Benjamin Franklin Bridge
Great cities have great bridges. New York has the Brooklyn Bridge; Venice is a city of beautiful pontes crowned by the Bridge of Sighs. Think San Francisco and you think of the Golden Gate. In Philadelphia, our great span is named in honor of Benjamin Franklin.Plans to construct a bridge between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Camden, New Jersey on the other side of the Delaware river were made as early as 1818.
The bridge was designed by Paul Philippe Cret, the architect who was also in large part responsible for Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Driving over the bridge and passing under its two tall towers connected by tapering cables, puts one in mind of Dorothy entering into Kingdom of Oz — there is a fearful exhilaration. This bridge does not merely span the Delaware — it soars over the river. Painted a resonant blue, at some points the bridge seems to merge with the sky.
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The Caribbean harbors a jewel in the Island of Cuba. The tropical Island extends 750 miles (roughly the size of Pennsylvania) and is a beautiful mix of mountain ranges and plains. There are over 200 bays and 289 sun drenched beaches to explore. The main ports are located in the provinces of Cienfuegos, Havana, Manzanillo, Mariel, Matanzas, Nuevitas and Santiago de Cuba.
