“Sister Bridges” Pylon Fixture – Pittsburgh, PA

Pittsburgh, PA is known as the city of bridges and has more bridges than Venice, Italy. A lot of the historic bridges that line Pittsburgh’s three rivers were constructed in the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s when Pittsburgh was known for its steel production. All the bridges built during this time were toll bridges leading into the city for both pedestrian and (at the time) horse and buggy prior to the automobile. Crossing the Allegheny River at 9th Street, 7th Street and 6th Street are the “Sister Bridges”. These three bridges are the only example of three identical side-by-side suspension bridges in the world.

Fast forward to 2015, these bridges needed a face lift and some work done. The engineering team tasked with this project discovered something special while reviewing archival documents on these bridges, they once had lantern fixtures on both sides and ends of the bridges that had been lost to history. Upon this discovery, the engineering team reached out to Modular International to bring these historically lost lantern fixtures back to life and position them on the original granite pylons they once sat on 100 years prior. Modular International worked from a black and white photograph showing the original design of these lantern fixtures and preformed site measurements to calculate the size and positioning on the granite pylons. The engineering team added a more modern, clearer design to the fixtures and there you have it. These lantern fixtures provide decorative illumination and are completely drainable (water runs into the fixture and drains out the bottom), all of the LED modules are individually watertight and able to be replaced without compromising the other modules inline.

“The new pier lanterns that Modular International designed for the 9th, 7th and 6th street bridges were inspired from a historical picture of the original lanterns that were once on the bridge back when it was built. Throughout the design and fabrication stages, Modular International worked closely with us to create fixtures that would closely match the historical fixture and provide pleasing luminosity. The client was very pleased with the end product, and we look forward to working with Modular International again.” – Mary Ellen Miller Santangelo & Lindsay