Sunshine Skyway Bridge Tampa Bay
— a yellow harp strung over the bay.
Not only on a wall.
Sunshine Skyway Bridge Tampa Bay, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
Each tile ships in a kraft box, tied with cream ribbon, with a handwritten note from the studio if you'd like to add one.
Three or five different vistas, hung together — a chapter of places you've been, or want to go.
“The cable-stayed bridge that carries Interstate 275 across the mouth of Tampa Bay. The current bridge opened in 1987, replacing the earlier steel cantilever struck by the freighter Summit Venture in May 1980. The new span lifts 193 feet above the shipping channel and the cables read butter-yellow against the water. Coming north out of Bradenton the deck climbs out of the mangroves; the bay opens on both sides; the cables fan out from the two H-shaped pylons. Pelicans work the rails of the fishing pier built from the old bridge's approach spans. from the studio
The place, in three passes.
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge carries Interstate 275 across the mouth of Tampa Bay, connecting St. Petersburg in Pinellas County with Terra Ceia in Manatee County. The cable-stayed main span is 1,200 feet long, with a vertical clearance of 193 feet over the shipping channel and a total bridge length of about 4.1 miles including the approaches. The current bridge opened on April 30, 1987, designed by Figg & Muller, and is owned and operated by the Florida Department of Transportation. The yellow stay cables are the bridge's visual signature.
The bridge replaced an earlier twin steel cantilever structure, the southbound span of which collapsed on May 9, 1980, when the freighter Summit Venture struck a support pier in a squall. Thirty-five people died. The replacement was the first major cable-stayed bridge built in the United States, with a single 1,200-foot main span flanked by twin H-shaped concrete pylons rising 431 feet above the water. The approach spans of the old bridge were preserved on both sides of the new structure and reopened in 1994 as the world's longest fishing pier, operated by Florida State Parks.
The Skyway is a working interstate crossing, not a sightseeing route, but the toll plaza on the south end and the rest areas on either approach let drivers slow down for the view. The best vantage points off the deck are the Skyway Fishing Pier State Park on both sides, built from the old bridge's approaches and open 24 hours for fishing and walking. North Skyway Fishing Pier on the St. Petersburg side and South Skyway Fishing Pier on the Terra Ceia side both charge a small vehicle entrance fee. The toll for cars is collected electronically.
