“I get intrigued with bridges. I don’t know how all that steel is put together and it will stand for years. Here is the Acosta Bridge named after St. Elmo W. Acosta. Built in 1921. At one time the streetcar ran down the middle of the bridge and each side was for car traffic.” LS
Originally named the St. Johns River Bridge, it was the first bridge across the Saint Johns river built for automobile traffic and started life a toll bridge when the only other option was to take the downtown ferry across the river. The yellow colored steelwork bridge had a center lift section like the Main Street bridge which opened 20 years later. The Acosta originally had two lanes for car traffic and a center streetcar lane which later changed to three lanes for traffic, the center lane being reversible depending on the traffic needs at different times of day. St. Elmo W. Acosta was the Jacksonville City commissioner who led the efforts to have the St. Johns River Bridge built and the bridge was named after him two years after his death in 1947. The narrow bridge was replaced by the current Acosta bridge in 1991.
Tags: 012500, acosta bridge, bridge, downtown, historic photograph, St. Elmo W. Acosta, St. Johns River, vintage photography
