Built-in 1872, one of Cincinnati’s seven bridges spanning the Ohio River, the Purple People Bridge was the first railroad bridge to connect Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. In 1897, it was widened to incorporate a path for horses, carts, and two sets of streetcar tracks. Renamed in 1904, the L&N (Louisville and Nashville) Railroad Bridge was repaved and began to serve automobiles as well. The bridge halted its service in 1987 and the structure deteriorated through 1990 until it was purchased by CSX.
A New Era
With the buzz generated by the development of Newport on the Levee, there was a new wave of interest in saving the bridge. In 2001, the City of Newport received $4 million dollars in state funding to restore the bridge. CSX also donated its portion of the bridge to the Newport-Southbank Bridge Company, which owns and maintains the bridge today.
Why Purple?
During the revitalization of the bridge in 2001, focus groups were given mockups to determine what color to paint the bridge. In almost every session, purple and green were top picks. A member of Southbank, Ted Bushelman, who presented his master’s thesis on “The Psychology of Color” during his time at Xavier University explained “Purple is a good color for public consumption. If you paint a room purple, it can drive you crazy. But it looks good on something like a bridge.” And that was that; the bridge was painted a dark purple. While today it’s faded to a periwinkle color, it still is a staple to the Cincinnati skyline and the deep railroad history of this city.
The railroad tracks were removed from the left (east) side of the bridge.
