As one of the only roadways crossing the Arroyo Seco in the early 20th century, the majestic La Loma Bridge was vital for the growth of Pasadena and the development of car travel in Los Angeles

Added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 14, 2004

It wasn’t until I visited La Loma Bridge that I realized I was a bridge guy. Maybe there’s something special about La Loma that triggered my interest. Maybe I’ve always been a bridge guy without knowing it, and this was just the first time that I paid such heightened attention to it. I don’t know. But ever since I walked under and then over La Loma with my daughter a couple months back, I’ve marveled at every bridge I passed by – the aesthetics, the engineering, even the metaphor of a bridge as a connection between disparate places and peoples. 

La Loma Bridge spans the Arroyo Seco, a 25-mile-long canyon that runs all the way from the mountains of the Angeles National Forest down through the LA River, around Elysian Park. When it was constructed in 1914, it became one of two crossings over the Arroyo; the other is the larger Colorado Street Bridge, about a mile north. Some call La Loma the Colorado Street Bridge’s “little sister.” I think that’s uncharitable – both bridges are unique snowflakes and just wonderful as they are, no comparisons needed.

The history of La Loma stretches back to 1883, when an Englishman named Alexander Campbell-Johnston bought 2200 acres of land west of the Arroyo Seco. The land was once part of a sprawling rancho granted to the 18th century Spanish soldier, José Maria Verdugo. Campbell-Johnston acquired the land during a big land boom spurred by the arrival of a second railroad (The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe) to Los Angeles. When Alexander returned to England, he left three of his 10 sons to run the ranch in his stead. The Campbell-Johnston brothers grew crops and raised cattle and sheep; they also sold off subdivisions of their land for residential use and, later on, a golf course.

When the Campbell-Johnstons bought the land, it lacked a system of roads. You gotta imagine it’d be hard to attract new settlers if they can’t even get to where they’re supposed to settle. So in the waning years of the 19th century, the brothers built a toll road through their ranch, and a bridge that extended into Pasadena at the exact location of the current La Loma Bridge. It was built of timber and steel, and about 10 feet wide – 1/3 of the width of La Loma. They called it the California Street Bridge, and before long, had donated it to LA County. 

By 1913, the old wooden bridge was deteriorating, and Pasadena was looking to expand its boundaries westward beyond the Arroyo. At the same time, the growth of automobile traffic necessitated a more reliable passage from the former ranch to Pasadena and vice-versa. So in 1914 Pasadena and LA County each pitched in half the money to replace it with a much sturdier bridge, made of reinforced concrete arches. It was designed with neoclassical flourishes in line with the precepts of the “City Beautiful” movement, the urban planning philosophy that cities should strive to preserve their natural beauty, and enhance it with monumental civic architecture. It was renamed Huntington Terrace Bridge, after the roadway that connected with it and then La Loma Bridge when the roadway changed names. 

An engineer could do a much better job than I of unpacking the magic of how a bridge like La Loma is built, and what makes La Loma Bridge and its open spandrels significant from a design perspective. Visually though, I can tell you that this thing is just awesome, especially if you take the path down into the Arroyo Seco and look up from various vantage points. Its underbelly is even more impressive than its deck. From underneath you can perceive a symmetry to its design that borders on the mystical.

La Loma has suffered some alterations over the years. In 1962 a necessary retrofit rebuilt much of the top deck, and replaced the original balustrade and cast iron lighting (boooo). On the plus side, it extended the lifespan of the bridge by about a century (yaaay). The bridge underwent another seismic retrofit in 2015-2017, during which the entire top deck was replaced and widened, and the railing and lighting standards were brought back in line with how they looked before. As of 2017, it is officially known as the John Van de Kamp Bridge, after a former CA Attorney General who lived in Pasadena. 

Architecture fans, take note: La Loma connects two dreamy neighborhoods full of residential gems. On the west is San Rafael Heights, a hilly enclave of expensive homes that includes an entire tract of mid-century moderns known as Poppy Peak, plus a Lautner (the Dahlstrom house), a Case Study House and two Buff, Straub & Hensman homes listed on the National Register of Historic Places. On the east is the Lower Arroyo Seco Historic District, which is basically Valhalla for craftsman architecture fans; just three doors north of the intersection of La Loma Bridge and S. Arroyo Blvd is the self-designed 1909 home of Ernest Batchelder, whose exquisite art tiles and fireplaces can be found in numerous craftsman homes by Greene & Greene and the Heineman brothers. 

I am forever indebted to La Loma Bridge for giving me my first transformative bridge experience. I’m sure there will be many more as I explore LA’s landmarks.

Recommended Reading

+La Loma Bridge NRHP nomination form

+John K. Van de Kamp Bridge (California Preservation Foundation)

+La Loma Bridge Project (Pasadena Department of Public Works, 2015)

+Hear Milton Nascimento’s “Travessia,” my favorite song about bridges