Arlington Celebrates the Mathews Bridge

On Saturday, April 13th the Arlington community celebrated the 60th anniversary of the opening of Jacksonville’s Mathews Bridge.

The celebration begain at 10:30 am at the Mathews Bridge, with  a re-dedication of the bridge. At noon, the venue changed to the Norman Studios property for a classic car show, art show and festival, music, dancing, great food and tours of the Norman Studios.

The Mathews Bridged opened in 1953 and is named for John E. Mathews, a Florida state legislator and Chief Justice of the 1955 Florida Supreme Court who helped secure funding for the bridge’s construction. Originally silver in color, the bridge was painted maroon in 1984 in celebration of Jacksonville’s United States Football League franchise, the Jacksonville Bulls.  Currently the bridge is receiving a face lift to help it provide us with many more years of service.