Olympic Boulevard over the Los Angeles River

Los Angeles County, California

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Olympic Blvd. Bridge over the Los Angeles River Looking East

www.bridges-of-los-angeles-county.com

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Description

Olympic Boulevard Viaduct (formerly the Ninth Street Viaduct) is one of the twelve significant historic bridges over the Los Angeles River. Ninth Street was reconfigured and renamed Olympic Boulevard in honor of the 1932 Olympic Games held in Los Angeles. Olympic Boulevard Viaduct was built as part of the City Beautiful Plan's of the the early 1900's. City Beautiful Plans were inspired by the civic architecture of Paris and Rome, which sought to beautify United States cities by constructing grand civic monuments, incorporating both building and public works projects.

-- Historic American Engineering Record

FIESTA TO MARK BRIDGE OPENING - Spanish Fete Planned for Christening Day

Written by Rertha Anne Houck for the Los Angeles Times - September 13, 1925

Huge sombreros, gay shawls, scarlet skirts, laughter, jollity,the spirit of carnival - these will bring back memories of ancient Spanish fiestas, of the days when Los Angeles laughed with the full freedom of careless youth, for on the 26th inat. at 1 O'clock, she will hold high festival a the momentous christening of the Ninth-street bridge. The whole county will turn out in costumes and smiles to celebrate the opening of the first of the $3,000,000 viaducts which the municipality is building.

According to F.H. Feitshans, members of the Board of Education and the Chamber of Commerce, and the general chairman and the chairman of the day of the fete, a fiesta is precisely the sort of the celebration that the occasion warrants. The opening of the viaduct is, in its particular nature, like the annexation of a new territory, it will connect the East Side with the West Side of the city in such an efficient way that the former will move figuratively fifty miles closer to the later. Feitshans believes that the bridge will bring about a new era in the Los Angeles commerce.

So to hearken back to Los Angeles' old fiesta for a pattern and an inspiration for the this celebration is fitting, because the best of the tradition will thereby be called to honor a great achievement of Los Angeles modernity. Then, too, through the efforts of Mrs. A. S. C. Forbes, president of the California History and Landmarks Club, the bridge is to be dedicated to Portola whole the first expedition across the Los Angeles River and who was responsible for its name. The fiesta is to be modeled on just such a one as those at which he and his sixty comrades drank and danced and loved more than 100 years ago.

NEEDS FIESTA SPIRIT

Mrs. Forbes believes that Los Angeles needs to inculcate the festive spirit of older times into the her modern commercial life. It has been fifteen or twenty years since the city has held a real fiesta. In the old days, we had a permanent fiesta committee, and on May of each year (that being the old Spanish fiesta day) the people of Los Angeles congregated for twelve hours of gayety [sic].

The celebration started with a parade. The floats - drawn by horses in those days - were covered with flowers. After that came a huge barbecue, and the evening brought another parade - informal in its character - which was joined by everyone and marched up and down any street the crowd felt like following. Each gay participant wore and Spanish or Mexican constume and color and jollity were everywhere. Pleasure was enhanced by the strolling minstrels who played music for the impromtu dances which were likely to be executed on almost every street corner.

Perhaps youth made the carnival spirit of those times possible, but although we are wiser, we are not a staid nor an old city yet. The play instinct is till strong in us and so we can recapture some of the mirth and feeling of the old fiestas by patterning our bridge celebration after them. Our fiesta fiesta will open with a parade made up of two contingents. One will come from the east side of town and one from the west side. The two parts will meet in the center of the bridge and break the silken cord stretching across it. After a fitting dedicatory ceremony, it will be formally opened for traffic. Douglas Fairbanks was asked to be chairman but studio activities prevented him from accepting the honor, so it is hoped that Tom Mix will take his place. Some of the flower-covered floats will tell the story of older times; others will symbolize modern industry and progress. Leslie Saunders is arrange a pageant to be given following the parade.

First Street Bridge

Los Angeles Time - October 19, 1888

Great Inconvenience from the Interruption of Traffic

The people on Boyle Heights are considerably annoyed by the interuption of travel on First street, caused by the tearing up of the old bridge to make way for the new steel viaduct. Mayor Workman foresaw the inconveniences which would result from the closing up of the street, even for a short time, and two weeks ago sent a message to the Council calling attention to the matter, and suggesting that some temporary provisions b made for bridging over the difficulty. Mr. Cohn state that this had been attended to, and the measure was filed and nothing was thought about it until Wednesday morning, when traffic was suspened and the only communication that be could be had was byway of Aliso street, the busses having to go down Aliso to Alameda,, and then come up that street to First. Thus raised quite a storm of indignation, which, however, subsided yesterday when it was learned that temporary inclines were being put in for use until viaduct is completed. The present First-street bridge will be moved to Ninth street.

Ninth Street Bridge

Los Angeles Times - November 7, 1888

There seems to be a fatality about the public improvements of this city. The paving of First street may probably be given up as a bad job, as far as winter is concerned, and now it appears to be a prospect of delay in the construction in one of the much needed bridges over the Los Angeles river - that at Ninth street. The matter was brought up in the City Council on Monday by a communication from the City Attorney, who appears to think that the city will run some risk in adopting the course of Ninth street as at present opened.

About eighteen months ago Ninth street was opened up from Alameda street to the river by the property-holders in that section, the course followed being parallel to Seventh street. It was different, however, from the course marked out on the maps as the "proposed route of Ninth street". When the city subsequently commenced to assess for the opening of the latter route, a temporary injunction was obtained by the property-holders against such an opening. The case was pending for some time, until six months ago, when the court made the injunction perpetual, the city not appearing to defend the suit. The city is thus enjoined from opening up the route known as the "proposed route" on the maps. To be so would bring it in contempt of court.

The route is now established is acceptable to those whose property is most affected, on both sides of the river, nor do we believe that a majority of the property-holders between Main street and Alameda street care whether the bridge is placed a few hundred feet north or south. What they want, and what the citizens want, is to see that bridge, and the bridges at Seventh and First streets, completed with as little delay as possible. We hope the City Council will see to it that there is not unnecessary hindrance thrown in the way of their construction.

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Facts

Overview: Concrete arch bridge over Los Angeles River and railroad tracks on Olympic Boulevard in Los Angeles
Location: Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California
Status: Open to traffic
History: Wooden Bridge Moved from 1st Street 1889, Steel Bridge Built Circa 1900, Concrete Bridge Built 1925
Design: Open-spandrel concrete arch
Dimensions: Length of largest span: 99.7 ft.
Total length: 1,422.0 ft.
Deck width: 56.4 ft.
Recognition: Eligible for the National Register of Historic Places
Also called: Ninth Street, Gaspar de Portol� Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude: +34.02555, -118.22501 (decimal degrees)
34°01'32" N, 118°13'30" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates: 11/386903/3765665 (zone/easting/northing)
USGS topographic map: Los Angeles
Inventory numbers: CA 53C-163 (California bridge number)
BH 11029 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection (as of 10/2010): Deck condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Appraisal: Functionally obsolete
Sufficiency rating: 81.5 (out of 100)
Average daily traffic (as of 2002): 27,728

Update Log

February 7, 2012: HAER photos posted by Michael Goff
December 14, 2010: New photo from David Kimbrough
December 3, 2010: Essay added by David Kimbrough
December 2, 2010: Updated by David Kimbrough: Updated Construction History and Added an Essay
November 29, 2010: Essay added by David Kimbrough
November 26, 2010: New photos from David Kimbrough
April 20, 2010: New Street View added by James Baughn
January 3, 2009: New photos from David Kimbrough
December 19, 2008: New photo from David Kimbrough
December 18, 2008: New photo from David Kimbrough
November 3, 2008: New photo from David Kimbrough
June 6, 2008: Updated by David Kimbrough
May 3, 2008: New photos from David Kimbrough

Sources

David Kimbrough - kimbrough-photo [at] charter [dot] net
HAER CA-177 - Ninth Street Viaduct, Spanning Los Angeles River at Olympic Boulevard, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA