The Pier is a Quincy, Illinois, area landmark that was built and opened in 1994. It offers a cuisine that is based on local tastes that they bill as Midwestern with a twist. The building is built on a steel truss that spans two piers from a 1890s era railroad bridge that once crossed Quincy Bay between the Illinois mainland and Quinsippi Island giving restaurant patrons a spectacular view of Mississippi River activity and the wildlife on Quinsippi Island. The main level features a lounge and dining room, and the upper level has a banquet hall. All in all, this project is very well done. One can think of no better use for the remains of an old bridge.

I have not determined the date when this railroad bridge was built or when it was removed. It is not on maps from the 1870s, but is on maps from the early 1900s. I am estimating that it was built in the early 1890s. I am also curious about the purpose of the bridge. The mainline of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad crossed this river backchannel 3,900 feet to the north of this location, so it was not required as part of the river crossing. I suspect that it was built because there was no easy access to the passenger station in Quincy from the mainline, or that it allowed trains to access the station without having to back in or back out. This bridge would have become obsolete when the new river bridge was built in 1960, so it was probably abandoned at that time.