Gawkers gathered to steal a glimpse of tragedy. From the Columbus Street Bridge and docks along the Cuyahoga River, they were hoping to catch sight of 28-year-old James Wainwright. A steelworker from Akron, Wainwright was working on the bridge about 100 feet above the water when he appeared to faint. Witnesses saw him splash into the river back-first.
The Standard Oil Co. tugboat Red Crown, seen docked to the left from roughly the location of Merwin’s Wharf restaurant today, searched for Wainwright’s body. The boat dragged the river for almost half an hour but turned up nothing. Smaller amateur craft plied the river too. It took a Coast Guard crew to eventually find the body of the unlucky workman.
After the bridge was completed, it carried trains to the Union Terminal. The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority began using the span for its Red Line rail service beginning in 1955. The Red Line Greenway, an effort to build a trail akin to New York City’s High Line alongside the rails, could also open the bridge to pedestrians sometime after 2019.
1928: Crowds Gather to Glimpse a Tragedy
While building a railroad bridge over the Cuyahoga River, one workman took a fatal tumble.
