Mystery History -- Solved!

Daniel wins with his 8:24 p.m. Tuesday guess "Colorado Street Bridge, temporary suicide prevention fence - sometime in the 1930's."

In the Aug. 9, 1937, noir-esque photo above, a man pauses to look through the tall, chain link suicide prevention fence topped with barbed wire on the Colorado Street Bridge. It was the first such barrier ever installed on the bridge.

Here's the full image:

The cutline (photo caption) in the Los Angeles Herald Tribune includes this sentence: "The new fence will not detract from the span's beauty."  It was almost immediately decried as an eyesore. 

The bridge, constructed in 1913, stands nearly 150 feet tall, spans nearly 1,500 feet across the Arroyo Seco and has been the site of several suicides over the years, earning it a regrettable nickname.

The first person to leap to his death was in 1915. The predominance of jumpers -- nearly 100-- took the plunge during the Great Depression between 1929 to 1939. Almost all of the jumpers were from Los Angeles.

These photos show the Colorado Street Bridge before the suicide prevention fence was installed. There was only a chest-high balustrade.

 

As with all the suicides during the Great Depression, the one just prior to the installation of the ugly fence was a sad and tragic case.

Myrtle Ward and her musician husband lived in the El Sereno district of Los Angeles with their 3-year-old daughter Jeannette. Like so many others, they were out of work and the financial burdens were becoming more crushing with every passing day. Myrtle lost all hope and became despondent.

On the morning of May 1, 1937, 22-year-old Myrtle drove the family car to the east end of the bridge, got out and, holding little Jeannette's hand, went onto the bridge's pedestrian walkway. Myrtle stepped onto a bench in a little alcove at the highest point of the bridge and threw little Jeannette over the side. She then climbed onto the short balustrade and jumped to her death.

Jeannette's fall was broken by a tree branch before she landed on a small spot of soft sand in the Arroyo Seco streambed.

Myrtle died three days later at Huntington Memorial Hospital; Jeannette was hospitalized briefly and was raised by her paternal grandmother.

In 2011 the Pasadena Weekly ran an article about then 77-year-old Jeannette titled "Heavenly Helpers." It included this quote from her:

“God sent his angels down there and saved me. 

There was no other explanation. . .It was not my day to die.”

That very first fencing in the top photo was installed shortly after the May 1 incident.

When the Colorado Street Bridge made its second debut in 1993 after a nearly four-year seismic retrofit and historic restoration project, it included a suicide prevention barrier complementary to the bridge's architecture and surroundings that remains to this day.

In modern times the number of suicides committed at the bridge averages less than two a year. That's still too many, but it's a much better number than the 10 a year during the Great Depression.

Pasadena police officers and chaplains respond to calls at the bridge a few times a year. Ordinarily they are successful in convincing people not to jump.

Many thanks to Los Angeles Public Library, Southern California Daily Photo and Lins Consulting

We Partied on the Bridge

  

I would say that more than 1,000 people throughout the evening at the Colorado Street Bridge Party last night is a mark of success.

Every other year the City of Pasadena closes the bridge to vehicular traffic so Pasadena Heritage, which was instrumental in saving the historic structure, can have its annual fundraising event there.

An aerial camera captured some great shots. This was at about 7:30 p.m.

 

I'll let the next couple of photos speak for themselves:

My pals Kat Ward (left) and Vicki Laidig:

 

Dan McLaughlin (left) and Tavo Olmos were selling their respective books, with the evening's proceeds benefiting Pasadena Heritage.

Dan is a research librarian at Pasadena Central Library. Several times over the years he has provided me with background information about Mystery History photos on my Pasadena PIO blog and my Ann Erdman in Pasadena blog. Dan's book is the fun and informative "Pasadena History Headline Quiz: 690 Pasadena History Trivia Questions Taken from Pasadena Newspaper Headlines."

Tavo, my good friend and a sought-after historic preservation photographer, was commissioned to shoot photos of the restoration of the Colorado Street Bridge in 1990 and 1991. His book, "The Colorado Street Bridge: Restoration Project," is filled with photos of the restoration as well as stories about the photos and a foreword by Claire Bogaard.

Both authors signed their books for me. Here's Tavo:

The books are available at Vromans Bookstore, the Museum Store at the Pasadena Museum of History and Amazon; Tavo's book is also available at The Bookstore at The Gamble House. 

The Hutton family came to the bridge party:

Their great-grandfather (and the little one's great-great-grandfather) was A.W. Hutton, one of the pioneers of Pasadena. See my 2010 Pasadena PIO blog post about the monument to pioneers, including Hutton, in Defenders Park near the entrance to the Colorado Street Bridge.

And of course Snotty Scotty and the Hankies performed on the main stage!

Tavo and I walked out together and noticed the supermoon between two trees on South Grand Avenue. On my little phone camera the moon looked like a glorified star; Tavo captured the real deal on his professional camera.

It was a grand evening, and it was great to run into so many people I know but haven't seen in awhile, from Steve Vargas to Vannia De La Cuba and countless others. I also appreciated several Facebook friends I don't know personally who recognized me and approached me to say hello.

The next Colorado Street Bridge Party will be in 2016.

I took all the photos except the overhead shot of the bridge. Many thanks to Philip Coombs for that photo.

Let's Party Under a Supermoon

The Colorado Street Bridge Party tonight from 6 to 11:30 p.m. will feature live music, dancing, children's activities, festive foods, vintage Mustangs and so much more.

It only happens every other year now, so I hope to see you tonight! 

I'll be the one looking for the supermoon.