Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena. Image from postcard published by Gardner-Thompson Co., Los Angeles, circa 1915-1930.
The first bridge over the Los Angeles River was a covered bridge with kerosene lamps at Macy Street. It was completed in 1870.
| Bridge | Year Built | Length (Feet) | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Badger Avenue Bascule | 1923 | 221 | Vicinity Long Beach, over Cerritos Channel, on Henry Ford Ave. First of its kind in California |
| Cesar Chavez Avenue (formerly Macy St. Bridge) | 1926 | 1,027 | Los Angeles, over Los Angeles River |
| Colorado Street | 1913 | 1,458 | Pasadena, Colorado St. over Arroyo Seco |
| Figueroa Street | 1936 | 803 | Los Angeles, I-110 over Los Angeles River. Steel girder river span. Largest of its kind when built. |
| First Street | 1929 | --- | Los Angeles, over Los Angeles River |
| Bridge | Year Built | Length (Feet) | Location |
| Fletcher Drive | 1927 | 469 | Los Angeles, over Los Angeles River |
| Four-Level Interchange | 1949 | --- | Los Angeles, Intersection of Harbor & Hollywood Freeway. The first freeway-to-freeway interchange in California |
| Fourth & Lorena Street | 1928 | 390 | Los Angeles, 4th St. over Lorena St. One of the most graceful of the open spandrel arch bridges designed in 1920’s. |
| Fourth Street Viaduct | 1930 | 1,837 | Los Angeles, over Los Angeles River |
| Franklin Avenue (also Shakespeare Bridge) | 1925 | 261 | Los Angeles, on Franklin Ave. over unnamed Arroyo. Mimics Gothic Revival detailing of other public buildings in Los Feliz. |
| Bridge | Year Built | Length (Feet) | Location |
| Geneva Boulevard | 1937 | 98 | Glendale, over Verdugo Wash. The three Vierandeel trusstypes in Glendale may be oldest in U.S. |
| Glendale-Hyperion | 1929 | 518 | Los Angeles, on Glendale Blvd. over Los Angeles River |
| Glenoaks Boulevard | 1937 | 95 | Glendale, on Glenoaks Blvd over Verdugo Wash. Very rare example of Vierandeel trusstype – common in Europe - rare in U.S. The three Vierandeel trusstypes in Glendale may be oldest in U.S. |
| Holly Street | 1924 | 410 | Pasadena, over Arroyo Seco |
| Kenilworth Avenue | 1936 | 99 | Glendale, on Brand Ave. over Verdugo Wash. The three Vierandeel trusstypes in Glendale may be oldest in U.S. |
| Bridge | Year Built | Length (Feet) | Location |
| Macy Street Undercrossing | 1931 | --- | Los Angeles, Macy St. under RR tracks of Union Station. Structurally part of Union Station. |
| Main Street | 1910 | 300 | Los Angeles, over Los Angeles River |
| Ninth Street | 1925 | 1,422 | Los Angeles, over Los Angeles River |
| North Broadway Viaduct (also Buena Vista Bridge) | 1910 | 866 | Los Angeles, N. Broadway over Los Angeles River |
| San Rafael | 1922 | 355 | Pasadena, over Arroyo Seco |
| Bridge | Year Built | Length (Feet) | Location |
| Seventh Street | 1910/ 1927 | 1,000 | Los Angeles, over Los Angeles River |
| Spring Street | 1928 | 682 | Los Angeles, over Los Angeles River |
| Sunset-Silver Lake | 1934 | 85 | Los Angeles, Sunset Blvd over Silver Lake Blvd. |
| Washington Boulevard | 1931 | 312 | Los Angeles, over Los Angeles River |
Source: California Dept. of Transportation and Bridgehunter.com
Sixth Street Viaduct over Los Angeles River. Demolished in 2016. Photo from the Library of Congress.
The iconic Sixth Street Viaduct, once spanning 3,446 feet over Los Angeles River near Downtown Los Angeles, was demolished in 2016. It was built in 1932 and was the largest concrete bridge built in California until 1945. In 2022, the new Sixth Street Viaduct (or Sixth Street Bridge) opened at the same location, spanning 3,500 feet. The new $588 million bridge, the largest bridge project in the history of Los Angeles, incorporates ten sweeping pairs of arches (ranging in height from 30 to 60 feet above the roadway) in its design as a tribute to the original bridge. It was designed by HNTB Architecture Inc. and Los Angeles architect Michael Maltzan.
At its opening in 1913, Pasadena's beautiful Colorado Street Bridge was proclaimed to be the highest concrete bridge in the world at the time. The bridge was built with a curve in order to find more solid footing across the seasonally wet Arroyo Seco below. It was built by the Kansas City firm of Waddell & Harrington in 1913. Owner John Waddell had already achieved some fame in bridge-building circles as the inventor of the vertical lift bridge. The Colorado Street Bridge was the first and only reinforced concrete bridge project by the firm.
The Santa Fe Arroyo Seco Bridge, built in 1895 and standing over the Pasadena Freeway (SR-101), is the oldest standing and highest railroad bridge in Los Angeles County. It is 700 feet long and stands at 100 feet high.
Some Venice Canal Bridges are listed in the National Register as part of the Venice Canals Historic District. Included are four bridges built in 1906 on Dell Avenue across the Carroll, Sherman, Linnie, and Howland Canals.
The longest stairway in Los Angeles is believed to be a steep stairway found about a quarter block from the intersection of Baxter Place and Avon Street in Elysian Heights. It has 230 steps. - Stairway Walks in Los Angeles, Adah Bakalinsky & Larry Gordon; Wilderness Press, Berkeley
