the need for a wider bridge due to the increase in summer tourists and newly approved provincial funding resulted in the construction of a new Main Street bridge that officially opened on October 4, 1961. In attendance at the bridge opening ceremony was the Honorable F. M. Cass, from the Department of Highways along with local dignitaries, residents, school children, Girl Guides and Boy Scouts.Acquisition
Accession
2020.55Source or Donor
UnknownAcquisition Method
GiftNotes
Photo Credit: Department of Highways
