A photo study of the Humber Bay Arch Bridge

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The Humber Bay Arch Bridge is one of those subjects that's captivated Toronto photographers since its completion in the mid 1990s. Although many assume that the bridge was designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, it's actually the product of a collaboration between local firm Montgomery & Sisam and the Delcan Corporation. The misidentification is not surprising, however, as the style is certainly reminiscent of the famous architect's many bridges around the world. (As commenter Ste notes, there is a Calatrava just to the west of this bridge, running over Mimico creek).

Although there are glut of photos that depict the Thunderbird cut-outs in the steel-tubed arches, it never ceases to amaze me how many different angles and perspectives that photographers in the blogTO Flickr pool have managed to capture the bridge from. I suppose this reflects both the success of the architecture and the creativity of those who've taken the time to shoot it.

At 139 metres in length and about 21 in height, it's far from a monstrous strucutre, but somehow that just adds to the appeal. And while it's certainly nowhere near as iconic as the CN Tower, which was the subject of a similar post I wrote a couple weeks ago, like the tower, the diversity of images devoted to the Humber Bay Arch bridge warrants a longer look.

Lead photo by wvs / Sam Javanrouh. Subsequent photo credits are placed below each image.