October 02, 2009
Center Street Swing Bridge
King Iron Bridge & Manufacturing Co. re-built the Center Street Swing Bridge over the Cuyahoga River in 1900. The bridge is still operational and the dogs and I headed over to the West Bank of the Flats this afternoon across the bridge. The pedestrian walkway is solid, so as not to freak out the dogs or me.
It's bad enough that the river is down below and that at any time the alarm will be sounded and the bridge will start a-swinging to let river traffic through with me still on the bridge, making me lose my balance and fall into the river below, dragging the dogs over the railing with me. It could happen, you know. It's possible. Don't laugh.
We made it across, encountering a smashed car audio system -- all I know is that it wasn't an 8-track player. I'm still on the look-out for the stolen 8-track that was subsequently stolen from my '68 Nova, the metallic, light-blue one with the racing stripes. One day, I will find you. Oh, sorry -- we also encountered a dead sea gull -- or Lake Erie gull, to be exact, which was fucking huge. A lot more in the way of guts than I thought there would be from watching them flying around. I couldn't get a picture, what with three dogs, the beagle mostly, trying to investigate the carnage, or so it seemed.
Once across, we walked in the park along the river, from which there is a view of downtown to the east.
The problem with taking the route which we took is that there are only a few ways back across the river, all of which are a long walk; so, we were obliged to return the way we came, over the bridge, passing the fowl carcass, hurrying this time so that the dogs couldn't smell death in the air.