Despite its unshakable status as a great Australian landmark, Sydney Harbour Bridge is, in fact, not an entirely original Aussie design. In news that would surprise a lot of Sydneysiders (and precisely no New York residents), the design of Sydney Harbour Bridge was inspired by an almost identical (but slightly smaller) bridge that crosses New York City’s East River. Here’s what we know about the coathanger’s American doppelgänger.
Originally opened in 1916 (16 years before the Harbour Bridge was completed in 1932), the Hell Gate Bridge connects the former hospital complex of Wards Island to Astoria, Queens in Manhattan. And while Sydney’s Harbour Bridge is a passageway for trains, traffic, pedestrians and cyclists (it’s even scoring a new cycleway), its American counterpart is primarily a railway bridge, home to two passenger train tracks and one freight track (making it less than ideal for crossing on foot).
Though the steel structure that arches over New York City’s East River came first, we’re proud to proclaim that our very own bridge boasts some far more impressive accolades. When the Sydney Harbour Bridge opened in 1932, it was the widest bridge in the world at 49 metres wide – a position it held until 2012, when Vancouver Port Mann Bridge outshone it with a 65m gerth. Measuring 134 metres from water level to top, and at 1,149 metres long, the Emerald City’s magnificent harbour crossing is the largest steel arch bridge in the world.
So if you find yourself in NYC and are struck by a similar silhouette, you’re not imagining things.
Keen for more bridge-related trivia? These are six alternative designs that could be carrying us across the harbour