North Battleford
Saskatoon
Yorkton
Moose Jaw
Memory Mondays – Saskatoon Bridges
September’s Memory Mondays are featuring photos of Saskatoon’s bridges from the WDM’s Barton Collection of photos. Held in the WDM’s George Shepherd Library, the Barton Collection documents the lives of multiple generations of settler family life on a farm near Saskatoon.
Click on each photo to view full size.
| This undated photo shows the Victoria Street Traffic Bridge in Saskatoon. The bridge opened on October 10, 1907. It was built at the request of Nutana residents when Nutana joined the City of Saskatoon. Those who lived in Nutana wanted a safer and more reliable way across the river. Up until the opening of the bridge they had to either wait for a ferry or walk across the train bridge, which was a treacherous journey. |  |
| This photo shows the University Bridge, connecting the University campus to downtown Saskatoon. Though the bridge was built in 1916, it wasn’t formally named until 2006. The bridge was built with streetcar tracks on it, but it was never used by streetcars and the tracks were removed in 1947. |  |
| This photo was likely taken in 1932 at the opening of the Broadway Bridge. The Broadway Bridge was built as a make-work project during the Great Depression. It took only 11 months to complete and took the labour of 1,593 people working around the clock to build. It officially opened on November 11, 1932.
The Broadway Bridge has a grade of 4%, making it the steepest bridge in Saskatoon. |
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| This photo from March 4, 1912, shows the aftermath of the collapse of the Canadian Northern Railway bridge in Saskatoon. A section of the bridge collapsed under a train headed for Regina. One of the cars fell 57 feet onto the ice below, injuring 12 passenger but causing no deaths. |  |
Would like to know when the railroad bridge was built and if there are more pictures of the bridge collapse?
Wonder what the temperatures were when the picture of the Broadway Bridge was taken, appears that those in attendance were not dressed for November weather?
In regards to the University bridge what names were used before the official naming of the bridge?
Hi Bryan,
Thanks for your questions.
The rail bridge was likely built in 1908. The City of Saskatoon’s website has a great page on the history of all the bridges in the city. You can find it here: https://www.saskatoon.ca/moving-around/bridges/history-our-bridges
The Local History Room at the Saskatoon Public Library has more images, including the three following:
http://spldatabase.saskatoonlibrary.ca/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QBE_QUERY&TN=LHR_RAD&NP=4&QB0=AND&QF0=ID_NUMBER&QI0=LH-110&MR=20&RF=www_SingleRecord
http://spldatabase.saskatoonlibrary.ca/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QBE_QUERY&TN=LHR_RAD&NP=4&QB0=AND&QF0=ID_NUMBER&QI0=LH-253&MR=20&RF=www_SingleRecord
http://spldatabase.saskatoonlibrary.ca/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QBE_QUERY&TN=LHR_RAD&NP=4&QB0=AND&QF0=ID_NUMBER&QI0=LH-700&MR=20&RF=www_SingleRecord
I’m unable to find any information on the weather from Nov 11, 1932. It’s possible that a grand opening was held for the bridge a few months after it opened to traffic to avoid the November chill.
The University Bridge was commonly referred to as the 25th Street Bridge and the University Bridge, but no name was formally given to it until 2006.
-Kaiti Hannah
Curatorial Assistant
I was thrilled to get the pictures and history of the bridges across the Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon.
My dad was a CPR agent, right out of the Army after WW 1.
I have a picture of the last steam -coal engine thru Macklin Sask. Might take a bit to find it , but you can have a copy. Mary B
Hi Mary,
Thank you for your offer. Please email our Collections Manager at jjackson@wdm.ca and she will be able to assist you.
-Tanya Callaway
Communications and MEdia Relations