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massetXA · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 51 Location: USA

The majestic 1913 Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena, California not only wowed early travelers crossing the causeway, but soon took on a more sinister note when people began to leap from the 150 foot bridge to their death. Within a decade of its construction, locals had begun to call it the “Suicide Bridge,” and as you can imagine, legends began to abound that the bridge was haunted be those unfortunate souls.

The beautiful concrete bridge spans 1,467 feet across the Arroyo Seco, a deeply cut canyon linking the San Gabriel Mountains to the Los Angeles River, and containing the intermittent Arroyo Seco Stream for which it is named. The bridge is often incorrectly referred to as the "Arroyo Seco Bridge."

In Pasadena's early days, before the historic Colorado Street Bridge was built, crossing the Arroyo Seco was an extremely difficult task. Horses and wagons descended the steep eastern slope, crossed the stream over a smaller bridge, and then climbed up the west bank through Eagle Rock Pass.

The bridge was designed and built by the J.A.L. Waddell firm of Kansas City, Missouri and named for Colorado Street (now called Colorado Boulevard,) which was the major east-west thoroughfare through Pasadena. Known for its Beaux Arts arches, ornate lamp posts and railings, initial design proved difficult due to finding solid footing in the Arroyo bed. However, when engineer John Drake Mercereau conceived the idea of curving the bridge, he created a work of art.

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 unexplainable sounds are often heard, and the atmosphere is often described as “thick.”

The Colorado Street Bridge was part of Route 66 until 1940 when the Arroyo Seco Parkway opened. Today, the bridge has received a Civil Engineering Landmark designation and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

massetXA · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 51 Location: USA

Three miles north of Interstate-15, midway between Barstow and Yermo, California sits the historic and restored ghost town of Calico, California.

It all began in 1875 when roving prospectors first found silver on the south slope of the Calico Mountains. However, it wasn’t until some five years later that additional ore discoveries worth $400 to $500 per ton brought about a small rush and the filing of many claims.

In the spring of 1881 came the discovery of the Silver King, Calico’s richest mine and less than a year later, the new settlement supported several businesses on a commercial street flanked by tents and adobe buildings on a narrow mesa between Wall Street Canyon and Odessa Canyon. It took its name from the myriad of colors in the mountains which are the backdrop for the town.

The weekly Calico Print appeared in October, 1882 and a local stamp mill was built to begin working ores.

But in the spring of 1883, many of the local miners left Calico when borax was discovered three miles east at Borate. Later the same year, a fire destroyed much of the camp, but Calico again boomed in 1884 as additional silver discoveries were made. Gaining a population of some 2,500, the town supported two dozen saloons and gambling dives that never closed, as well as more legitimate establishments such as a church, a public school, a dance school and a literary society, along with dozens of retail businesses.

After 1884 many of the mines consolidated and late in 1888, the Oro Grande Mining Company erected an even larger stamp mill at a cost of $250,000 on the north bank of the Mojave River. Soon it connected the stamp mill, near Daggett, to the Silver King mine by the ten mile narrow-gauge Calico Railroad.

By the late 1800's, Calico was bustling with prospectors searching their fortunes and the Calico Mining District became one of the richest in the state.

During its heyday, the district would produce $86 million in silver, and $45 million in borax. However, when the price of silver dropped from $1.31 an ounce to 63 cents during the mid 1890's, Calico became a ghost of its former self. The narrow-gauge Calico railroad was dismantled just after the turn of the century and the town officially died in 1907 with the end of borax mining in the district.

Around 1917 a cyanide plant was built in Calico, recovering values from the Silver King Mine dumps and the town was revived. However, by 1935, the town was entirely abandoned and left to Mother Nature’s elements in the Mojave Desert.

In 1950 Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park bought the town site and began restorations. Its owner, Walter Knott, spent a lot of time in Calico as a boy, as his uncle lived there. He even helped to build a silver mill in Calico at the time of World War I. Knott's time spent there, no doubt, influenced his decision to buy the town and restore it.

One of the rebuilt attractions is the one-mile short line “Calico & Odessa” railroad which loops through steep canyons and hills past old mines and buildings north of Calico. Though the original town site has been mostly rebuilt by new and restored buildings, one-third of the town is original and the remaining newer buildings were carefully reconstructed to recreate the spirit of Calico's Old West past.

In November 1966, Knott donated Calico to San Bernardino County, and Calico now operates as a one of the many San Bernardino County Regional Parks.

Though Calico is no longer a crumbling ghost town thanks to Walter Knott, it most definitely gives the visitor a feel of what life might have been like during those old mining days. The false front stores and saloons, towered by the craggy mountains above and overlooking the desert valley below, provide an otherwise, unobtainable, glimpse into Calico's rich history.

Today, walking tours are available with Calico historians who examine the life of miners during its heyday. The narrow gauge railroad operates within the town limits, the hard rock silver mine provides underground exploration, buildings such as the schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, and saloons can be explored, as well as a live gold panning operation.

The Calico Town site is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to dusk, featuring numerous shops, restaurants and other attractions. In the canyons below town, a full service campground, camping cabins, and bunkhouse provide the opportunity for extended stays.

It's admission price of just $6.00 and reasonable prices "inside" the town at its restaurants, shops, and additional attractions, make it one of California's best tourism values. For instance, it only cost an additional $1 to ride the train or tour the mine.

If Calico’s rich history, meticulous restoration, and gunfights aren’t enough entertainment for you, there’s more!! Allegedly, this old town is haunted by a number of lingering spirits.