{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}} {{Infobox bridge |fetchwikidata=coordinates |bridge_name= MacArthur Bridge |image= MacArthur Bridge (Detroit).jpg |image_size=300px |caption= |official_name= Douglas MacArthur Bridge |also_known_as= Belle Isle Bridge |carries= 5 lanes of East Grand Boulevard |crosses= [[Detroit River]] |locale= [[Detroit, Michigan]] |maint= |id= |design= [[Arch bridge]] |mainspan= |length= {{convert|2193|ft|m|0}} |width= {{convert|85|ft|m|0}} |clearance= |below= {{convert|30|ft|m|0}} |traffic= |open= November 1, 1923 |closed= |toll= |map_cue= |map_image= |map_text= |map_width= |lat= |long= }}
The '''MacArthur Bridge''' spans a channel of the [[Detroit River]] in [[Detroit|Detroit, Michigan]]. The bridge, which features 19 total arches across {{convert|2193|ft|m|0}}, provides main access between the city's mainland and [[Belle Isle Park (Michigan)|Belle Isle]]. Completed in 1923 for $2.635 million (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|2635000|1923}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|name-list-style=amp}}), it replaced an iron bridge with wooden decking that accidentally caught fire and was destroyed in 1915. The bridge, popularly known as the Belle Isle Bridge, was originally named the George Washington Bridge and renamed the Douglas MacArthur Bridge after General [[Douglas MacArthur]] in 1942.<ref>{{Cite news |url = http://www.freep.com/story/news/2015/02/18/belle-isle-bridge-detroit/23610549/ |title = The Day It Stopped Being the Belle Isle Bridge |last = Austin |first = Dan |newspaper = Detroit Free Press |date = February 18, 2015 |access-date = December 2, 2016 }}</ref><ref name="HistDet">{{Cite web |url = http://www.historicdetroit.org/building/douglas-macarthur-bridge/ |title = Douglas MacArthur Bridge |website = Historic Detroit |access-date = December 2, 2016 }}</ref> It was restored in 1986 at a cost of $11.5 million (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|11500000|1986}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|name-list-style=amp}}).<ref name="HistDet"/>
In 1913, [[William Edmund Scripps]] (of the [[E. W. Scripps Company|Scripps]] publishing family), flew a [[Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company]] [[flying boat]] underneath the original Belle Isle Bridge.<ref>{{cite news |first1 = Patricia |last1 = Zacharias |first2 = Ray |last2 = Jeskey |name-list-style = amp |date = April 27, 1998 |title = The Day the Bridge to Belle Isle Burned Down |department = Michigan History |url = http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=77&CFID=11849544&CFTOKEN=67648774 |newspaper = The Detroit News |archive-url = https://archive.today/20120712051710/http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=77&CFID=11849544&CFTOKEN=67648774 |archive-date = July 12, 2012 }}</ref>
Two sets of streetcar tracks were built into the east side of the bridge but a streetcar route was never implemented.<ref>{{Cite web |title = Belle Isle |url = http://www.detroittransithistory.info/Routes/BelleIsle.html |access-date = July 17, 2020 |website = www.detroittransithistory.info }}</ref> The tracks were eventually paved over in the 1950s.
== Photo gallery == <gallery> File:MacArthurBridgeBelleIslesideentry.jpg|Entering Belle Isle from MacArthur Bridge File:MacArthurBridgefromBelleIsle.jpg|View of bridge from Belle Isle File:Detroit June 2024 06 (MacArthur Bridge).jpg|View of bridge from the [[Detroit International Riverfront]] </gallery>
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == *{{commons category-inline}}
{{Crossings navbox |structure= Crossings |place= [[Detroit River]] |bridge= MacArthur Bridge |bridge signs = |upstream = [[Lake Saint Clair (North America)|Lake Saint Clair]] |upstream signs = |downstream = [[Detroit-Windsor Tunnel]] |downstream signs = [[Image:I-375.svg|25px]] [[Image:M-10.svg|20px]] [[Image:Ontario 3B.png|20px]] }}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Macarthur Bridge (Detroit)}} [[Category:Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in the United States]] [[Category:Bridges in Detroit]] [[Category:Bridges over the Detroit River]] [[Category:Bridges completed in 1923]] [[Category:Road bridges in Michigan]] [[Category:Concrete bridges in the United States]] [[Category:Belle Isle Park (Michigan)]] [[Category:1923 establishments in Michigan]]