he historic La Loma Bridge, which crosses the Arroyo Seco in Pasadena,
California, was built in 1914 to replace the 1898 California Street Bridge. The
bridge is an open spandrel concrete arch bridge with a neoclassical design,
which draws inspiration from Greek and Roman architectural design features with
Renaissance interpretations of the classical forms. Inspired by the City Beautiful
Movement, the bridge was built in response to the advent of the automobile and
the increase in population in the surrounding areas.
Built just a year after, the La Loma Bridge, pictured in Figure 1, displays
similarities of its “big sister”, Pasadena’s famous Colorado Street Bridge,
nicknamed “Suicide Bridge”, which spans the Arroyo Seco less than a mile away.
While the Colorado Street bridge connected Pasadena to Los Angeles, the La
Loma Bridge played a substantial part in Pasadena’s development of the west
side of the Arroyo, largely called San Rafael Heights, which was annexed by the
City of Pasadena by the completion of this bridge. For several years, the two
bridges were the only crossings over the Lower Arroyo and represent the city’s
economic and physical need to facilitate automobile traffic over the Arroyo, while
also providing impressive picturesque structures for the nearby communities.
Subjects: historic structure, limited access
Author: Casey Garneau
Publisher: ISM, DFI, ADSC