In 1867, the architect Erik Palmstedt's old stone bridge from the 18th century was demolished to make way for the new railway tracks for the connecting line that was extended to Stockholm Central Station. Instead, an iron bridge was built with four spans that were high enough for trains to pass underneath. However, an arch from Palmstedt's bridge was salvaged and used by Ragnar Östberg in connection with the construction of Stockholm City Hall. There, the arch and two so-called lion masks (lion heads with iron rings) were placed on the southern side of the city hall tower. The arrangement with the arches and the marble sculpture "Loki's Punishment" by Ida Matton is referred to as Palmstedt's grotto.

It is possible that the young Anna Palm may have been present at the inauguration of the bridge. She was born in Stockholm in 1859 and grew up on Barnhusträdgårdsgatan, now Olof Palmes gata. Her artistic talent was discovered early on, and she was apprenticed to her father, Gustaf Wilhelm Palm, who was also an artist and a professor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Anna Palm became early on specialised in watercolour painting, and she seems to have mastered it by 1889 when she became the first female teacher at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts.