The Brickell Avenue Bridge is a bascule bridge

Bascule bridge

A bascule bridge is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances the span, or "leaf," throughout the entire upward swing in providing clearance for boat traffic....

 in Downtown Miami

Downtown Miami

Downtown Miami is an urban residential neighborhood, and the central business district of Miami, Miami-Dade County, and South Florida in the United States...

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, that carries US Route 1 (Brickell Avenue

Brickell Avenue

Brickell Avenue is the name given to the stretch of U.S. Route 1 in Miami, Florida just south of the Miami River. North of the Brickell Avenue Bridge, US Route 1 is known as Biscayne Boulevard...

) over the Miami River

Miami River

Miami River may refer to:Florida*Miami River , a tributary of Biscayne BayNew York*Miami River , a tributary of Lewey LakeOhio*Great Miami River, a tributary of the Ohio River*Little Miami River, a tributary of the Ohio RiverOregon...

. The original Brickell Avenue Bridge was built in 1915, and replaced in 1995 when it was 64 years old. The Brickell Avenue Bridge was widened by one additional northbound lane in 2006 to reduce the traffic bottleneck through downtown. Before this there were three southbound but only two northbound lanes. Currently there are three lanes in each direction as well as a pedestrian walkway on both sides.

The statue is a 53-foot bronze monument commissioned by the Florida Department of Transportation and created by Cuban Master Sculptor Manuel Carbonell

Manuel Carbonell

Manuel Carbonell was regarded as the last of the Cuban Master Sculptors. He was part of the generation of Cuban artists, which includes Wifredo Lam and Agustin Cardenas, that studied at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes "San Alejandro", Havana Cuba...

 in 1995. The "Pillar of History" consist of a 36-foot high carved bas-relief column that graphically narrates the lives of the Tequesta Indians

Tequesta

The Tequesta Native American tribe, at the time of first European contact, occupied an area along the southeastern Atlantic coast of Florida...

, Miami's first inhabitants, and features 158 figures. At the top stands a 17-foot bronze sculpture, "Tequesta Family" portraying a Tequesta Indian warrior aiming an arrow to the sky, looking for space in eternity, with his wife and child by his side, while the son covers his face in expectation of their extinction. top.

Carbonell also created four bas reliefs, measuring 4-feet by 8-feet, which were installed in niches on the bridge's supporting piers. Each relief honors Miami's early founders and pioneers - William

William Brickell

William Brickell joined Julia Tuttle as a co-founder of Miami, Florida.Brickell and his wife Mary moved to southern Florida from Cleveland, Ohio in 1871...

 and Mary Brickell, Henry Flagler, Marjory Stoneman Douglas

Marjory Stoneman Douglas

Marjory Stoneman Douglas was an American journalist, writer, feminist, and environmentalist known for her staunch defense of the Everglades against efforts to drain it and reclaim land for development...

, and Julia Tuttle

Julia Tuttle

Julia DeForest Tuttle, was an entrepreneur, citrus farmer and businesswoman who was largely responsible for, and the original owner of, the land upon which Miami, Florida, was built...

.