Colorado Street Bridge is a historic concrete arch bridge spanning the Arroyo Seco in Pasadena, California. It is often called Pasadena Bridge and less commonly Suicide Bridge, the latter due to the high number of suicides that once occurred here.
Colorado Street Bridge carries Colorado Boulevard across the Arroyo Seco, connecting Pasadena with Eagle Rock and Glendale to the west. The bridge follows a curved path so that its footings sit on more solid ground than a straight bridge would have provided.[2][3]
History
Scoville Bridge next to the partially completed Colorado Street Bridge, 1913
Colorado Street Bridge was designed by Waddell & Harrington and built for $191,000 in 1912 ($6.22millionin 2024).[4] The bridge opened on December 13, 1913, replacing the smaller Scoville Bridge located near the bottom of the Arroyo Seco.[5] According to myth, a construction worker who was caught in a concrete mixer during construction was poured into one of the bridge's supports.[6]
The bridge was a part of U.S. Route 66 from c.1936 to c.1940.[7]
Colorado Street Bridge was closed and renovated following the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989; it reopened in 1993.[8]
Suicide Bridge
Roadway and suicide barriers
Colorado Street Bridge became known locally as "Suicide Bridge" after dozens of people used it to commit suicide in the early 20th century.[9] By 1937, 87 people had jumped to their death from the bridge.[10][11]
A 8-foot-high (2.4m) barrier was added to the bridge[when?] to deter suicides. Even so, on October 27, 2015, British-American model and reality television star Sam Sarpong used the bridge to leap to his death.[12]
In 2016, a 10-foot-high (3.0m) temporary chain link fence was installed on the bridge's sidewalk, blocking the seating alcoves which were believed[by whom?] to be the primary route taken by jumpers. In 2017, the bridge was the site of nine deaths, and an additional four occurred between January to September 2018, after which the temporary fences were extended to cover the entire bridge. The city plans to replace the temporary fencing with permanent barriers, at least 7.5 feet (2.3m) in height.[13][14]
Colorado Street Bridge appears in Charlie Chaplin's 1921 film The Kid, where a mother is shown pining for her son at the east end of the bridge.[citation needed]
In the 2008 film Yes Man, the bridge was featured in a bungee jumping scene.[16] In the 2016 film La La Land, the protagonists take an evening stroll across the bridge.[17]
The bridge was featured in Full House's eighth season episode "Leap of Faith", where it was depicted as being in San Francisco; in ER's fourth season episode "Fathers and Sons", where it was depicted as being in San Diego; and in the Emergency! episode "To Buy or Not To Buy".[citation needed]
The bridge was featured in the Fear Factor stunt "Bridge Hang", which required contestants to hang from a trapeze bar hoisted over the edge of the bridge.[18] In the episode, host Joe Rogan notes that the bridge used to be known as "Suicide Bridge."[citation needed] The bridge was also featured in beginning of season 21 of the The Amazing Race, where contestants rappelled down the bridge to their waiting cars to start the race.[19]
Music
The 1984 album Songs from Suicide Bridge by Eric Caboor and David Kauffman is named after this bridge. The album's black-and-white cover art features the duo standing on the bridge.[20]
The bridge is closed each summer for the "Celebration on the Colorado Street Bridge" festival, hosted by historic preservation group Pasadena Heritage.[21]
↑ Duncan, Glen (2005). "Arroyo Seco Communities". Route 66 in California. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p.80. ISBN9780738530376. This graceful bridge, completed in 1913, became part of Route 66 from about 1936 to 1940, the only time in which the route did not go through South Pasadena.
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