‘The bridge is 150 years old’: Happy birthday to iconic Blackfriars St. Bridge

Hundreds of Londoners congregated on the bridge to celebrate its birthday. CTV's Brent Lale has more.

Hundreds of people gathered around the Blackfriars Street Bridge to wish a 150th birthday to the iconic wrought-iron bridge.

There was live music, cake, food trucks, artists and games for the Birthday Bash.

“It’s a wrought-iron bridge that’s connected London west to the core for 150 years and that’s a big thing,” said John Fyfe-Millar, a Blackfriars resident and chair of the Birthday Bash.

“For the people in Blackfriars here, to be able to get out and celebrate this, not just with us, but with the neighbors in London is a great opportunity.”

The bridge was constructed in 1875 and carries single-lane vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians from Blackfriars Street to Ridout Street North. It’s the oldest wrought-iron bridge in North America still used for vehicular traffic and at 66 metres, it’s the longest working span of that kind in North America.

“People in New York, they love the Brooklyn Bridge,” said Gary Thomas, who moved to Blackfriars from Toronto five years ago with his wife.

“They go across it, they feel a real connection to it. It’s the thing that ties the city together in a much smaller way. The restoration they did on the bridge (in 2017 with a reopening in 2018) is so beautiful. It’s become a bit of an icon for the neighborhood, so it kind of feels like it’s our symbol."

Originally intended for the neighbours to celebrate the history of the bridge, the party grew to include Londoners from all over the city and even out-of-town visitors. The surrounding roads were closed as people gathered.

“We’ve always said this bridge is multi-use,” said Fyfe-Millar.

“It takes traffic into the downtown core, but it can be used for events like this to build that community spirit. We have vendors on the bridge. We have artists here who have painted the bridge over the last three or four months. We’ve got musicians here. When you look at Blackfriars, we really are an arts community, and being able to bring together all of these groups is a great opportunity.”

It has not only brought people from the neighbourhood together, but those on both sides of the Thames River.

“The fact that it’s in our neighborhood makes us feel really lucky and we want to share it,” said Blackfriars resident Sue Jory.