Industrial History: 1913,1993 Colorado Boulevard Bridge over Arroyo Seco in Pasadena, CA

Thursday, June 25, 2026

1913,1993 Colorado Boulevard Bridge over Arroyo Seco in Pasadena, CA

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; HAER; Satellite)

HAER CAL,19-PASA,11--2
2. OVERALL VIEW OF BRIDGE, LOOKING NORTH. THE PIONEER BRIDGE CAN BE SEEN BEHIND THE OLDER BRIDGE. - Colorado Street Bridge, Spanning Arroyo Seco at Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, Los Angeles County, CA

"Significance: The Colorado Street Bridge is an eleven-arched reinforced concrete structure, the longest and highest bridge of its time. It was the first high bridge across the Arroyo Seco, and is an important visual landmark in Pasadena. Through its design and construction, the bridge represents the advancing concrete technology of the twentieth century and the ornamental aesthetic of the late nineteenth century. The Colorado Street Bridge was designed by one of the nation's foremost bridge engineers, and constructed by a well known California builder. The local community played an important role In planning and funding construction." [HAER_data, my emphasis in bold]

I added the "cement" label to these notes since this bridge was a landmark concrete bridge in terms of length and height.

Street View, Oct 2014

Carlos G. Lucero posted, cropped

In the arid southwest of the United States more than anywhere else, the growth of a city was dependent upon water. Pasadena was founded where it was exactly to take advantage of a reliable water supply, the Arroyo Seco ("Dry Gulch" in English). It was a reliable source of water in a rather dry environment.

However, the Arroyo Seco was also problem, it was deep in a steep sided canyon. This meant that Pasadena was physically isolated from its western neighbors. Travelers would have to make long detours passable crossing north or south of Pasadena.

This was finally changed by James Scoville. He had been the Vice President of the Elgin Watch Co., President of the Prairie State Bank, and a trustee of what would later be known as California Institute of Technology. He built a pleasure garden on the bluff above the Arroyo Seco which went down the slope of the canyon walls to the stream itself. There he built a small dam and pump house. The top of the dam served as the eastern abutment of a wooden bridge, the first connect Pasadena to the western side of the Arroyo. Scoville Bridge was still in service when the much larger and grander Colorado Blvd. Bridge was built above it.

[David Kimbrough via ArchivedBridgeHunter]

The Arroyo Seco doesn't supply much water today. Given the channelization, today it is a stormwater drain.