(Photos courtesy of Washington State Archives)

If it seems like the Albert D. Rosellini Floating Bridge has been around for 50 years, well, that’s because it has!

The span, which carries State Route 520 across Lake Washington from Seattle to Medina, opened on Aug. 28, 1963 , the same day as Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C.  It was called the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge when it opened, but the name was changed in 1988 to honor the Washington governor who advocated for its construction. These photos from our State Archives capture the bridge’s debut half a century ago. The top photo shows Rosellini cutting the ribbon at the opening ceremony. The bottom shot features many people walking on the new structure near its east entrance. Both photos are from the Archives’ Washington State Department of Transportation Photograph Collection.

The floating portion of the bridge is 7,578 feet long, making it the longest floating bridge in the world. The 520 span was the second floating bridge built across Lake Washington. The Lacey V. Murrow Bridge, which carries I-90, opened in 1940. Part of the Murrow Bridge sank in 1990, but was refurbished in 1993. A second I-90 floating bridge, known as the Homer Hadley Bridge, opened to traffic in 1989.