Franklin Avenue Bridge Oldest In America: Phun Philly Phacts

PHILADELPHIA, PA —No, it's not "The Bridges of Madison County." Nor is it a "Bridge Over Troubled Water."

Throughout the United States, there are thousands of bridges and lots of famous ones too, from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to the George Washington Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge in New York City.

But this bridge isn't usually on the lips of those listing famous bridges or any bridges at all.

This bridge, though, might be even more famous than the Golden Gate or GW due to its historic designation and recognition: It is the oldest surviving roadway bridge in the United States.

The Frankford Avenue Bridge —also called the Pennypack Bridge, the Pennypack Creek Bridge, and the King's Highway Bridge —is a three-span, 73-foot-long twin-stone arch bridge in the Holmesburg section of Northeast Philadelphia.

It carries vehicles on Frankford Avenue (U.S. Route 13), just north of Solly Avenue, over Pennypack Creek, according to Wikipedia.

According to Wikipedia, the bridge was built at the request of William Penn in 1697 to connect his mansion and served as an important link on the King's Highway to Philadelphia and northern cities like Trenton, New York, and Boston.

The bridge was designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1970. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.