HELL GATE BRIDGE I
From Astoria
MAY 25, 1937. ABBOTT FILE 246

Hell Gate Bridge I, variant

Constructed in 1917 for the Penn Central Railroad, the Hell Gate Bridge reaches from Astoria, across Randall's and Ward's Islands to the Bronx. With a 1,017-foot parabolic arch and three miles of concrete viaduct, it is the longest bridge of its type in the world, and it formed a crucial link in the rail system from Canada and New England to the South and West.

Hell Gate Bridge II, discarded image

Abbott photographed the Hell Gate from Queens the same day she photographed the Queensboro Bridge. Standing in Astoria Park, she could see the Triborough Bridge behind the Hell Gate in the distance; both the park and the Triborough had just opened in 1936. Viewing the Hell Gate Bridge diagonally, Abbott placed the entire span within the frame and contrasted its graceful curve with the spiky branches and spring blossoms of the park's newly planted trees. She preferred this version, reminiscent of a Japanese print, to a variant in which the young trees are seen from afar.

Later that summer, Abbott photographed the Hell Gate Bridge from Ward's Island. This discarded view shows the three-mile viaduct winding toward the bridge's spectacular arch and a portion of the Triborough Bridge in the distance.

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