The Hope Memorial Bridge, originally the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge, is an Art Deco viaduct crossing the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio. The structure, built in 1932, is famous for the four pairs of 43-foot-tall pylons officially named the Guardians of Traffic. Symbolizing the progress in transportation, each guardian holds a different vehicle such as a hay wagon, four types of truck, and a 1930s-era automobile.
Sculpted from local Berea sandstone by Henry Hering, the Guardians over the Hope Memorial Bridge are the landmarks of the Cleveland area.
In the 1970s, there was a controversy on whether to demolish the sculptures to open up more space. As a result, the bridge was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Later, the bridge went under renovation in the 1980s and was renamed after the comedian Bob Hope’s father, who was a local stonemason. Today, these sandstone statues are the icons of Cleveland.
