Bridge That Inspired "It's A Wonderful Life" - Seneca Falls, NY
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 54.561 W 076° 48.046
18T E 353005 N 4752321
The bridge that inspired "It's A Wonderful Life" is located on Bridge Street, a.k.a. Bedford Falls Blvd, in Seneca Falls, NY
Waymark Code: WMPJZX
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 09/10/2015
Views: 12
As locals tell the story, the director of "It's A Wonderful Life", Frank Capra, was visiting Seneca Falls when he heard the story of a man who gave his life to save another on the Bridge Street Bridge over the Seneca River. This inspired him to use Seneca Falls as the model for Bedford Falls for his film "It's A Wonderful Life". A plaque on the superstructure of the bridge recounts the similarities between Seneca Falls and Bedford Falls. It is inscribed:
The Village of Seneca Falls
may have inspired the hometown look
of Frank Capra's 1946 holiday film classic
"It's A Wonderful Life."
Mr. Capra is known to have visited here
in the mid-1940's at the time the screenplay
for the film was being developed.
Many similarities exist between Seneca Falls
and the traditional "Bedford Falls." Among these are the
design of the Bridge Street bridge,
the use of several places and personal names,
and the village's geographical location.
The town capitalizes upon the connection to the film. The street names around the bridge are given alternate "It's A Wonderful Life" themed names and thousands of people descend upon Seneca Falls around Christmastime for the Seneca Falls "It's A Wonderful Life" Festival (see weblink).