Tiny Home Tuesday - Bridge Tender Houses

Yesterday a facebook person posted photos of Mather's Bridge, a bridge I've mentioned before, on a page dedicated to that bridge. It's not the only one, and I'm not the only one with a sort of mild obsession with it...and bridges in general but that one in particular. What does that have to do with tiny houses? Bridge tender houses. Oh popping synapses!

Photo credit: Rich Menard

For the first time I realized that my love of tiny houses started with bridge tender houses. There are a lot of bridges in Florida, especially where I grew up on a barrier island. It seemed so special, these tiny places, where a man (back then I never saw a woman bridge tender) lived. Utilitarian, with a wall devoted to controls and paperwork, a single bed, a coffee pot. Sometimes there would be curtains, maybe a woman trying to make the little space a bit more homey, but usually not. At least in the ones I saw.
In different places, say Chicago, there were a lot more elaborate houses, real houses, where the tender would live with his family and be on duty 24/7.

New River bridge tender house, Ft. Lauderdale - photo credit Heinz & Frenchie

Many of the bridges I knew as a child no longer exist in the same form. Arching high enough for sailboats to pass through, the need for a bridge tender no longer exists. Decommissioned bridge tender houses have found their way into historical parks, preserving the past. In the case of the bridge below, it was turned into an art installation.

"Bridge Tender's House is the kaleidoscopic installation inside the watchtower on the 14th Street Bridge, Washington, D.C. These colorful, reflective panels from Mikyoung Kim beat 122 other artists. After the tower was restored, the work was installed in 2009." Wikipedia

 

Grand, restored, still being used, there is something about these little houses that wraps around my home soul. I've only been a brief guest one time, in the middle of the Eau Gallie causeway, walking across the bridge and stopping to ask for a glass of water (real motive, see inside, talk to the bridge tender). The simplicity and practicality swooped me up, not concerned at all about what could have been a very tedious job.

Slow indeed

Our single bridge here on Culebra, the subject of many a photo and comment in this blog, had a bridge tender during its brief operational period. He lived close to the bridge, in his home, and would be called for openings and closings. But then, this is Culebra, where small is normal and simple works.

Have a tender Tuesday. Do something transwaterly.