Pasadena's 1913 Beaux Arts span over the Arroyo Seco, where over a century of tragedy has generated one of Southern California's most persistent sets of paranormal accounts.
504 W Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91105
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Public bridge; free pedestrian and vehicle access
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved pedestrian walkway on both sides of the bridge; flat grade
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1913 · National Register of Historic Places · Beaux Arts concrete arch engineering landmark · Historic U.S. Route 66 segment · Completed 1913 — among highest concrete bridges in the world at opening
The Pasadena city engineer commissioned the Colorado Street Bridge in 1912 to replace a smaller wooden span that could not handle increasing automobile traffic. The design firm Waddell and Harrington produced a Beaux Arts reinforced concrete arch structure with nine arches, ornate lamp posts, and decorative railings. Contractor J.D. Mercereau completed the project on December 13, 1913, at a cost of roughly $191,000 — approximately $6.4 million in 2025 terms. Upon completion, the 1,467.5-foot span was proclaimed the highest concrete bridge in the world.
The bridge carried a segment of U.S. Route 66 from roughly 1936 to 1940. It appeared in films including *La La Land* (2016) and was featured in several television productions.
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake caused significant structural damage, closing the bridge for four years. The 1989-1993 restoration cost $27 million and included the addition of anti-jump fencing, though isolated incidents have continued to occur since the reopening. In 2016, an additional round of safety fencing was installed. The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of Pasadena's most photographed landmarks.
Sources
The first documented death from the bridge occurred on November 16, 1919. The rate increased during the Great Depression, and by 1937 Pasadena newspaper records documented at least 87 deaths. The bridge acquired its colloquial name — Suicide Bridge — during the 1930s, when the cluster of Depression-era deaths drew sustained press coverage.
A widely repeated construction legend holds that a worker fell from the scaffolding into a vat of wet concrete during the 1912-1913 build, and that his co-workers, believing rescue impossible, left the body encased in the curing structure. No documentary evidence for this specific incident has been located in published sources; it circulates as oral tradition.
Paranormal accounts attached to the bridge follow two consistent figures: a man in wire-rimmed glasses who approaches pedestrians on the span and then disappears, and a woman in a flowing robe seen standing on the parapet before vanishing. The arroyo below has generated its own accounts — unexplained forms seen moving through the canyon at night, sounds described as crying or moaning with no apparent source.
In May 1937, a woman threw her infant daughter from the bridge before jumping herself; the child survived after landing in trees in the canyon below. The mother did not. This incident is documented in contemporary newspaper records and is sometimes attached to the robe-wearing apparition, though no direct connection has been established.
Notable Entities
The 1,467-foot span is open to pedestrians and cyclists 24 hours. The Arroyo Seco trail runs beneath the bridge's nine concrete arches, providing a view from below of the structure's full 148-foot height. Both perspectives are accessible without fees or permits. Evening visits draw ghost-seekers; day visits draw photographers and history enthusiasts.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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