Stone Arch Bridge

The Stone Arch Bridge spans the Mississippi River just downstream from Saint Anthony Falls, a 23-arch limestone and granite structure built in 1883 for the Great Northern Railroad. It was decommissioned as a railway bridge in 1978 and converted to pedestrian and bicycle use in 1994, and now serves as the central element in one of Minneapolis's best urban walks.

Cross the bridge from the West Bank (Mill City Museum side) to the East Bank (St. Anthony Main side) and back, stopping at the midpoint for views of the falls and the Stone Arch Bridge itself. The surrounding Mill Ruins Park preserves the remnants of the original 19th-century mills on the riverbank, with interpretive signage. The annual Open Streets Minneapolis festival closes Nicollet Mall to cars on summer Sundays; the Stone Arch Bridge and the surrounding riverfront trails are part of the regional cycling network.

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A story
The bridge was built in 1883 by James J. Hill, the railroad magnate who ran the Great Northern Railway, as a rail crossing into Minneapolis. It is the only arched stone bridge on the entire Mississippi River and one of only two stone arch railroad bridges in the country that survive in their original condition. Hill chose stone over iron because he thought iron bridges were too easily destroyed by enemy forces in wartime.

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