This past Saturday, April 1, marked the 100 year anniversary of the first passenger train crossing The Hell Gate Bridge.

The Hell Gate Bridge is a 1,017-foot steel through arch railroad bridge in New York City. The bridge crosses the Hell Gate, a strait of the East River, between Astoria in Queens and Randall’s and Wards Islands in Manhattan. Astoria's now-iconic bridge was created to connect the New York and the Pennsylvania Railroad with New England and the New Haven Railroad.

Construction began in 1912 and it was first opened to rail traffic in March of 1917. The Hell Gate was designed by civil engineer Gustav Lindenthal who played a significant role in building the Manhattan, Queensboro and Williamsburg bridges.