Why is the steering room on a ship called the bridge?

Bridge: The control or command center of any power vessel, The term arose in the mid-19th century, when the "bridge" was a thwartships structure very much like a footbridge stretched across the vessel between or immediately in front of the paddle wheels.

[Source: http://www.desertanchor.com/glossary.htm]

It can also be called a bridge because the bridge wings which stick out on the side are like standing out on a bridge