Be sure and stop into the Bridge Museum while you are in Mackinaw City. It contains many interesting and original artifacts from the construction of the Mighty Mac. Owner and one of the Ironworkers who built the Mighty Mac, J.C.Stillwell of Local 340 and 25 will even give you half off the price of a meal for you and your family if you show your Ironworker card. I'm sure he will also have a lot of fond memories to share and souvenirs and mementos to show. Don't miss out on this possibly once in a lifetime opportunity to learn how the Mac was built from one of the men who built her.
The Mackinac Bridge Museum is owned and operated by Triple J Enterprises, which is J.C.Stillwell and family.
The museum which is still under construction, has the nations largest collection of Bridge artifacts.
It started as the dream of an ironworker who worked on the Bridge. He was a member of Local 340 and 25, and operated a restaurant, Mama Mia's Pizza, in Mackinaw City.
He started first on a small scale when he purchased a spinning wheel and a copy of the movie Ellis and Elliot made of the bridge as it was being built. The purchase was made from Sophies Bar in St. Ignace, which had been a local hangout for Ironworkers working on the Bridge. The copyright to the movie was purchased by Triple J in 1987.
Ed Tallman donated his hardhat which had been dented from an accident in which his hip was broken. Clint Passino donated his Diving Suit, used during the construction of the Bridge. Other ironworkers stepped forward with donations. Families today are still donating items which had belonged to uncles, fathers and grandfathers who were members of Ironworkers and laborers of the Bridge Crew.
Today, people travel from all over the world to see the Bridge and Museum along with other attractions in Mackinaw City.
Produced by: Bob Smiley
Originally made by : American Bridge (1954-1957)
Photography by: Ellis and Elliot
Copyrights by: Triple J. Enterprises
The first part includes a 30-minute movie that shows the foundation, piers, structural erection, tower erection, cable construction, final roadbed construction and shows the Ironworkers actually setting iron. See the finest men in the world of different trades putting the Mackinac Bridge together (these men are a different breed of cat), and see how the bridge was finalized. The second part is a narrated slide show including interviews with J.C.Stillwell, Iron Worker and owner of the Mackinac Bridge Museum. Total viewing time is approximately 1-hour.
(To order visit link below)
Mackinac Bridge Museum Website
Mackinac Bridge Facts
Lengths:
Total length of Bridge with approaches (5 miles) - 26,372 ft. Total length of steel superstructure - 19,243 ft. Length - Suspension bridge (including anchorages) - 8,614 ft. Length - Main span (between main towers) - 3,800 ft.
Heights and depths:
Main towers above water - 552 ft. Maximum depth of water at mid span - 295 ft. Maximum depth of tower piers below water - 210 ft. Height of roadway above water at mid span - 199 ft. Under clearance at mid span for ships - 155 ft.
Cables:
Total length of wire in main cables - 42,000 miles Number of wires in each cable - 12,580 Weight of cables - 1,840 tons Diameter of main cables - 24 1/2 inches Diameter of each wire - 0.196 inches
Fares:
Car or pickup (including driver and passengers) - $1.50 Car w/1 axle trailer or coach - $2.50 Car w/2 axle trailer or coach - $3.50 Motorcycle and Bicycles - $1.00 Commercial trucks and busses - $2.00/axle
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