The Department of Special Collections at the University of Washington has created an excellent online exhibit documenting the rise and (literal) fall of the Tacoma Narrows bridge in Washington State, an event referred to as the Pearl Harbor of engineering. The massive structure was built between 1938 and 1940 and, at the time of its completion, was the third longest suspension bridge in the world....

Stretching across the southern portion of Puget Sound, the elegant Tacoma Narrows bridge is considered one of the finest suspension bridges in the United States. The current bridge is the second on the site, as it was constructed in 1950 to serve as a replacement to the famous "Galloping Gertie" bridge, which collapsed in a windstorm in the fall of 1940. Currently, the Washington State Department...