Photo courtesy of publisher
"Bridges of Washington, D.C."
Join Historic Alexandria at Lloyd House for a series of lectures featuring local authors, with the first featuring Bob Dover, author of Bridges of Washington, D.C. A History and Guide. Explore the history of the nation's capital through this history of its bridges.
The lecture will take place Sunday, Sept. 27, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at Lloyd House, 220 N. Washington St. Tickets are $15, or $12 for Historic Alexandria members and volunteers. Tickets can be purchased online in the Historic Alexandria shop.
In the late 1700s, the first bridges, now completely gone, connected the new Federal City to the outside world. Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, more and bigger crossings arose to support industry, allow the expansion of suburbs, commemorate cultural and civic leaders and enhance the aesthetics of the District’s waterfronts and parks.
Although the city abandoned civic-minded, commemorative and monumental constructions for utilitarian highway monoliths in the mid-20th century, a recent renaissance has seen a welcome shift to walkability and beauty instead of brute utility. Using the city’s bridges as an index of the times, author and D.C. native Bob Dover tracks the growth, decay and rebirth of the District from the 1750s to today.
Dover is a geologist with 37 years of experience in environmental impact assessment. A Washington, D.C. native, he is a graduate of Beloit College and the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. His primary geologic interest is the role of geology and topography in influencing human settlement patterns, architecture, and historical events. In 2022, he published Bridgespotting: A Guide to Bridges that Connect People, Places, and Times. He is also a contributor of bridge photos and documentation to the historicbridges.org website and an active participant in the Vermont Covered Bridge Society.
About the Office of Historic Alexandria
The Office of Historic Alexandria preserves and shares the history of the City of Alexandria with eight museums, historic sites, archives, archaeology, tours, exhibits, and public programs. Through powerful storytelling and confronting the City’s past, Historic Alexandria enriches the present and inspires the future. We enhance the quality of life for residents and visitors and serve as a partner in the City’s equity and inclusion initiatives. For more information, visit alexandriava.gov/Historic.
