Bridge Cities: The Top 10 North American Cities That Deserve the Nickname

This is the sort of niche content the world needs.

As a Pittsburgh native I’d like to add a couple extra pros to your list: 1) all the bridges downtown have a completely separated ped/bike path which you can use to get to great locations like station square and north shore without having to fear for your life! 2) the thematic unity doesn’t just end at our yellow bridges. We’re also proud to be the only American city where all three of our pro sports are the same colors (black and gold). 3) a tangent to point 2…my Pirates windbreaker lets me rep my city pride in the foreign land of LA while also functioning as a high visibility vest which lets me not get run over while biking into work :-)

As a former Pittsburgher, here are a couple fun facts to add to your list! 1. Pittsburgh wins in sheer number of bridges for a small city. According to Wikipedia, it has 446 bridges (more than Venice which has 435!) 2. Its not just the river bridges, but those over the ravines that make Pittsburgh the true bridgiest city! 3. The Hot Metal Bridge is also historically very cool. It used to haul hot steel across the Monongahela from the blast furnaces to where it would be poured. In WWII, about 15% of all steel produced in the US was transported over the Hot Metal Bridge!

It’s also worth mentioning the great views from many of Pittsburgh’s bridges. The way the skyline hits you coming out of the Fort Pitt Bridge is iconic, and it’s not alone. As someone who rides across at least a couple different bridges every day, it doesn’t get old. I also appreciate how every bridge has at least one separate walking and biking path

Pittsburgh's bridges are also awesome because you'll be driving through a tunnel in the mountains and then, bam, you're on a massive yellow steel bridge and you can see the entire Pittsburgh skyline. One of my favorite places to visit as a kid.

Glad that Pittsburgh took the crown from NYC. Kept it unpredictable and fun! As a New Yorker, I do appreciate it when some of the thunder is stolen away from this city. Though if you ever travel to NYC, I would definitely recommend that you take a cheap ferry ride up the East River from the downtown Manhattan ferry station all the way to the 34th Street ferry station. It's only about $3. Damn. For such a tiny sum, you will be privy to one of the most breathtaking vistas in the world, with these awesome, historic bridges spanning the East River with the backdrop of a sea of skyscrapers on both the Manhattan and Brooklyn sides. Take advantage of that! You won't regret it.

5:32 "I think the concept here is to solve traffic by adding more freeway lanes. It's really outside the box thinking." Now that is some bone-dry sarcasm right there. Well done.

I feel like Chicago should earn some bonus points for the bridges giving continuity to miles of the city grid, connecting the loop to river north and west loop on every single block. They’re so well integrated into the urban fabric of downtown that you don’t even need to go over to the place where the bridge crosses the River — it’s just the next block over. And bonus bonus points for all the downtown bridges movable double bascule bridges.

Love this! As a former Pittsburgher this rings very true. But, the thing that I think separates Pittsburgh are the bridges built around/over the topography. The rivers are one thing, but the myriad of bridges going over hollows really makes Pittsburgh the Bridge-iest. Great Video and interesting topic!

I'd love to see a top ten "River Cities." So many cities have the nickname, but there must be some metric for measuring which city best integrates it's river into the life of the city.

I moved to Pittsburgh in 2014 and I love this city. I was certain Pittsburgh would be #1. My favorite bridge is the Smithfield Street Bridge, which crosses the Mon to connect Mt. Washington with downtown. It is a lenticular steel truss bridge that was opened in 1883 and it is beautiful. But I think the most iconic bridges in the city are the Three Sisters, suspension bridges built across the Allegheny in the 1920s--the Roberto Clemente/Sixth Street Bridge, the Andy Warhol/Seventh Street Bridge, and the Rachel Carson/Ninth Street Bridge--connecting downtown with the North Side. If you are ever in Pittsburgh, take the Gateway Clipper tour for a magnificent view and to learn the history of Pittsburgh's historic bridges.

Although Milwaukee didn't make your list, I recommend you read up on the obscure history that was the "Milwaukee Bridge War". It's the reason why many of the city's bridges cross the river at strange angles.

While I admit that NYC's bridges are iconic, as a Philly native and visitor to Pittsburgh, I'm thrilled that Philly was 4th and that Pittsburgh topped the list. I love the variety in the Philly bridges (suspension, draw-bridges, truss, cantilever, pretty much everything except cable stay), and I appreciate the uniform color scheme and majesty of many of Pittsburgh's bridges in the 3 rivers area.

Chicago really doesn't seem like a bridgy city but all of the bridges you mentioned are surrounded by the stunning buildings in the area that the bridges really seem like a side piece. I rarely think about how I cross a bridge taking the El every day! It's quite the view and highly recommend it for any fellow city nerd.

The City of Pittsburgh has actually trademarked the color of gold— Aztec Gold—used on the bridges! And the Hot Metal Bridge is so named because it once connected the blast furnaces and processing/rolling plant of the former J&L Steel Plant located on both sides of the Monongahela River. The bridge remained after the steel mill closed, and now connects two brownfield revitalization projects (Southside Works (where the Cheesecake Factory is) and Hazelwood Green) for bikers, walkers, and cars. A really cool story of urban renewal and growth!

The Three Sisters Bridges in Pittsburgh are really interesting, especially from "The Steel City". These are self supporting eye-bar suspension bridges. What appears to be the cables are actually stacks of steel plates meshed at the pins holding vertical rods, no cables involved, just plate steel. And of course they connect the downtown to the north shore which is home to 2 of the 3 local Pro teams sporting the same yellow and black color scheme.

At the start I thought to myself, "Pittsburg should win this, but probably won't...because its Pittsburg." Really happy to see it got the respect it deserved, such a beautiful city.

I feel like for Seattle, you missed the opportunity to roast the West Seattle bridge issues and the historical/original Tacoma Narrows bridge. Great video! Glad to see Seattle earn a well-deserved spot.

Don't forget about that guy in Chicago who lived under a bridge in downtown Chicago for a couple years. He was able to tap into an electrical outlet, and he had it set up pretty nice. He learned how to brace himself when the bridge was raised. He had a tv, radio, even a video game system.

My first choice would be Pittsburgh. They have numerous great looking bridges. I think Pittsburgh is generally an underrated city. I live in NYC, really enjoy the vibe Pittsburgh. It punches above its weight in almost every category.