First of These Was on Mid-Hudson Bridge, Now in Smithsonian

You think you know everything about the Hudson Valley, then you start to have a conversation with someone, and they share with you something you had never heard of! There is something that was on the Mid-Hudson Bridge for 25-years and that "it" is now located in the Smithsonian, Natural Museum of American History.

What is this 'thing' and was the Mid-Hudson Bridge Poughkeepsie and Highland NY the first to have it? Have other bridges since embraced this item as well?

What is the item from the Mid-Hudson Bridge that is now in the Smithsonian?

The 'item' that is now in the Smithsonian, is the one of the first call boxes, or as one might refer to them as the suicide prevention hotline phones. Yes, the Mid-Hudson Bridge was the first bridge to have one of these phones. According to a press release, dated 2010, the two original phones were placed on the span of the bridge in 1984.

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Why were the phones originally placed on the Mid-Hudson Bridge?

The Mid-Hudson Bridge was selected to be the first placement, because of the high number of suicide attempts. If someone, were to pick up the receiver, the phone would directly connect mental health professionals.

Wait, why were the phones taken off the bridge? Are there still suicide hotline phones on the Mid-Hudson Bridge?

Yes, there are phones currently on the bridge. The same press release says that those original phones were replaced with newer technology. That replacement took place in 2009.

If you can't get enough info about the Mid-Hudson Bridge, keep reading.