Save Old Seven

Meet the Old Seven Mile Bridge in Marathon, Florida. Half-way between Key Largo and Key West, this 2.2 mile span is a remnant from Henry Flagler's Overseas Railroad that first carried passengers in 1912 from the mainland of Florida to Key West. The original 7 mile span was a construction feat. The newer bridge (on the right) was built to accommodate automobile traffic.

The bridge ends at Pigeon Key, which housed the workers who built the bridge and part of the railroad. It is now a historical site with museums and educational programs. Motorized traffic has been prohibited, so access to Pigeon Key is now by ferry only. Last year, "Old Seven" was closed to fishermen and is in danger of being closed to pedestrian and bike traffic due to structural problems.

The Florida Department of Transportation does not want to spend the money needed to repair the bridge. So a non-profit, called Friends of Old Seven, was organized this past year and has a mission to try and raise the money to not only save and repair the bridge but to create a recreational setting for residents and tourists. Hundreds of thousands of persons come to walk the bridge every year. Similar grassroots projects include the Kinzua Bridge in Pennsylvania (a favorite of my family who spent much time growing up in the Mountains at my father's hunting camp), the High Line in NYC and the Walkway Over the Hudson.

I have been involved with this group and am busy as the organization and its tasks grow. I have taken on the graphics end which I love. We have a rudimentary website that I manage but have hired a design group to do a snazzy site and I am in charge of that. We are doing fundraisers to get money to cover costs and the account is slowly growing. When we have our non-profit status, we will go after grants and the big donors. I designed the logo that they are using with an old postcard from the early 1900's as it's center. I found the postcard on eBay. The people involved are hard working and committed. This is a great cause to preserve a piece of history. Wish us luck!