After enjoying a PB&J while sitting in the truck, we went to a museum in the upstairs of Mama Mia’s Pizza on the main street of Mackinaw City that showcased the building of the Mackinaw Bridge. If you want to learn more about this bridge, a feature-length documentary entitled Building the Mighty Mac was produced by Hollywood filmmaker Mark Howell in 1997 and was shown on PBS. The program features numerous interviews with the key people who built the structure and includes restored 16mm color footage of the bridge’s construction
The bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the U.S. and the third longest in the world. It took 4 years to build in the 1950s because the only loan the builders could get was for that amount of time. Then the owners would need to start collecting tolls to pay for the rest of the building. This is a beautiful bridge and was over-constructed so it could withstand the winds that can be fierce and cold in the winter.
The bridge connects Mackinaw City to the Upper Peninsula. Lake Michigan is on the west of the bridge, and Lake Huron is on the east. Much thanks to the iron workers who braved the heights and the weather to build it.
