The present bridge opened on March 19, 1883, and it was designed by Gustav Lindenthal, who later designed the Hell Gate Bridge in New York City. It is the third bridge on this spot. A wooden bridge from 1818 burned in the Great Fire of 1845, and a wire-rope suspension bridge by John Roebling came next.
The Lindenthal bridge reused the stone piers from Roebling's bridge. It was widened in 1889 and again in 1911, and it is the second-oldest steel bridge in the United States.
Streetcars crossed it until July 1985. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1976, after officials considered replacing it with a modern bridge.