This year marks the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena.
1913
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The west end of the bridge, circa 1928. Apparently some time during the 1920s, not even being 20 years old, the 5 globe lamps must've been considered outdated? They removed the lower 4 globes and retained the main ones.
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Someone posted these earlier in this thread... A "suicide barrier" is erected in 1937. Ugly. Basically a chain link fence with barbed wire on top, set up in front of the ornate balustrade.
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It looks like they even blocked off the seating bays.
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Here's one of the seating bays before the chain link was put up.
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This picture is from 1956. Apparently, some time during the late 1940s or early 1950s, the chain link fence AND the balustrade were removed, and a freeway style, tall metal fence was erected. It looks like they even removed the seating in the little bay there. It changes the look of the bridge, and I assume driving on it after this would've just looked like driving on a regular freeway overpass or something.
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After the Whittier Earthquake of 1987 and the Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989, the Colorado Street Bridge was closed and totally reconstructed/retrofitted to meet the latest earthquake codes. It reopened in 1993, with its 5-globe lamps, balustrades, and seating bays restored.
I took the following three photos on April 7, 2013.
As you can see, as part of its restoration, they added a guardrail, and the balustrade has fencing along the top of it, as a "suicide barrier."
I took these three pictures in January of 2010. You can hike along the Arroyo Seco near and beneath the bridge.
