This video content is provided courtesy of the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC), owners of the original 16mm film footage.
This content is provided to the public for historical and educational purposes. Any sale, reproduction or other use of this video footage and images without the DRJTBC’s written consent is prohibited.
The ensuing 31-minute-long reel of silent footage was stored for five or more decades in an engineering department file room at the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission’s former administration building in Morrisville, PA. The footage was discovered and converted to a digitized video format.
This footage shows ceremonies and events associated with the dedications and openings of the Portland-Columbia Toll Bridge on Dec. 1, 1953, the Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge on Dec. 16, 1953, and the Milford-Montague Toll Bridge on Dec. 30, 1953. The footage is being released in November 2023 for the approaching 70th anniversaries of these three bridges.
It’s important to note that approach roadway designations at Portland-Columbia and Delaware Water Gap were different when the bridges opened. Both bridges were signed for U.S. 611 and the four-mile concrete divided highway between the bridges on the New Jersey side were signed as U.S. 611. The current PA 611 segment between the bridges in Pennsylvania was signed as Business U.S. 611-A.
The film reel includes aerial and panoramic footage of the new bridges. There also are brief segments showing former DRJTBC commissioners, notably former Chairman Alexander R. Miller of Easton, PA.
Other individuals shown in the film include orchestra leader Fred Waring; Charles Newbaker Sr., longtime caretaker of the former wooden covered bridge at Portland-Columbia; PA Governor John S. Fine; NJ Governor Alfred E. Driscoll; and glimpses of a young William R. Johnson, later Commission executive director, checking guest lists at the Delaware Water Gap dedication dinner.
The footage also includes views of original two-way toll plazas, Mount Tammany in New Jersey, the Penn Stroud Hotel ballroom in Stroudsburg, PA., and the Tom Quick Inn’s dining room in Milford, PA.
The Commission is interested in any information the public can lend about individuals shown in this film footage. If you have additional information, please email DRJTBC Dep. Exec. Dir. of Communications Joe Donnelly at jdonnelly@drjtbc.org.
Негізгі бет 1953 Pocono Region Bridge Ceremonies
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