U.S National Register of Historic Places # 81000156
Added: February 12, 1981
The Colorado Street Bridge is 101 years old. Construction began in July 1912 and lasted 18 months, employing 40 to 100 workers on any given day. Built with 11,000 cubic yards of concrete -- made from gravel collected from the arroyo -- and 600 tons of steel reinforcement, the bridge cost a total of $235,000.
During that time the bridge was considered the biggest and tallest bridge in California History. The bridge being part of Route 66, allowed travelers to cross the arroyo seco in wagons into the City of Pasadena. As the boom of the automobiles increased, the bridge was expanded and widened and Colorado Street turned into Colorado Blvd. The bridge kept its name Colorado Street Bridge but soon to many residents and nearby communities it became known as Suicide Bridge.
The first tragic accident that was documented by the LA Times , was when a construction man fell over the bridge and died. The first suicide was on November 16, 1919, and nearly fifty of the suicides occurred during the Great Depression from 1933 to 1937. Another report predicts that ninety-five people committed suicide from the bridge between the years of 1919 and 1937. In 1981, the bridge was declared and registered in the National Register of Historic Places. Due to an earthquake in 88, it was closed off until it was repaired in 1993.
As you now walk around the bridge, there are railings that make it a little harder to commit suicide. The City of Pasadena and suicide prevention organizations also have a poster and hotline numbers all over the bridge.
My visit to this site occurred on September 14, in order to take a look under the bridge you must take little streets. The road under the bridge will actually take you the Rose Bowl. There are many sight seers and hikers.
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