Mystic River Bascule Bridge
Mystic, CT
The Mystic River Bascule Bridge is a historic drawbridge built in 1922 that spans the Mystic River in the center of Mystic village. The bridge opens on a regular schedule to allow boat traffic, creating a dynamic scene as vehicles wait and sailboats pass through. The bridge and surrounding waterfront buildings define the character of downtown Mystic.
Photography Guide
- Best Time
- afternoon
- Crowds
- Moderate
- Shot Types
- widedetaillong-exposure
- Best Seasons
- springsummerfall
Author's Comments
The bridge does something every hour at forty past, from May through October, and once you have watched it happen you understand why people stop what they are doing to look. The deck rises on its counterweights with the slow deliberation of something built in 1922 and built to last. Sailboats queue up on either side. Cars wait. The whole village pauses for three or four minutes and then resumes, and the choreography of it is the photograph. I like the riverwalk on the south side in late afternoon, when the light comes from the west and rakes across the green steelwork and the masts of whatever boat is gliding through. The mechanical detail is genuinely beautiful up close - rivets, gears, the heft of the counterweights overhead. But the wider frame is where the village reveals itself, the bridge open against the sky, the buildings of downtown Mystic flanking the river, a sailboat threading the gap. A long exposure at dusk turns the water to glass and the running lights of passing boats into soft streaks. That is the version worth waiting for if you have the time and a tripod. Most visitors never think to come back after dinner. The bridge keeps its schedule regardless.
Gallery
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