Early in the Revolutionary War, American General Israel Putnam built a pontoon bridge at the Middle Ferry site, made of floating logs bound together by rope.

The British Army built its own pontoon bridge at the site during the 1777-78 Occupation of Philadelphia.

When the directors of the Schuylkill Permanent Bridge Company of Philadelphia elected in 1801 to build a wooden structure across the Schuylkill instead of the stone arch bridge originally planned, they called on Timothy Palmer to complete the job.

The trusswork was sufficiently completed on January 1, 1805, to permit the bridge to be opened to traffic.

About 1812, the bridge was adorned with wooden allegorical figures carved by sculptor William Rush.

[4] The current Market Street Bridge was erected in 1932, complete with balustrades and other decorative elements.