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Holly Street Bridge
Holly Street Bridge
Coordinates	34°08′55″N 118°09′56″W / 34.148746°N 118.165426°W
Carries	1 lane of Holly Street
Crosses	Arroyo Seco
Locale	Pasadena
Official name	Holly Street Bridge
Other name(s)	Linda Vista Bridge
Owner	City of Pasadena
Characteristics
Material	Concrete
Total length	423 ft (129 m)
Height	70 ft (21 m)
Longest span	240 ft (73 m)
History
Designer	W.C. Earle
Construction cost	$100,000
Opened	1925

Directly north of the Colorado Street Bridge, Holly Street Bridge is the northernmost of the bridges that cross the Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County) in Pasadena, CA. The concrete arch bridge was designed by W.C. Earle, city engineer, and replaced the 1909 Linda Vista Bridge.

History

The older Linda Vista Bridge was determined to be defective even before it opened to the public.^[1] Photographer and Pasadena resident, George Wharton James noticed sags on each side and a large crack extending across the middle pier and questioned city officials about it. Ultimately, the 1909 bridge was condemned as unsafe and destroyed by California Institute of Technology students using TNT.^[2]

When the new bridge opened to the public on April 11, 1925, it was known as the Linda Vista Bridge.^[3] At the time, the bridge cost approximately $100,000 and it was believed to be the longest and highest concrete span of any bridge in the west.^[4]^[5] The engineer-in-charge of that construction was Alvin LeVan.

The bridge has been the site of some accidental injuries and fatalities over the years.^[6]^[7] The bridge has also become integrated with the surrounding community as a place for seclusion and for graffiti art.^[8]

The City of Pasadena proposed a seismic retrofit project for the Holly Street Bridge in 2019. Caltrans considers the bridge to be structurally deficient.^[9]^[10]

Design

Holly Street Bridge features an open spandrel design and Neoclassical style, like the other Arroyo Seco bridges. It features an ornate concrete railing, antique lighting and a large central arch.^[11] The bridge is 423 feet long, 70 feet high, and with a central span 240 feet in length. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.^[12]

Gallery

View of the Holly Street Bridge
Plaque describing the Linda Vista Bridge
Holly Street Bridge Under Construction in 1925

References

^ "Alleges Linda Vista Bridge is Defective". Los Angeles Herald. 30 June 1909. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
^ Kramer, Hans (1923). "Demolition of the Linda Vista Bridge". The Military Engineer. Vol. XVII, no. 92. p. 160. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
^ "NEW BRIDGE OPENING WILL BE CELEBRATED". Daily News (Los Angeles). 4 April 1925. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
^ "Holly Street Bridge". Bridgehunter.com. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
^ "CITY OF PASADENA BUILDING FOURTH SPAN ACROSS ARROYO SECO". Daily News (Los Angeles). 14 January 1925. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
^ "Hope Increases For Recovery of Mother and Son". San Pedro Daily News. 27 February 1928. Retrieved 22 June 2022. fell together 100 feet from the railing of the Linda Vista bridge
^ "Man killed in bridge fall". Daily News (Los Angeles). 4 July 1950. Retrieved 22 June 2022. died in Pasadena Emergency hospital today minutes after he Jumped or fell from the Holly street bridge
^ Philips, Susan A. (5 November 2019). The City Beneath: A Century of Los Angeles Graffiti. Yale University Press. p. 55. ISBN 978-0300246032. If young people met at the dance hall, they might wind up at Holly Street Bridge to drink or engage in daring acts or intimacies. The bridge man's horizontal nook might have occasionally accommodated a party of two. Graffiti on Holly Street Bridge speaks to how young people 'have challenged, innovated and redirected social and cultural practices.'
^ "Holly Street Bridge Seismic Retrofit Project". cityofpasadena.net. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
^ "Holly Street Bridge to close for 'Criminal Minds' episode filming". Daily Bulletin. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
^ Linton, Joe (1 October 2005). Down By the Los Angeles River: Friends of the Los Angeles Rivers Official Guide. Wilderness Press. p. 278. ISBN 978-0899973913. This elegant bridge features ornate concrete railing, antique lighting, and a large central arch.
^ "Pasadena's Arroyo Seco Historic Sites" (PDF). Arroyo Seco Foundation. Retrieved 29 April 2021.