Colorado Street Bridge

About

Completed in 1913, the Colorado Street Bridge is one of Pasadena’s most recognizable historic landmarks and an important piece of Route 66 history. The graceful concrete bridge stretches across the Arroyo Seco, with soaring arches rising as much as 150 feet above the canyon below. Its distinctive curved design was not merely decorative. Engineer John Drake Mercereau curved the bridge to overcome difficult ground conditions in the arroyo while creating what became one of Southern California’s most celebrated early automobile-era structures.

When Route 66 was established, the bridge became part of the highway’s path through Pasadena, carrying generations of travelers across the Arroyo Seco on their journey through Southern California. It remained part of Route 66 until traffic shifted to the Arroyo Seco Parkway in 1940. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981, the restored bridge remains a striking reminder of Pasadena’s early automotive age and the historic road that once crossed it.

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