Thursday, May 5, 2011

Parker-Mayberry Bridge

The Parker-Mayberry Bridge is a small, graceful bridge under the colossal, graceful and more famous Colorado Street Bridge. The Parker-Mayberry doesn't have a Wikipedia page, nor do many links point in its direction. Scroll down to the second photo in this post by Pasadena Public Information Officer Ann Erdman to see how the two bridges compare in size.

The Parker-Mayberry Bridge was built in 1916, three years after the Colorado Street Bridge. I had thought it was the older of the two, but no. The earlier structures on this spot in the Arroyo Seco were the Scoville Dam and Bridge. "Remnants of the early construction can still be found there," according to the Arroyo Seco Foundation.

The Parker-Mayberry is closed to automobile traffic, but you can approach it on foot. While walking in the Lower Arroyo Park, continue north on the west side of the the wash past the footbridge and cross under the Parker-Mayberry and Colorado Street Bridges. Soon you'll be above the water where I took this picture early in my blogging career. From here you can walk onto the Parker-Mayberry Bridge. Behind you there's stonework; likely the remnants the Arroyo Seco Foundation refers to.

Dogs on leash. Look out for poison oak. Let me know what you find.

26 comments:

dive said...

Lovely composition, Petrea (as always). What a cute little baby bridge.
Now I've got "59th. Street Bridge Song" stuck in my head, which is actually no bad thing so thank you for that.

Shell Sherree said...

It is a dear little bridge! Not sure about that poison oak but I'm safe from my vantage point.

colleen said...

I've walked here so often and never quite "saw" the bridge the way you do in this photo. Beautiful!!

Bellis said...

Thanks for all the interesting history! That plucky tree on the abutment is still there. Swallows nested under the bridge for years and it was fun to watch their busy comings and goings, but they left the nests a few years ago and never returned.

If you go down there today, you'll see black mud has raised the free-running river level a lot in the past weeks, and the channel downstream is full of it. That's because they reopened the outlet of Devil's Gate dam, which was blocked by dead trees. Because of this, the water's been cut off in those "new" willow-lined side streams in the Lower Arroyo, and they're dry. I hope they'll run again soon.

Diana said...

And when she says "look out for poison oak," she's not kidding! It might not bother your dog, but when you pet him, the oils can transfer to you. If you get it anyway, I'm told Tecnu, available at most pharmacies, is the best remedy.

John Sandel said...

Love that shot. I was there, at that moment, & still didn't see it.

Petrea Burchard said...

Dive, if you must have a song stuck in your head (I don't know about you, but I must), that's not a bad one. Thankfully, this morning I have Brahms as opposed to the usual commercial jingle.

Shell, the poison oak here is lush! If it weren't poisonous I'd grow it in my yard, it's the one thing I'm sure I couldn't kill.

Colleen, you and John both refer to my favorite moment in photography--when I see something differently than I've seen it before. If I'm able to project that through the camera to you, I've achieved the image I wanted to achieve. Yay!

Bellis, thanks for the information. I was wondering about the muddy water. It's usually clear under the bridge. I suppose this is what we'll see for a while, until the silt is removed.

Tecnu. Got it, Diana. I might buy some just to have it on hand. But so far, so good.

J, you know how many times you take the pictures I don't see. That's why it's art, I guess, because it's individual.

Tripps said...

beautiful photo!!! thanks for including insturctions on how to get there. that just might be the push i need to head out there to see the bridge for myself. while i'm out there, i would like to visit the colorado street bridge. do you know where is a good starting point to take photos of it?

Anonymous said...

Closure of this area was caused by devotes of the "Slippery Slide".
This area under the bridge was a haven for slippery sliders who enthusiastically mounted the upper area for a magic ride of about 100 feet to the bottom. Obviously a threat to society, hence the closure.

PascalJim

Bellis said...

Anyone know who Parker-Mayberry was?

Petrea Burchard said...

Hi Tripps. Good viewing can start from the Lower Arroyo Park. Head south of the Bridge on Arroyo Blvd. The entrance to the park is a sharp right just after Norwood Drive, and there's a little parking lot at the bottom of the hill. Then walk north along the wash. You can't miss it.

Jim, Pasadena Adjacent has told delightful stories of sliding down there when she was a kid.

I don't know, Bellis. Worthy of investigation, I'm sure.

Unknown said...

Is that like when you find a mini-pepper inside a bell pepper?

irinapictures said...

Great composition and story, some day I will see it.

Anonymous said...

Well then, you had an eye from the get-go. Super shot.

Petrea Burchard said...

Exactly like that, Cliff, except not as tasty.

I'm glad you all like this picture. I was kind of excited about it.

pasadenapio said...

Thanks for the plug!

The recommended 2012-2016 Capital Improvement Program for the Lower Arroyo Seco includes the Parker-Mayberry Bridge. This includes restoration of the trail under the bridge and improvements to the west side multiuse trail access.

Of course, the CIP is always dependent on funding. Fingers crossed.

Susan Campisi said...

Oh yes, I love the picture. I've always wanted to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Perhaps I'll start with the Parker-Mayberry.

Thanks for the heads up about poison oak. I got a terrible case a few years ago, and once was enough.

Petrea Burchard said...

Always, Ann. I hope "improvement" doesn't mean paving. The rustic beauty there makes it a charming spot.

Do walk there, Susan. The Lower Arroyo is one of the more popular spots in town, but most folks don't walk that part of it.

Virginia said...

The curves, the details. I"m hooked.
V

T Thompson said...

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=pphhphoto&action=browse&fileName=ca/ca1500/ca1502/photos/browse.db&recNum=0&itemLink=&linkText=-1&title2=Colorado%20Street%20Bridge,%20Spanning%20Arroyo%20Seco%20at%20Colorado%20Boulevard,%20Pasadena,%20Los%20Angeles,%20CA&displayType=1&maxCols=4

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/CA1502/

Just in case you didn't know about them. I needed more prespective to understand the "lay of the land".
Fascinating, but I still don't quite understand the need for a bridge directly under another...

Petrea Burchard said...

Merci, V.

Ted, those are fantastic links! Thank you.
I don't get why the little bridge was built, either. I had assumed it was the older bridge of the two. I thought the Colorado was built to take over the duties of the smaller, lesser bridge. But I was wrong about that.

Ms M said...

Excellent photo! Love how you framed the curves of the bridge.

Petrea Burchard said...

Thanks, Ms. M.

Dina said...

Such a beautiful bridge and picture.

yoshionthego said...

So.... My name is Parker Mayberry. Crazy, right? Where is this bridge? I gotta go here and check it out sometime asap!!

~Parker

Petrea Burchard said...

Parker! This is nuts! (In a good way.) The bridge is in Pasadena, California, underneath the more famous Colorado Street Bridge that spans the Arroyo Seco. If you come to Pasadena, let me know and I'll show you how to get there!