Colorado Street Bridge (Pasadena, California)

Colorado Street Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Colorado Street Bridge seen from the Arroyo Seco below
Location:	Pasadena, California
Coordinates:	34°08′41″N 118°09′49″W
Built:	1913
Architect:	Waddell & Harrington
Governing body:	Local
NRHP Reference#:	81000156
Added to NRHP:	February 12, 1981

The Colorado Street Bridge is a historic concrete arch bridge spanning the Arroyo Seco in Pasadena, California.

History

The Colorado Street Bridge next to the bridge for the Ventura Freeway, also known as the Arroyo Seco Bridge.

The Colorado Street Bridge was designed and built in 1913 by the firm of Waddell & Harrington, based in Kansas City, Missouri. The structure carries Colorado Boulevard (then called "Colorado Street"), the major east-west thoroughfare connecting Pasadena with Eagle Rock and Glendale to the west, and with Monrovia to the east. It spans 1,486 feet (453 m) and is notable for its distinctive Beaux Arts arches, light standards, and railings. The bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places and has been designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

During the early years of the twentieth century, the Colorado Street Bridge was known locally as "Suicide Bridge" after dozens of suicides. A suicide barrier was added which reduced the number of suicides, but the bridge retained its nickname. In 1989, after the Loma Prieta earthquake in Northern California, the bridge was declared a seismic hazard and closed to traffic. It was reopened in 1993 after a substantial retrofit. The bridge is closed each summer for a festival, "A Celebration on the Colorado Street Bridge", hosted by historic preservation group Pasadena Heritage.

See also

• Suicide bridge

External links

• City of Pasadena's History Page, with a historic postcard view of the bridge.
• History of the Colorado Street Bridge from Pasadena Heritage
• Colorado Street Bridge at Structurae