The Colorado Street Bridge was designed and built in 1912 at a total cost of $191,000. The bridge was designed by the firm of Waddell & Harrington, based in Kansas City, Missouri. The structure carries Colorado Boulevard, the major east-west thoroughfare connecting Pasadena with Eagle Rock and Glendale to the west, and with Monrovia to the east. The Colorado Street Bridge replaced the small Scoville Bridge located near the bottom of the Arroyo Seco. It opened on December 13, 1913. The bridge follows a curved path so that the footings would sit on more solid ground than a straight bridge would have provided. The bridge spans 1,486 feet at a maximum height of 150 feet 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. , near the span's east end on the south side.
"Suicide Bridge"
During the early part of the twentieth century, the Colorado Street Bridge became known locally as "Suicide Bridge" after dozens of people leaped to their deaths. The bridge had a bad reputation before it was even built, as a construction worker fell to his death and landed in the wet cement under the bridge. His corpse presumably roams the bridge today The number of deaths spiked during the Great Depression, but the deaths did not stop there. One of the most popular stories was about a woman and her child. One night, the mother took her child and herself to the bridge and was ready to end her life. She threw her baby first and then jumped, plummeting to her death. The child survived, as it landed in a tree unharmed, but the mother successfully ended her life. The balustrade was replaced by an 8-foot-high barrier in an effort to deter suicides, but the bridge retained its nickname. To this day, some still use the bridge as a means to end their lives. For example, on October 27, 2015, British-American model and reality television star Sam Sarpong committed suicide by jumping from the bridge. In 2016, temporary anti-suicide barriers, in the form of 10-foot-high chain link fencing, were installed on the sidewalk inside the balustrade, blocking the seating alcoves. These alcoves are believed to be the primary route taken by suicide victims. In 2017, there were nine deaths by suicide. In 2018, there were four deaths by suicide from the bridge by September. After police spent 13 hours successfully negotiating with a would-be jumper, these temporary barrier fences were extended to cover the entire bridge span. The city plans to replace the temporary fencing with permanent barriers, at least 7.5 feet in height.
In culture
In the 1970s, the bridge was a filming location of the TV series Emergency! fifth season where a boy was shown trapped. 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. An episode from the eighth season of the series Full House, "Leap of Faith" featured the bridge in a bungee jumping scene. The bridge was depicted as being in the San Francisco bay area. The 2012 Lana Del Rey song Summertime Sadness for the album Born To Die filmed parts of its music video on the bridge. Actress Jaime King is seen climbing over a section of the bridge and then jumping off later in the video. The bridge was site of the beginning of The Amazing Race Season 21. The contestants had to rappel down the side of the bridge to their waiting cars to start the race. In the 2016 romantic musical filmLa La Land, the protagonists took an evening stroll across the bridge.
