John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge
bridge connecting Cincinnati, OH and Covington, KY
The John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge (formerly the Cincinnati-Covington Bridge) is a suspension bridge that spans the Ohio River between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky. When opened to traffic on January 1, 1867, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world at 1,057 feet (322 m) main span, before being overtaken by the Niagara Clifton Bridge, which was later surpassed by John A. Roebling's most famous design of the 1883 Brooklyn Bridge at 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m). Pedestrians use the bridge to get between the hotels, bars, restaurants, and other amenities in Northern Kentucky. The bar and restaurant district at the foot of the bridge on the Kentucky side is known as Roebling Point.
Planning and charter
In the mid-19th century, need of a passage over the Ohio River became apparent. Commerce between Ohio and Kentucky had increased to the point that the highly congested steamboat traffic was constricting the economy. A solution that would not constrict traffic on the river even further was a wire cable suspension bridge of the type developed by French engineers. Several American engineers had begun designing and building suspension bridges. One of these men was John A. Roebling of Saxonburg, Pennsylvania. The Ohio River, however, was much wider than any river that had been bridged in France.
The public source identifies “John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge” as bridge connecting Cincinnati, OH and Covington, KY. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around John, Roebling and Suspension.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge”, the useful work is to connect “bridge connecting Cincinnati, OH and Covington, KY” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q153672. VIAF identifies the subject as 315169047. The Library of Congress control number is sh2006003882. Authority coordinates are 39.092, -84.510. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1867 and 1883.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.