![George Washington Bridge in New York, completed in 1931.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/george-washington-bridge-300x229.jpg)
“Building an ugly bridge is a crime!”
How the Swiss Othmar H. Ammann (1879–1965) built the most important bridges in New York, but remained unsuccessful in his home country.
![Othmar Ammann in front of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, around 1960.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/Othmar-Ammann-vor-der-Verrazano-Narrows-Bruecke-um-1960-1-300x215.jpg)
![Othmar Ammann during an internship at the Montreux-Berner Oberland-Bahn, around 1903.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/Othmar-Ammann-waehrend-eines-Praktikums-bei-der-Montreux-Berner-Oberland-Bahn-ca-1903-199x300.jpg)
![Othmar Ammann with a model of the George Washington Bridge, around 1925-1940.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/othmar-ammann-mit-einem-modell-der-george-washington-brucke-um-1925-1940-203x300.jpg)
![Ammann speaks at the inauguration of the Bayonne Bridge, November 14, 1931.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/ammann-spricht-bei-der-eroffnung-der-bayonne-bridge-1931-300x227.jpg)
![Construction of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in March 1964.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/bau-der-verrazzano-narrows-bridge-im-marz-1964-300x209.jpg)
![Ammann during construction of the Verrazano-Narrows-Bridge in New York, around 1964.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/ammann-beim-bau-der-verrazzano-narrows-bridge-in-new-york-1964-300x202.jpg)
Broadcast on the inauguration of the Verrazano-Narrows-Bridge, 1964. British Pathé / YouTube
Trailer for the film “Gateways to New York” (2019) about Othmar Ammann by Martin Witz. YouTube