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Connecting curious minds with uncommon, undeniably Northwest reads

Catastrophe to Triumph

Bridges of the Tacoma Narrows

Richard S. Hobbs

$24.95

In 1940, just months after opening, “Galloping Gertie” captured worldwide attention when it plunged to a watery grave. Richard Hobbs recounts the catastrophe and its aftermath, including the harrowing escapes, the subsequent investigation, the scandals, and the triumph of the replacement spans.         Relive the catastrophe of “Galloping Gertie’s” spectacular collapse and its aftermath, including the harrowing escapes, the subsequent investigation, the triumph of the replacement 1950 and 2007 spans.

“A fascinating, thorough, and beautifully-written history of the region’s infamous bridges.”—Bridge Design & Engineering

Fall 2007 Washington Reads Selection, Washington State Library

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Description

In Washington State during the 1920s, before the completion of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, travelers to the Kitsap Peninsula faced a long, often expensive journey. They could take the ferry from Point Defiance, or select a lengthy highway route, which wound around the southern end of Puget Sound. The driving distance from Tacoma to Gig Harbor was 107 miles. A bridge would shorten that to a mere eight miles.

A logical site existed near Tacoma, where Puget Sound narrows into a channel slightly less than a mile wide, but even so, the geographic setting was daunting. At that spot, the water is more than 200 feet deep, and treacherous tides surge through four times each day. The sheer cost of construction at such a challenging location also presented a significant barrier. Yet, through the determined efforts of hundreds of people, Galloping Gertie and her successors were built, changing the future of suspension bridge engineering.

Far more than simply a tale about steel and concrete, the full story of the Tacoma Narrows Bridges revealed in Catastrophe to Triumph is also about people—engineers, workmen, politicians, and ordinary community members—who campaigned for civic improvement; pushed design theory to its limits; infused grace and elegance into functional structures; weathered scandal and danger; survived and investigated a heartbreaking collapse; and constructed, re-built, and who today continue to maintain the intricate spans, ultimately propelling catastrophe into triumph.

Photographs / maps / notes / bibliography / index / 208 pages (2006)

Recognition

Fall 2007 Washington Reads Selection, Washington State Library

“A fascinating, thorough, and beautifully-written history of the region’s infamous bridges.”—Bridge Design & Engineering

“Catastrophe to Triumph is ideal for those who may not know the full story of how that fateful day in 1940 arrived.”—Civil Engineering (2007)

“This inclusive and compelling portrait of the Narrows bridges takes the reader from the disaster of the ‘Galloping Gertie’ to the triumph of the 2007 span. Hobbs includes descriptions that bring the people to life and photos that enhance the stories.”—Jan Walsh, Washington State Librarian

Additional information

Weight 1.78 oz
Dimensions 10.5 x 9 in
Format

Paperback