Life and Death of a Bridge

Los Angeles just lost Historic Monument #908, the Riverside Figueroa Bridge. Join Tom as he tries to figure out how Los Angeles could let this happen.
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[@timirish2563]

This is one of your very best episodes. Los Angeles continually devours its own past--and the worst offender is the City and County of Los Angeles themselves. The department of Engineering is but one of a thousand shady money pits in this most corrupt of crooked sun-drenched cities. Consistently,the quality of life in Los Angeles has been callously diminished to accommodate more car traffic. The brutal paradox is that the more traffic you build for, the more you inevitably create. Countless residential neighborhoods have been "slummed" by the senseless widening of streets, the elimination of grassy parkways and trees, the narrowing of sidewalks and the public incursion into the front yards of private housing. The few communities surrounding Los Angeles which have kept their humane charm and quality of life are the ones who resisted turning their neighborhoods into de-facto freeways. But, after all, this is LA--and if there's enough money thrown around, both the public and private parasites will pour out of the darkness like so many rats on trash day.

[@ubrayj02]

I have so much bitterness and hate over this I don't know what to do about it. The way LA is run is such a disappointment sometimes. I understand the cynicism of past generations after seeing this bridge get knocked down as part of a make-work for a bunch of pencil pushers in City Hall.

[@killerrockssm]

Fantastic video, very touching. I really appreciate your videos, thanks for doing this.

[@icegiant1000]

There is a giant park 250 feet west of that bridge. Hyperbole accusing the bridge designers and planners of pure money grubbing. Why was the bridge torn down? Because cars couldn't drive on the old one safely or efficiently. Because the old one was old and was going to need major eventual maintenance. Why not keep the old one, and turn it into a park? Because the city would still own it, and be required to pay to keep it up. Plus, do you see where this park space would be? Right in the middle of a giant highway system. Where exactly would you park your car, or how exactly would you even get to the location on foot safely? Unless someone else wanted to buy the bridge and keep it fixed up, safer and cheaper to tear it down. Its a metal bridge in the middle of a quagmire of cement and highways, traversing a filthy drainage ditch that used to be a river. Spend your money somewhere else. Besides, look at the new one today, there is a beautiful bike path and footpath on it. So really, was there all that much to worry about?

[@tomasstomjenkins]

Wow another amazing video Tom!

[@ness016]

Great job as usual guys!

[@brimstonefondue]

How sad. I used to drive over that bridge every day on the way to work.

[@gamergramps970]

A few things I am surprised you missed. Almost every bridge in Calif. received some form of seismic upgrade after the Northridge Quake and was likely also inspected after the S.F. double decker collapse. Also a large reason this bridge was demoed was because it was a mini homeless camp.

[@arthurbissolotti]

Politicians have the sole purpose of serving and OBEYING a capitalist agenda, money comes first, that's not hard to understand at all and that is not the worst in the whole scheme. To me, the worst of all is the fact that you and I are the ones funding all of those projects

[@aldoguevara6672]

whats the name of the song played in the intro?

[@bretlewis7413]

hey tom I know its been awhile but IM sad about the demolition of the riverside bridge-I hate it when pieces of history are destroyed,but I recognize the bridge I believe from an old movie serial "Gangbusters" which featured a car chase on that very bridge-so that makes it even sadder-if you get the chance and check it out and maybe you can tell me if its the same bridge-thanks!!

[@Dagekk968]

***** Reminds me a lot of ISIS(destroying everything in sight)

[@louiehehe]

people in LA aren't really connected to the history of the city. throughout the years, developers bulldozed a lot of historically significant sites for progress--just like the victorian houses in bunker hill. This is why, architecturally, the city doesn't really have a clear identity.

[@phantom391]

Greed get's the Best of Everything

[@quentincherrier]

" Paris, July 27th, 1883, Mister President, It is not possible that Paris, the city of the future, gives up the living proof that it was the city of past. The past brings the future. Arenas are the classic art stands out with the big city. They are a unique monument. The City Council which would destroy them would destroy itself in a way itself. Preserve arena of Lutetia. Preserve them at all costs. You will make a useful action, and, what is better, you will give a big example." Victor Hugo about "the arene de lutece in Paris. (sorry for the bad translate) :)

[@surejan7321]

Los Angeles, the city of cars

[@heathertakeyama1852]

why can't we be like italy and just keep our original buildings and just fix the problems not tear them down

[@arthurbissolotti]

You look like *Casey Neistat*

[@julianheald]

This is something I never understood about America and Americans. Why destroy all your history? You don't have to turn your city into a museum, like London (which goes too far the other way in my opinion). But the compulsion to replace the old with the new isn't always a good thing. Stop knocking down all your old buildings!

[@kevinfranck6520]

All of Southern California has a lousy track record of restoring and saving historical architectural landmarks. I have noticed this throughout the various eras from the 1950s thru to the present. Take for example every boulevard and main drag in any city anywhere in the Southland. It's all be commercially replaced and updated for big business interests. The traditional values you'll find in many places back east do not exist on the west coast. That's because it is actually relatively young by comparison and has always dealt with major increases in people and commercialization since the spotlight was shown in it after WWII and the kickoff of the Baby Boom era.

[@TylerHamiltonDesign]

"All of Southern California has a lousy track record of restoring and saving historical architectural landmarks... That's because it is actually relatively young by comparison..." If this is even one of the reasons I'd say it's hardly the biggest, and I think saying all of Southern California is too broad. This is really a problem that is mostly exclusive to the Los Angeles metro area and its sphere of influence. There is much, much more preservation in San Diego than there is in LA partly because SD is a city of mostly locally born people who are emotionally invested in their city. The entire area around the SD Zoo, Old Town, Balboa Park, what was once Cannery Row, the costal infrastructure around the harbor and the La Jolla Cove, 1880s Victoricans in Hillcrest, etc etc. Large chunks of the city are very similar to how they appeared 100 years ago. You would be hard pressed to find any developed area in LA County that looks the same as it did 50 years ago. I think the biggest reason is there is relatively low pride and ownership in Los Angeles outside of low income, working class communities that have little to no impact on local politics. Most people are simply from somewhere else, they are apathetic or simply unaware of the landmarks around them needing saving. Next is the car, siting in a car all day creates a total disconnect. People don't engage with anything other than their home, the freeway, and their destination leaving everything along the way totally missed, irrelevant, and unimportant. Los Angeles is old enough to have many landmarks that people would be upset about them being knocked down if only there were enough people who actually cared. Los Angeles loves to erase itself because "progress" means money, and when no one important is standing in your way it becomes big business to knock it all down and start again. Norman M. Klein covers this topic really extensively in The History of Forgetting. He points out that there is actually a lot of history and age to Los Angeles (the East half of it anyway). The city isn't nearly as new as people think it is. It's just that when the bulldozers roll there is no one with money or influence to stand in the way. People simply don't care, not nearly enough of them anyway. The city seems young to us because the cycle of erasure has been going on since the 1800s and has gone in regular cycles since then. A neighborhood in LA might seem young if you forget that 2 or 3 neighborhoods may have stood in it's place before. Once that tradition of erasure is begun it's pretty damn hard to stop it. We as Angelinos almost expect the old the be replaced by the new as often as possible, and don't forget to add more lanes and parking spaces...

[@ellamas2004]

These videos are amazing! Having grown up in Los Angeles and now working in downtown LA, I never knew all the facts and cultural significances the city has to offer. Thanks for making these videos and keep up the great work!

[@themineman2909]

You remind me of George Mcfly Great video !

[@hitachicordoba]

I like cycling by the LA River from Downtown and I was wondering why the construction never looked like it was making any progress. Very interesting but frustrating video, thanks!

[@sinnerG7]

I wish I'd known about this I live near by.The episode about the walk way fascinated me as I've seen it since I was a kid but never knew what it was. Great job!

[@ephraimrodriguez4594]

They're also getting rid of the 6th St bridge sadly.

[@sergioquirarte9674]

That really hurts. It's such a beautiful bridge.

[@fernandomatamoros8]

You guys need to do 6th street bridge before it torn down.

[@hitachicordoba]

+fernando matamoros They just had the farewell party last night... the band War opened their set with "Low Rider"- pretty awesome.

[@PNng]

Im really happy i found this series youtube channel. Great videos about the history of LA

[@wolfpack8275]

gentrification

[@Thatredkid187]

im so bummed that bridge is gone. by the time i found out where it was, it had been knocked down. i wanted to walk those trusses, if thats what theyre called... :(

[@samjohnstone1356]

progress means that useless things will be cast aside and the weak and old will make way for the new and strong

[@RevsLA24]

ur videos are super cool! thanks!

[@dyannacortez15]

you should go to the watts towers