Remains of the First Washington Bridge
12 June 2014 -- 163/365
East Providence, Rhode Island
This history of this spot dates to 1781 when General George Washington and Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau crossed the Seekonk River with American and French forces on their way to Yorktown in the American Revolution. A dozen years later, John Brown - the same John Brown that instigated the Gaspee Incident in 1772 - built a covered drawbridge on this spot. The bridge was built to resemble a barn on the theory that horses would feel comfortable crossing if they didn't realize they were crossing a river. The pilings and concrete you see in this photo are all that remain of that first bridge, named for George Washington to commemorate his crossing.
Post processing started with a classic filter in Topaz B&W FX. I adjusted color sensitivity sliders, adaptive exposure, regions, contrast, boost black, and protect highlights. A levels adjustment was added in PSE.
