Suicide Bridge - Colorado Street Bridge

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Colorado Street Bridge, constructed over the Arroyo Seco River in 1912, is also known as Suicide Bridge. The nickname was acquired because of the around 100 folks said to have committed suicide by jumping from it, starting in 1919. Reports say that almost 50 of the jumpers died during the Great Depression, and at least one legend blames the bridge’s troubled past on a worker who fell and landed in wet cement below the bridge and left to die. Ghost stories abound in these parts, of course: The apparitions seen here range from a man in wire-rim glasses to a woman in a flowing robe, who leaps from the top of a parapet.

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Geographic Information

Address:
W Colorado Blvd over S. Arroyo Blvd
Pasadena, CA
United States

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GPS:
34.14447911232453, -118.16510581968032
County:
Los Angeles County, California
Nearest Towns:
Pasadena, CA (1.2 mi.)
South Pasadena, CA (2.1 mi.)
Altadena, CA (3.7 mi.)
San Marino, CA (3.7 mi.)
La Canada Flintridge, CA (4.0 mi.)
Alhambra, CA (4.0 mi.)
East Pasadena, CA (4.1 mi.)
San Gabriel, CA (4.8 mi.)
Glendale, CA (5.1 mi.)
East San Gabriel, CA (5.6 mi.)

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Comments (13)

  1. Michelle "mikka" H.  |  

    While investigating last year on Halloween. We came across a few EVP’s. Q: Why did you do it? A: It’s a bridge, it’s the perfect place to go. Female Voice.
    Also, my friend and local Paranormal Investigator Frances C. Caught “ghost lights” with her camera.
    In another photo, an Apparition appeared under the bridge above ground level standing in a twisted position facing downwards.
    Dark Slide Paranormal page, YouTube.

  2. Went there one time and defenetly will not be returning ! A group of friends along with myself had intensions of crossing what Used to be the river and get to the asylum but we didnt even get to that point …. we defenetly saw stuff under the bridge in the dark and kept hearing steps right behind us ! So scaaaarrrrryyyyyyy I dont wanna go back !! Lol

  3. I live on top of the Rose Bowl and was looking for a shortcut to get to Old Town one night as my normal way was blocked. I accident ended up by the River and it got really flogs and I saw what looked like a couple of orbs. I definetly will not go near that area again.

  4. Been here many times. Only one strange thing was when my friend and I were walking thru the “park” at the dead end of S. Grand Ave. the sprinklers popped on which startled us. We somehow noticed that the sprinklers were not exactly moving uniformly left to right. They appeared to follow our movements and stop when we stopped walking.

    Unfortunately I never made an effort to check out the abandoned hospital before it was torn down and the condos(or whatever they are) were built.

    I assume the bridge and the bottom must have some haunting with over 100 people jumping since it was built, but i’ve been unlucky in experiencing anything strange.

  5. Born and raised in Pasadena…used to go under suicide bridge for kicks. Was touched by the spirits..heard them speaking..saw their shadows snd felt such despair in the riverbed. Death was so prevalent their. I was only nine when i experienced this with my cousins one bright sunny day. Back in the sixties and seventies the police would find dead bodies in the area by the hospital. So much death. Do you know some company has actually built a million dollar home on top of this place below the bridge…god have mercy!! Brookside park is haunted also.

  6. went here once 3 years around 2 am with friends to kick back and drink some brews and nothing happened no noises or apparitions

    • Nathaniel Wagner  |  

      Have had a fascination with this bridge and been wanting to investigate. Finally got my chance and it did not disappoint. My girlfriend and I were standing on the sidewalk on the South sidewalk directly across from the north sidewalk’s 7th light from the east entrance. Earlier in the night we had experienced the weather going from very foggy and cold, and an overall heavy feeling, to almost nothing at all. It had been pretty quiet the entire time and about 5 minutes to 10pm (just after I hit record on my phone) things got heavy again. About 3 minutes later I was telling my girlfriend our audio might be a bit distorted by the traffic on the bridge. Seconds later I hear with my own ears a voice say “quiet.” My immediate thought was it was SIRI on my girlfriend’s phone so she checked and it wasn’t. I eventually played back the recording and we both (and a few other people I have played it for) clearly hear a male voice. To me it sounds like he is saying “F***. Be quiet.”

      Never thought I’d hear a disembodied voice on a recording and certainly didn’t expect to hear it with my own ears. Truly amazing experience. Really want to get back to the bridge and see if I can collect more evidence.

  7. Went last night, sober. Nobody else was around. We were on the service road bridge directly under the bridge, and directly over the concrete spillway. We heard a distinctive sound of metal on metal, like a bracelet or jewelry directly under us. We looked but nobody there. Creepy feeling the whole time down there.

  8. The first tragedy on the bridge occurred before construction was even complete. Allegedly, when one of the bridge workers toppled over the side and plunged headfirst into a vat of wet concrete, his co-workers assumed he could not be saved in time and left his body in the quick-drying cement. His is only one of the many souls said to haunt the “Suicide Bridge.”

    The first suicide occurred on November 16, 1919 and was followed by a number of others, especially during the Great Depression. Over the years, it is estimated that more than 100 people took their lives leaping the 150 feet into the arroyo below. One of the more notable suicides was when a despondent mother threw her baby girl over the railing on May 1, 1937. She then followed her into the depths of the canyon. Though the mother died, her child miraculously survived. Evidently, her mother had inadvertently tossed her into some nearby trees, and she was later recovered from the thick branches.

    By the 1980’s the historic bridge had fallen into great disrepair as chunks of concrete began to fall from its ornate railings and arches. After the Loma Prieta earthquake near Oakland in 1989, the bridge was closed as a precautionary measure. Eventually federal, state and local funds provided some $27 million dollars in renovation costs and the bridge was reopened in 1993, complete with its original detail, plus a suicide prevention rail. Though the number of suicides throughout the years has decreased, the bridge continues to retain its nickname and its ghostly legends.

    According to the tales, a number of spirits are said to wander the bridge itself as well as the arroyo below. Others have heard unexplained cries coming from the canyon. One report tells of spectral man that is often seen wandering the bridge who wears wire rimmed glasses. Other people have claimed to see a woman in a long flowing robe, who stands atop one of the parapets, before vanishing as she throws herself off the side.

    In the arroyo below, phantom forms have been seen walking the river bed, a number of unexplained sounds are often heard, and the atmosphere is often described as “thick.”

  9. Nathaniel Wagner  |  

    My girlfriend and I are both fascinated with the paranormal so we decided to check the bridge about 2 weeks ago. I never could have imagined what would happen. I went in with the mindset hoping to capture some evidence on audio or video recording. Around 10:00pm, we were the only ones on the bridge when a fog rolled in and a chill grew around us. This is common for this area at night, but something felt different. I began mentioning to my girlfriend how it might be difficult to pick up any audio due to passing traffic. As I finished mentioning that, I suddenly heard with my own ears a disembodied voice. The word I heard with my own ears was “quiet” and the voice sounded female. My first thought was SIRI on my girl’s phone had said something but we confirmed that wasn’t the case. We played back the recording I had going on my phone and we can clearly hear the voice. It definitely sounds female, but we have several possible ideas of what might be actually being said. Never expected to hear something with my own ears, but definitely excited to get back out there and investigate some more at the Colorado St. Bridge

  10. Been to this bridge many times since I only live a couple miles away. I’ve been pushed while sta ding on the ledges looking down. Heard voices in multiple out cropping. I’ve heard whispers of “jump” and “do it” while standing up looking down. I’ve seen several shadow figures in the out croppings. My sister and I were driving at about 1 Am going west bound on the bridge and a dense fog had set in, then we heard hoof clops, we looked behind us and there was a white horse drawn carriage behind us. We pulled over as best we could and as it approached us from behind it disappeared right as it was about to hit us. Have also experienced shadows falling from the bridge underneath and voices saying “save me” “help me” “I’m sorry” and so on.

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