Detroit International Bridge Company

Product Details

Beautifully engraved antique stock certificate from the Detroit International Bridge Company dating back to the 1920's. This document, which is signed by the company President and Assistant Secretary, was a printed by the American Bank Note Company and measures approximately 11 1/2" (w) by 7 1/2" (h).

This certificate's beautiful vignette features the Ambassador Bridge with the busy Detroit River below.

Images

You will receive the exact certificate pictured.

Historical Context

The Detroit International Bridge Company was incorprated in Michigan and was responsible for the construction and operation of Detroit's famous Ambassador Bridge, which connects the U.S. with Canada.

The Ambassador was privately built in 1929 by a palm reader turned financier, Joseph Bower. It became publicly held when Bower put his company, Detroit International Bridge Company, into bankruptcy in the Depression and issued stock as part of a reorganization.

In the late 1970s the sage investor Warren Buffett acquired 25% of the stock, emboldening Detroit billionaire Manuel "Matty"Moroun to act. In 1979 he used his small trucking company's credit line to buy out Buffett and acquire the rest of the company for a total of $30 million. Thus it became the only major U.S.-Canada crossing that is privately owned.

The Ambassador Bridge is the busiest crossing on the Canada–United States border. The four-lane bridge carries more than 10,000 commercial vehicles on a typical weekday.

The bridge carries approximately 25% of trade between Canada and the United States.

The bridge is made up of 21,000 short tons of steel, and the roadway rises as high as 152 feet above the Detroit River. Only the main span over the river is supported by suspension cables; the approaches to the main pillars are held up by steel in a cantilever truss structure.