The desire for the construction of a bridge in this location dates back to 1889 with a Northern Pacific Railway proposal for a trestle, but concerted efforts began in the mid-1920s.
In 1937, the Washington State legislature created the Washington State Toll Bridge Authority and appropriated $5,000 to study the request by Tacoma and Pierce County for a bridge over the Narrows.
 The bridge was designed by Leon Moisseiff.

The first Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened to traffic on July 1, 1940.
 Its main span collapsed into the Tacoma Narrows four months later on November 7, 1940, at 11:00 a.m. (Pacific time) as a result of aeroelastic flutter caused by a 42 mph (68 km/h) wind.
The bridge collapse had lasting effects on science and engineering.
In many undergraduate physics texts, the event is presented as an example of elementary forced resonance, with the wind providing an external periodic frequency that matched the natural structural frequency, even though the real cause of the bridge's failure was aeroelastic flutter, not resonance.
A contributing factor was its solid sides, not allowing wind to pass through the bridge's deck.
Thus, its design allowed the bridge to catch the wind and sway, which ultimately took it down.
Its failure also boosted research in the field of bridge aerodynamics and aeroelastic, fields which have influenced the designs of all the world's great long-span bridges built since 1940.

No human life was lost in the collapse of the bridge.
The only fatality was a Cocker Spaniel named Tubby, who perished after he was abandoned in a car on the bridge by his owner, Leonard Coatsworth.
Professor Frederick Burt Farquharson, an engineer from the University of Washington who had been involved in the design of the bridge, tried to rescue Tubby but was bitten by the terrified dog when he attempted to remove him.
 The collapse of the bridge was recorded on 16 mm film by Barney Elliott, owner of a local camera shop, and shows  Farquharson leaving the bridge after trying to rescue Tubby and making observations in the middle of the bridge.
In 1998, The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
This footage is commonly shown to engineering, architecture, and physics students as a means to teach about engineering disaster.

The dismantling of the towers and side spans – having survived the collapse of the main span, but being damaged beyond repair – began shortly after the collapse and continued into May 1943.
The United States' participation in World War II, as well as engineering and finance issues, delayed plans to replace the bridge.
The desire for the construction of a bridge in this location dates back to 1889 with a Northern Pacific Railway proposal for a trestle, but concerted efforts began in the mid-1920s. In 1937, the Washington State legislature created the Washington State Toll Bridge Authority and appropriated $5,000 to study the request by Tacoma and Pierce County for a bridge over the Narrows.  The bridge was designed by Leon Moisseiff.
The first Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened to traffic on July 1, 1940.  Its main span collapsed into the Tacoma Narrows four months later on November 7, 1940, at 11:00 a.m. (Pacific time) as a result of aeroelastic flutter caused by a 42 mph (68 km/h) wind. The bridge collapse had lasting effects on science and engineering. In many undergraduate physics texts, the event is presented as an example of elementary forced resonance, with the wind providing an external periodic frequency that matched the natural structural frequency, even though the real cause of the bridge's failure was aeroelastic flutter, not resonance. A contributing factor was its solid sides, not allowing wind to pass through the bridge's deck. Thus, its design allowed the bridge to catch the wind and sway, which ultimately took it down. Its failure also boosted research in the field of bridge aerodynamics and aeroelastic, fields which have influenced the designs of all the world's great long-span bridges built since 1940.
No human life was lost in the collapse of the bridge. The only fatality was a Cocker Spaniel named Tubby, who perished after he was abandoned in a car on the bridge by his owner, Leonard Coatsworth. Professor Frederick Burt Farquharson, an engineer from the University of Washington who had been involved in the design of the bridge, tried to rescue Tubby but was bitten by the terrified dog when he attempted to remove him.  The collapse of the bridge was recorded on 16 mm film by Barney Elliott, owner of a local camera shop, and shows  Farquharson leaving the bridge after trying to rescue Tubby and making observations in the middle of the bridge. In 1998, The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". This footage is commonly shown to engineering, architecture, and physics students as a means to teach about engineering disaster.
The dismantling of the towers and side spans – having survived the collapse of the main span, but being damaged beyond repair – began shortly after the collapse and continued into May 1943. The United States' participation in World War II, as well as engineering and finance issues, delayed plans to replace the bridge.
Tacoma Narrows Bridge