Creative Genius of Lehigh Engineers

Opened on October 25, 1924, Hill to Hill Bridge was saluted as a superstructure and an engineering marvel of its time. There were hundreds of men and women involved in building it. This exhibit is aiming to give special attention to the Lehigh University alumni whose “Creative Genius” played a significant role to make it happen.

The reputation of its engineering education, Lehigh University’s alumni and trustees designed the bridge, supervised its construction, and ensured the financial security of it.

According to Rollin Rueben Keim in his “Hill-to-Hill Bridge Historical and Pictorial”, “the story of the Bethlehem’s Hill to Hill Bridge is the story of the indefatigable efforts of earnest, farsighted citizens, with the breath of vision and an unselfish desire to promote the material progress of the Bethlehems. Differences in opinion cropped out, as was to be expected of men of strong character, but never was lost sight of the fact that a free bridge was a vital necessity.”

Archibald Johnston, Bethlehem’s first mayor in many of his speeches and remarks strongly emphasizes consolidations of the two cities North and South Bethlehem, and he states that Hill-to-Hill Bridge was the utmost symbol of that consolidation.

It is true that this “free bridge” is an iconic symbol that unifies the two cities. 100 years later today, Lehigh University and Moravian Archives proudly worked on this exhibit that emphasizes the collaboration and collective efforts that still define this city. When you cross over the Hill-to-Hill Bridge remember that every bridge is a connector; nature may separate us but bridges, products of human determination and creative genius, indeed connect us for the ultimate good.