Brunswick Maryland Gateway Arch
The Brunswick Archway is a steel and stone gateway arch
located at the entrance to South Maple Avenue welcoming
train commuters, C&O Canal towpath hikers and cyclists to
the City of Brunswick.
While the 1893 bridge was used for moving people and goods
between Virginia and Maryland, the history of Brunswick
cannot be separated from its importance as a support hub
of various transportation routes, From the Potomac itself, to
the C&O canal, to the B&O railroad, the notion of Brunswick
as a place of “crossing over” even extends back to its
inhabitation by the Susquehannock natives.
The bridge motif, while directly rooted in the history of
Brunswick’s Potomac bridge crossings, suggests a place
of reliable passage, and hospitality by extension. Those still
living who remember the second bridge will be greeted by
a lost icon of their city, and those who have only known the
new bridge will be encouraged to remember an important
relic of Brunswick’s past.
The Brunswick Archway’s motif is adapted from the camelback truss structure of the 1893 Potomac bridge constructed
by the Youngstown Bridge Company, connecting Maryland
and Virginia at Brunswick and contributing to the city’s
growth shortly after it was incorporated. The steel structure
is stylized, and designed with a thin, “translucent” profile to
trace the bridge truss form while framing the view of Maple
Avenue’s rise into the heart of the Brunswick Historic District,
and the iconic view First Baptist Church.
Large capital letters arcing subtly across the truss structure
spell out the town’s name in a classic gateway arch fashion.
Tapering native stone foundations surround and provide
street level butressing for steel support posts and reference
the 8 stone piers of the original Potomac River bridge finished
in 1858. These piers were then re-used for the construction
of the 1893 bridge from which the archway takes its form,
subsequently demolished in 1955 after construction of the
current bridge.
Inscribed above the stone piers are various
names and nicknames given to trading posts and settlements
in current day Brunswick. From “Eel Pot Flats,” to “Hawkins
Merry Peep O’ Day” to “Barry” contemporary Brunswick
finds its history marked by human activity and commerce
and these names play an important role in understanding
the important legacy of its humble stretch of the Potomac
River.
These names are crowned by the truss span arch and the
monumental BRUNSWICK marker, spanning approximately
30-feet across, and composed with four-foot tall letters.