Photographer of New Kinzua Bridge Coffee Table Book to Speak at Pitt-Bradford

Ed Bernik, photographer for the newly published coffee table picture book “The Great Kinzua Bridge” will speak at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford Oct. 15. Bernik will be joined by Linda Devlin, executive director of the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau. The two will talk about the bridge from its construction in 1882 to its reinvention in 2011 as the Kinzua Sky Walk.

The event, sponsored by the Friends of Hanley Library, will take place at 7 p.m. in the Mukaiyama University Room on campus. The event is free, but copies of the book, written by Jim Gates, will be available for purchase. The book uses 19th century photographs gleaned from regional and national archives and contemporary images captured by Bernik, an award-winning Pennsylvania photographer whose previous books include “Pennsylvania Wilds: Images of the Allegheny national Forest” and “Pennsylvania Crude: Boomtowns and Oil Barons.” Gates also tells the stories of people whose lives were intertwined with the bridge, such as Civil War hero and builder Thomas L. Kane; Octave Chanute, the father of aviation engineering; and daredevil Odo Valentine, who flew an aircraft between the towers. The Friends were established in 1990 to encourage and strengthen the relationship between the library and the community. The group sponsors a wide range of programs as well as special event with a focus on books, education and culture.

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