Historedia
AmericasEvent

The Spiral Bridge opens over the Mississippi at Hastings, Minnesota

When
1895
Where
Mississippi River
Episodes
1

In 1895 a spiral bridge was built over the Mississippi River at Hastings, Minnesota. Its novel design was intended to slow horse-drawn traffic as it entered downtown, and the structure later became a tourist attraction. Highway 61 is among Hastings's main routes.

Episodes

  1. 1895 · Mississippi RiverConstruction of the Spiral Bridge

    A spiral bridge was built in 1895 over the Mississippi River at Hastings, Minnesota, with a design intended to slow horse-drawn traffic entering downtown.

Background and detail

Background. Hastings is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, serving as the county seat. Highway 61 is one of the city's main routes. The Mississippi River, the primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States, flows through Minnesota. The construction of a bridge over this river was necessary to facilitate transportation and commerce in the region.

Construction. In 1895, a spiral bridge was built over the Mississippi River at Hastings. Its unique spiral shape was designed to slow down horse-drawn traffic as it entered downtown Hastings. The novel design subsequently made the structure a tourist attraction.

Legacy. The novel design of the spiral bridge made it a tourist attraction. However, the structure could not accommodate modern vehicles, and it was demolished in 1951.

Sources

  1. Hastings, Minnesota Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-05
  2. Mississippi River Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-19

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.