A comprehensive history of one of Charleston's most significant landmarks On a hot summer day in 1929, the citizens of Charleston, South Carolina, participated in one of the largest celebrations in the city's history—the opening of the Cooper River Bridge. After years of quarrels, financial obstructions, and political dogfights, the great bridge was completed, and for the first time, Charleston had a direct link to the north. From the doldrums of the Depression to the growth of the 1990s, the Cooper River Bridge played a vital role in Charleston's transformation from an impoverished, isolated city to a vibrant and prosperous metropolis. Now obsolete and no longer adequately serving the needs of the Charleston area, the "old" Cooper River Bridge, and the "new" Silas N. Pearman Bridge—the Cooper River Bridge's larger sister structure, erected in 1966—will be replaced. Funding, design, and construction are presently underway to replace the old structure with a single, modern bridge. The two original bridges have become true emblems of Charleston, much like the Eiffel Tower of Paris or the Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco. With their removal, Charleston will lose two of its most significant landmarks. This vast change in the city's skyline is sure to evoke memories from Charlestonians and visitors who have developed a special relationship with the old bridge. In addition to these reminiscences, the Cooper River Bridge has its own story—one of ambitious men and their dreams of profit, and of a city's dreams of prosperity. Upon its completion, the Cooper River Bridge was a grand symbol of Charleston's vision for the future, and the bridge recalls many significant themes in the modern history of the city. The Great Cooper River Bridge provides the complete history of this architectural icon, exploring how early twentieth-century Charleston helped shape the bridge, and how the bridge subsequently shaped the city. With more than eighty photographs, this illustrated volume documents a remarkable engineering feat and a distinctive structure before it becomes a memory.

Cedric Jaggers has documented many important statistics, facts and stories, highlighting Charleston's Cooper Bridge Run from 1978 to 2010.

This is the true story of the History of the Demolition of the 2 Cooper River bridges . The Grace was complete in August,1929 and the Pearman was completed in 1966. They allowed traffic to flow between Charleston, South Carolina and Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. The Grace was built in 18 months, was a toll bridge and shortly after it was completed the country went into a deep depression. The Silas N. Pearman bridge was built to ease the high traffic demands that came with the growth of the area. It was a 3 lane bridge, where the Grace was 2 very narrow lanes. They were being replaced by a new higher span bridge named The Arthur Ravenel Bridge. A cable stay suspension bridge that is much higher for ships to travel underneath it better. The 2 Old Cooper River Bridge's we removed because they were rusting badly and obsolete. The contractor was Cashman/ Testa and they we responsible for the complete removal of all the steel and concrete above and below the water, up to 40 feet. Sparky Witte recorded the history of the removal for over 2 years. This is a coffee table book with the story and pictures of what took place during that time!

Charleston is one of the most historically significant cities in the United States. One of the prime attractions of Charleston is the spectacular array of historic buildings spanning a wide variety of architectural styles. From simple pre-Revolutionary–era dwellings to spectacular Italianate, Greek Revival, and Victorian homes, to colonial government buildings, to some of the oldest and most beautiful churches, Charleston’s architectural splendor is unparalleled in the United States.

First published in 1972, The Great Bridge is the classic account of one of the greatest engineering feats of all time. Winning acclaim for its comprehensive look at the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, this book helped cement David McCullough's reputation as America's preeminent social historian. Now, The Great Bridge is reissued as a Simon & Schuster Classic Edition with a new introduction by the author. This monumental book brings back for American readers the heroic vision of the America we once had. It is the enthralling story of one of the greatest events in our nation's history during the Age of Optimism -- a period when Americans were convinced in their hearts that all great things were possible. In the years around 1870, when the project was first undertaken, the concept of building a great bridge to span the East River between the great cities of Manhattan and Brooklyn required a vision and determination comparable to that which went into the building of the pyramids. Throughout the fourteen years of its construction, the odds against the successful completion of the bridge seemed staggering. Bodies were crushed and broken, lives lost, political empires fell, and surges of public emotion constantly threatened the project. But this is not merely the saga of an engineering miracle: it is a sweeping narrative of the social climate of the time and of the heroes and rascals who had a hand in either constructing or obstructing the great enterprise. Amid the flood of praise for the book when it was originally published, Newsday said succinctly "This is the definitive book on the event. Do not wait for a better try: there won't be any."

This flip book serves to simultaneously archive and memorialize Charleston's Cooper River Bridges, which were destroyed after closing in 2005. Originally planning to film their destruction, painter Jane Williams decided to make a filmic tribute of experiencing a drive across the length of the two bridges, the Grace and the Pearman. The viewer follows a large white SUV as it crosses the bridges under a sapphire sky framed by successive series of steel girders. The result unfolds as a specific homage to landmark bridges of the Carolina Lowcountry and to the general poetry of industrial geometry.