In 1860, Charles Fuller built the first bridge here. Myron Lake took over in 1861 and charged tolls. In 1868 the railroad founded the town of Reno beside this crossing.
An iron bridge arrived in 1877. In 1905 a concrete bridge designed by John B. Leonard replaced it. It was one of the first reinforced concrete bridges in Nevada and joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
In 2015 the 1905 bridge was torn down as part of a flood control plan. The new bridge opened in April 2016. A 12-foot word sculpture reading BELIEVE, by Laura Kimpton and Jeff Schomberg, was moved to City Plaza beside the new bridge in May 2016.
Reno was once called the Divorce Capital of the World. A popular legend says newly divorced people tossed their wedding rings into the river from this bridge. Books and movies helped spread the story, including a 1929 novel and the 1961 film The Misfits.