Whipple Cast and Wrought Iron Bowstring Truss Bridge

Whipple Cast and Wrought Iron Bowstring Truss Bridge
Bridge seen from west, 2006
Coordinates	42°38′09″N 73°48′02″W / 42.63583°N 73.80056°W / 42.63583; -73.80056Coordinates: 42°38′09″N 73°48′02″W / 42.63583°N 73.80056°W / 42.63583; -73.80056
Carries	Mill Road
Crosses	Unnamed tributary of Normans Kill
Locale	Albany, NY, U.S.
Other name(s)	Normanskill Farm Bridge
Owner	City of Albany
Heritage status	NRHP #71000523
Characteristics
Design	Whipple bowstring truss bridge
Material	Iron
Total length	109.9 feet (33.5 m)
Width	22.75 feet (6.93 m)
History
Designer	Squire Whipple
Constructed by	Simon De Graff
Opened	1867

The Whipple Cast and Wrought Iron Bowstring Truss Bridge. locally known as the Normanskill Farm Bridge, is located near the entrance to Stevens Farm in southwestern Albany, New York, United States. It was built in 1867, but not moved to its present location until 1899. It is one of the oldest surviving iron bridges in the county, one of the few that use both cast and wrought iron and one of only two surviving examples of the Whipple bowstring truss type. In 1971 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the only bridge in the city of Albany so far to be listed individually.

A Syracuse-based builder copied Squire Whipple's original bowstring truss design, the patent for which had expired by the time of its construction. Where it was originally located is not known; it is believed to have been somewhere west of the city, possibly in Schoharie County.

When the old Albany and Delaware Turnpike, today Delaware Avenue, was rerouted in 1899 to what is now Normanskill Drive, it was moved to its present location to make the farm more accessible from the main road. When Delaware was straightened out into what is today New York State Route 443 (NY 443), traffic on the bridge went down, allowing the bridge to remain in use, although only for cars. Today it is limited only to pedestrian use, and is closed in winter. The city recently approved a small-scale restoration project.

The bridge carries Mill Road across a deep ravine about 100 feet (30 m) west of Normanskill Drive. The surrounding area is wooded; to the west of the ravine the woods give way almost immediately to the Stevens Farm complex. The ravine is dry most of the time, but after heavy rains it carries water from a small basin extending northeast a quarter-mile (400 m) as far as the New York State Thruway (Interstate 87) to the Normans Kill 200 feet (61 m) to the south, which at this point is the boundary between the city of Albany and the town of Bethlehem to the south. To the east the land rises steeply. The wooded, park-like area gives way to a more developed residential neighborhood along the north side of today's Delaware Avenue (NY 443), opposite a large cemetery.