Rosslyn and the Key Bridge 1945
20 02 2008Here we have a great historic shot of Rosslyn looking over the Key Bridge into Georgetown. As you can see, in 1945 Rosslyn was merely a train switching yard with a few warehouses, not the urban center of skyscrapers that it is today.
You can clearly see the relatively new in 1945 Key Bridge as well as the pillions of the Aqueduct Bridge that it replaced. The original bridge was built to carry the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal across the Potomac to connect with the Alexandria Canal. After the Alexandria Canal was abandoned, the bridge was converted into a roadway. The only piece that you can still see today is the Washington abutment located west of the Key Bridge. [Photo Credit: DDOT]
Wonder what Rosslyn will look like in the another 60 odd years?
i love seeing these old photographs of our area. i wish rosslyn still lived on the ground like it used to, instead of in the air.
It is amazing they had the foresight that long ago to make the Key bridge so wide! Clearly there was not that much traffic using it back then, yet it is still wide enough for traffice today, amazing.
Look closer. There aren’t any bike lanes on the Key Bridge. They redid the decking to add an extra vehicle lane in each direction and while they were at it they added the bike lanes which now cantilever off the sides of the bridge.